Irish Apple Cake
A proper Irish apple cake with a tender spiced crumb, tart Granny Smith apples, a crisp oat streusel topping, and a warm vanilla custard sauce poured over each slice.
Equipment
- 9-inch springform pan - Leakproof preferred; a regular 9-inch round cake pan works but releasing is trickier
- Parchment paper rounds - To line the bottom of the pan
- Large mixing bowls - For batter, streusel, and custard
- Pastry Cutter - Or two forks, for cutting cold butter into the streusel
- Balloon whisk - For eggs, dry ingredients, and tempering custard
- Rubber spatula - For folding the batter gently
- Vegetable peeler - For peeling the apples
- Medium saucepan - For heating the custard sauce
- Fine mesh sieve - For straining the custard silky-smooth
- Instant-read thermometer - (optional) For monitoring custard temperature at 165–170°F (74–77°C)
Ingredients
For the Streusel Topping
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour - 105 g
- ½ cup granulated sugar - 115 g
- ¼ cup old-fashioned rolled oats - 25 g
- salt - Pinch
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter - 85 g, cold, cut into small cubes
For the Cake
- ½ cup unsalted butter - 115 g, at room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar - 100 g
- 2 large eggs - At room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour - 160 g
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg - Optional
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons whole milk - 45 ml
- 3 medium Granny Smith apples - About 1 lb (450 g) after peeling and slicing; peeled, quartered, cored, and sliced ¼ inch (6 mm) thick
- confectioners' sugar - For dusting
For the Vanilla Custard Sauce
- 1 cup whole milk - 240 ml
- 4 large egg yolks
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar - 65 g
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and position a rack in the center. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment, then grease the parchment and sides with butter or non-stick spray.
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, oats, and salt. Cut in the cold cubed butter with a pastry cutter or two forks until the mixture resembles coarse, pea-sized crumbs. Refrigerate while you make the batter.
- Peel, quarter, and core the apples, then slice each quarter thinly, about ¼ inch (6 mm) thick. Toss with a squeeze of lemon juice if not using right away to prevent browning.
- In a large bowl, beat the room-temperature butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg if using, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture along with the milk. Fold gently with a rubber spatula just until no dry flour remains; a few lumps are fine. Do not overmix.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Arrange the apple slices in a single, even layer over the batter, slightly overlapping if needed. Scatter the chilled streusel over the apples and press down very gently.
- Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until the streusel is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with no wet batter. Tent loosely with foil for the final 15 minutes if the top browns too fast. Cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before releasing the springform ring.
- Whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale. Heat the milk in a saucepan until steaming and just bubbling at the edges. Slowly whisk about half the hot milk into the yolks to temper, then pour back into the saucepan.
- Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3 to 4 minutes and 165 to 170°F (74 to 77°C). Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla, and strain through a fine-mesh sieve.
- Dust the cooled cake with confectioners' sugar. Slice and serve with the warm custard sauce poured over each piece.
Notes
- Weigh your apples after slicing — aim for about 1 lb (450 g) of prepared slices to keep the fruit-to-batter ratio right.
- Freeze the streusel butter for 10 minutes before cutting it in; warm butter makes the topping spread flat instead of staying crumbly.
- Slice apples thin and even (¼ inch / 6 mm); thick chunks stay firm while the batter around them finishes, leaving raw-tasting fruit.
- Don't rush the custard — low heat and constant stirring are non-negotiable. If it starts to curdle, pull it off the heat immediately and whisk hard, or strain through a fine-mesh sieve.
- Test the cake in the true center; the middle sits under apples and streusel, so it takes longer than the edges to set.
- Cool before slicing — a warm cake crumbles, a rested one cuts into clean wedges.
- Use room-temperature eggs and butter; cold ingredients seize and leave the batter streaky.
- Storage: Keep the cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerate for up to 5 days. Store custard separately in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Wrap the fully cooled, un-dusted cake tightly and freeze for up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the fridge.
- Make-ahead: The flavor deepens overnight. Bake up to a day in advance, store airtight, and warm the custard gently just before serving.
- Variations: Swap in Honeycrisp or Golden Delicious, skip the streusel for a Kerry-style cake, fold apples into the batter, add a tablespoon of Irish whiskey to the custard, or swap the streusel sugar for brown sugar.
Nutrition
Serving: 1SliceCalories: 410kcalCarbohydrates: 52gProtein: 7gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 165mgSodium: 160mgFiber: 2gSugar: 32g
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