Traditional Irish Apple Cake

This recipe was shared by CSA apple picker/packer Lydia Pendergast who adapted it from a recipe by Sue Moran in The View from Great Island. This cake is similar to coffee cake so Lydia recommends eating it while it is still hot. Have it with a cup of tea as the days get colder. Cooking apples are particularly good for this recipe. Lydia says, “the long bake time on this cake means the apple slices in the middle layer cook down into a delicious sauce that contrasts the dense cake and buttery streusel top - FABULOUS”. 

Ingredients:

Cake:

  • 2-3 cooking apples

  • ½ cup granulated sugar

  • 2 large eggs

  • 3 Tbs milk

  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

  • cinnamon

  • 1 tsp baking powder

  • ⅛ tsp salt

  • ½ cup room-temperature, unsalted butter

Streusel topping:

  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour

  • ½ cup old-fashioned, rolled oats

  • ½ cup cold, unsalted butter

  • ½ cup granulated sugar

Directions:

  1. Grease a 9 inch spring-form pan (optionally, line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper). Preheat oven to 350°

  2. To make the cake batter, start by softening ½ cup of butter. Then whisk together the flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder in a bowl.

  3. In a separate bowl, cream together the softened butter with the sugar until it is light in color and mixes easily. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, followed by the milk, until completely combined.

  4. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. When completely mixed, the batter will be thick. Scoop the batter into the spring-form pan, and spread into an even layer. Set aside.

  5. To create the streusel topping, use a food processor to roughly chop the old-fashioned oats with the flour and sugar. Cut cold butter into thin slices, then add to the food processor, and pulse a few times until it forms a crumb.

  6. Slice the apples, and layer them on top of the cake batter in the spring-form pan until no batter is visible (about two layers). Cover the apple layer with the streusel topping.

  7. Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes to an hour, or until the top is golden brown.