Irish Apple Cake

Apple Cake

Flour – I use cake flour here because of how dense this cake can be, but if you don’t have that, all-purpose flour is fine as well.

Leavener – Use a decent amount of baking powder here to get the batter to rise through the apples.

Spices – While most people associate apples with cinnamon, this spice isn’t as heavily used in Ireland and other parts of Europe. For this cake I use nutmeg and a bit of ground clove, but feel free to add some ground cinnamon as well.

Sugar – Use granulated sugar to add sweetness but also to keep the structure more cake-like than bready. You can top the cake with the same sugar, but I like coarse sugar like demerara or turbinado for that though.

Butter – I use unsalted butter here (Kerrygold to keep things Irish!) but you can use salted butter if that’s all you have. Just omit or lower the added salt in the recipe.

Eggs – Two large eggs here add moisture and a bit more lift to the batter.

Milk – I use whole milk here along with the eggs for the wet ingredients in the batter.

Apples – In Ireland they would use Bramley apples here, which are amazing for cooking and baking, but not very good raw. Since those can be difficult to find elsewhere, I use Granny Smith as a good substitute. You could also mix these with something like Golden Delicious or Honeycrisp if you wish.

Vanilla Custard Sauce

Eggs – For the custard sauce you will need to separate about 5 large egg yolks. You can save the whites for another use for 2-3 days in the fridge.

Sugar – Use granulated sugar to sweeten the custard sauce.

Milk – I use a combination of whole milk and heavy cream here since I’ll typically keep both in stock during holidays and baking seasons. You can also just use one or the other if you only have one on hand.

Vanilla – You can use a good vanilla extract here or some vanilla bean paste to flavor the sauce.

Make the Apple Cake

Preheat your oven to 350°F / 180°C. Line and coat a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl add the flour, baking powder, salt, spices, and sugar. Whisk together, then cube and toss in the butter. Use a pastry cutter or your hands to mix the butter into the dry ingredients until only small pieces remain.

In a small mixing bowl or glass measuring cup, whisk the eggs. Add the milk and mix again until no visible streaks of egg remain.

Peel and cut the apples into a medium to large dice. I like to go for roughly 1-inch chunks.

Once chopped, add the apple chunks to the dry ingredients and toss to fully coat.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and use a silicone spatula to mix until no dry pockets of flour remain. The batter will be sticky and very thick at this point.

Transfer the batter into the springform pan and use the spatula to even out the top as best as you can. Sprinkle coarse sugar evenly over the entire top of the batter and place the springform pan on a baking sheet and place in the center of the oven.

Bake for 50-60 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. If the top begins to brown too quickly, feel free to loosely tent with foil. Let the cake cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes, then you can run a butter knife around the edge and open the springform pan. Transfer to a cooling rack and serve slightly warm or at room temperature, topped with warm vanilla custard sauce, whipped cream, or ice cream.

Make Vanilla Custard Sauce

While the cake is cooling, make the custard sauce. Normally it would be served warm, but if you’d rather have it at room temperature or cold, you can do this sooner or ahead of time.

In a small mixing bowl, add the egg yolks and sugar and whisk until the sugar is dissolved and the egg yolks are fully mixed with it. Add the milk and cream in a small saucepan set over medium-low heat and gently heat until lightly simmering.

Slowly pour some of the hot milk into the egg mixture while whisking constantly to temper the eggs. You want to slowly heat the egg yolks without cooking them, so keep whisking. Once the egg yolks are warmed and tempered, pour this mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk.

Place the saucepan back on the stove over low heat. Whisk constantly until the custard begins to thicken and coats the back of a spoon. Add a pinch of salt and the vanilla extract and remove from the heat.

Keep whisking for another minute or so until the custard begins to cool slightly, then transfer to a creamer pitcher or a glass measuring cup. For an ultra-smooth custard, pour it through a fine mesh strainer when transferring from the saucepan.

Serve warm over the apple cake or allow it to cool completely. Once cooled, place plastic wrap over it so that it touches the surface of the custard and you can refrigerate it if you wish to serve it cold.

Springform Pans – As mentioned earlier, you could make this in a 9-inch round cake pan, but it is much easier to use a springform pan. If you make the mentioned streusel version, you need to use the springform pan or risk losing a lot of topping trying to flip it upside down to remove from a normal cake pan.

Bowl Scraper – I can’t recommend these things enough. A decent bowl scraper is very inexpensive and stiffer than most nylon or silicone spatulas. This makes scraping the batter out of the mixing bowl and into the pan easier and more efficient.

Creamer Pitcher – This item isn’t necessary at all, but I love them for serving guests. A creamer pitcher is what you see in some of my photos where the custard sauce is pouring from. They’re just a cute accent for serving and look fancier than sauce in a glass measuring cup and a spoon.

Once your Irish apple cake has cooled completely, you can wrap it in plastic wrap or store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days. Refrigerating the cake will cause it to dry out more quickly, but if you know you can’t finish it in a few days, you can store it in the refrigerator for up to a week.

For longer storage, you can also wrap the cake or slices in plastic wrap and again in foil, then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and let it sit out at room temperature for an hour or two before serving. Alternatively, you can place it in a 300°F oven for about 10 minutes.

If you make the included vanilla custard sauce, you will need to store that in the refrigerator right away because of the eggs and dairy content. Transfer it to an airtight container and top with plastic wrap that touches the surface of the custard (this prevents a skin from forming on top) before closing. The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days.

You can serve leftover crème anglaise cold, or warm it in a saucepan over low heat while whisking constantly until warmed through. Do not freeze or the custard will likely split and turn grainy when thawed.