Irish Farmhouse Apple Cake

It feels like spring has arrived in Toronto. I know it’s a trick. Snow will be dumped on us again at any moment. Not taking any chances, we’re escaping to the Caribbean this week for a little vacation time. But before I jet off, I baked a delicious Irish apple cake – baked apples, a streusel crumb top, and tender cake. So much to love.

Apple orchards are abundant in Ireland’s countryside. And many farmhouses have their own version of an apple cake to make during the harvest season. So technically this is an Autumn cake. But with St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner, I thought it would be appropriate.

This kind of cake is often traditionally served with a runny custard sauce. However, depending on the recipe, Irish apple cakes can be quite dense and mild in flavour, and could benefit from the extra ‘zhuzh.’ While I love custard, I found that my version is tasty enough to hold its own.

For this recipe I used Granny Smith apples. They are tart and hold their form well after baking. Other great options would be Honeycrisp or Braeburn apples.

How to make Irish Apple Cake

Start by preheating your oven and greasing an 8″ round springform pan. You could use a 9″ instead for a shorter cake, just remember to keep an eye on it because it will bake slightly faster.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set it aside for now.

Cream the butter and sugars together well until they are fluffy. Then beat in the eggs, one at a time, along with the vanilla. Fold in the dry ingredients and milk intermittently. Make sure that it is completely mixed in, but don’t over-mix.

Spoon the thick batter into the pan and smooth it out, pressing it into the edges.

Peel your apples and cut them into 1/4″ slices. Then cut the slices again for a chopped appearance, like pictured below. Scatter the apple pieces evenly on top of the cake batter. Use your hand to lightly press the apples slightly downwards into the batter.

Prepare the streusel topping in a medium bowl by combining the flour, brown sugar, a cinnamon. Then add the cubed butter and using your hand work it into the dry ingredients until it forms large crumbs. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the apples.

Put the cake in the oven and bake it about fifty to sixty minutes. Poke a toothpick in the batter to check for doneness. Don’t get tricked by accidentally stabbing a juicy apple. Let the cake cool in its pan.

Sprinkle the Irish apple cake with a generous dusting of icing sugar right before serving.

If apple pie and spice cake had a love child, this would be it. Apple bliss in cake form.

St. Patrick’s Day?

Looking for other green desserts for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations? Check out my grape custard tart, or decorate cupcakes with my matcha vanilla bean cream cheese frosting. Any of them would be a big hit.

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