We wanted to make something special for St. Patrick’s Day this year, but we drank all the Guinness and we just didn’t have it in us to dye some poor dessert green. So we decided on something a bit more simple: a delicious Irish Apple Cake!
| Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 50 min | Total Time: 1 hr 10 min |
Servings: 10
This Recipe is: Vegetarian
Meal Type:Dessert
Cuisine Type: Irish
Ingredients:
For the cake
- 3 cups flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/8 tsp. sea salt
- 1 tsp. apple pie spice
- ¾ cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 large Granny Smith or Golden Delicious apples
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup milk
- 2 tbsp sugar + ¼ tsp. Apple Pie Spice (to sprinkle on top of cake)
For the Custard Sauce
- 6 large egg yolks
- 6 tbsp sugar
- 1 ½ cup whole milk
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla
Directions:
For the Cake
- Grease a 8” or 9” round springform pan. Using an 8” pan will give you a taller cake. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and apple pie spice into a large mixing bowl. Make sure the bowl is very large to allow room for the apples to be folded in. Cut the butter into the flour using your fingers or a pastry cutter (I found that fingers work best) until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Mix 1 cup sugar into the flour mixture.
- Peel the apples and slice them into uniform pieces. This cake works best and gets the “chunky apple look” if the slices are about ¼” wide and then cut into 3 pieces. Toss the apples into the flour mixture and combine thoroughly.
- In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and milk together. Fold into the apples and flour mixture until just combined. The batter will be thick and dough-like. Transfer the dough into the prepared cake pan and flatten the top surface using the back of the spatula. Mix together the remaining sugar and apple pie spice. Sprinkle over the top of the cake.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes. Be sure to test the center for doneness, as the top of the cake can be very firm when removed from the oven, giving the impression that it is all the way cooked. Insert a toothpick into the middle of the cake, if it comes out clean, the cake is done.
- Serve with custard sauce, vanilla ice cream or a hot cup of coffee.
For the Custard Sauce
- *note: This sauce is not a thick, pudding-like sauce. It should have a pourable, just thickened consistency when done.
- Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Place the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk until pale yellow, about 2-3 minutes.
- Place the milk in a medium saucepan and bring just to a boil. Slowly whisk the hot milk into the egg/sugar mixture.
- Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and stir over low heat until the custard thickens. This process should take 2-4 minutes. Be sure not to overcook the custard and keep the heat low. If the heat is too high, the mixture will curdle. The custard should be thick enough to coat the back of the a spoon.
- Mix in the vanilla and transfer to a bowl or serving saucer.
- Serve warm or cold over apple cake.
