This is an authentic old fashioned Irish apple cake, the kind that would be made throughout the apple harvest season all over Ireland, where every farmhouse has its own prized version of the recipe. It’s delicious with or without the traditional custard sauce!
a classic apple cake filled with juicy apples and warm spices
This easy apple cake recipe speaks to another era and another continent. But nothing beats a kitchen filled with the warm scent of apples and cinnamon, no matter what your particular spot in the baking universe. The cake is mildly spiced, with an inner core of thinly sliced tart apples, topped with a crumbly oat streusel. Tradition dictates serving it with some thick cream, or a luscious custard sauce. Choose to respect or flaunt tradition: you’re in charge.
best apples for an apple cake
I used Granny Smith apples for this apple cake ~ they’re nice and tart and don’t get mushy in the oven.
Another good choice would be Honeycrisp apples. You can always experiment with other types, if you want, you can’t go too wrong here. (Pickyourown.org has a pretty comprehensive guide to apple varieties.) You’ll need about 3 good sized apples for this recipe, that’s the bottom line. Peel them, and slice them thinly. If you’re making them more than a few minutes ahead, be sure to toss them with a little lemon juice to prevent browning.
the crumble topping makes this cake especially appropriate for breakfast, brunch, or afternoon tea
This is a not-too-sweet kind of cake in the European tradition. It’s pretty perfect with a cup of coffee or tea in the morning or mid afternoon, though still definitely special enough to serve as dessert, especially with the custard. The custard sauce keeps well in the fridge, and can be served either warm or cold. The cake, however, is especially fabulous and fragrant warm from the oven.
love cooking with apples? (we do too.)
- Apple Crumb Bars
- Moist Apple Brownies
- Apple Skillet Cake
- Easy Apple Pie Scones
- Apple Butter Cake
- Rustic Apple Galette
- Apple Cheddar and Sage Biscuits
“This was absolutely delicious and very easy and straightforward to make. This was my first time ever making an apple cake and now I’ve make it twice in 2 days!!!”
~ Janice
Irish Apple Cake
Video
Equipment
- 9 inch spring form pan
Ingredients
cake
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 Tbsp whole milk or cream
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp salt
- about 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced. Mine weighed a little over a pound after slicing.
- confectioner’s sugar for dusting
streusel topping
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
- 6 Tbsp unsalted cold butter, cut in small pieces
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
custard sauce
- 6 large egg yolks
- 6 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk ~ you can also use half and half or cream
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9 inch springform pan.
- Make the custard sauce ahead of time. Bring the milk to a simmer over medium heat. Meanwhile whisk the yolks and sugar until well combined. Drizzle a little of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking all the time. Drizzle a little more, then transfer that back into the pan of hot milk and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Do this slowly, over medium heat, and I like to use a silicone spoon or spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan as it heats. The mixture will become velvety and thickend, but it will not be as thick as pudding. It will continue to thicken as it cools, so don't overcook or it can curdle. Stir in the vanilla.
- Pour the custard through a sieve (to catch any stray lumps) into a heat proof jar or bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface so it won't form a skin as it cools. Put in the refrigerator until completely chilled.
- To make the streusel topping, blend the bits of butter into the flour, sugar, and oats until the butter is incorporated and the mixture has a coarse crumbly texture. Put in the refrigerator.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the butter/sugar mixture, along with the milk or cream.
- Spoon the batter into your prepared pan, and smooth out evenly. Top with the sliced apples, and then the streusel topping. Note: no need to arrange the apples perfectly, but try to get them in an even layer.
- Bake for about 50 minutes to an hour, until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick comes out without wet batter clinging to it.
- Let cool a bit in the pan before removing. Dust with confectioner’s sugar before serving.
Nutrition
Made this for St. Patrick’s Day dessert. The cake turned out great. My husband doesn’t eat a lot of sweets so I know if he likes it we have a winner. I tried twice to make the custard sauce but after the second batch curdled I gave up and ate the cake with a scoop of French vanilla ice cream. I might try the sauce again some time but it’s fine without it. Thanks for this recipe it will be part of the rotation now.
Hi, regarding the custard… I have always made my custard with cornflour and fewer eggs, I was dubious about this way anyways I did as per the recipe and saw the custard start to separate and curdle so I quickly took it off the heat and mixed some of the almost curdled custard with some regular flour and whisked it into the mix and back on low heat. Saved in the nick of time. Yum.
Good to know, Anne-Marie. Custard made like this is very sensitive to heat, for sure. Glad you could save it!
Hi there Sue, I’m Irish & hail from Dublin & for the last 18 years have lived with my English Husband in the Limousin region of France. Limoges, our capital city is renowned worldwide for it’s beautiful Pottery, our region is also famous for it’s Limousine Apples, hence the reason I’m always on the lookout for a nice apple cake, in fact, have a folder full of them & have worked my way through most of them. I’m looking forward to trying your recipe but was wondering if it’s at all possible to list in metric or imperial measurements for those of us this side of the Pond. I can convert, but it’s doesn’t always work out.
Being St Patrick’s weekend my Husband is shouting for Irish Apple Cake so I would love to try yours.
I’m not too sure if you will get this message or not but would love to hear from you.
Meantime, I hope you are having a good St Pat’s weekend. Slainte, Maria
Hey Maria ~ I will try to get to that conversion this week, I’m traveling in Florida right now visiting my Dad and his wife, but I’m working remotely 😉 I wish I could find a reliable and easy converter, it’s such tricky business, as you note. I may have to get back to the kitchen and actually make this cake again to do an accurate job. Thanks for following along from such a distance ~ I would love to get to Limoges someday!
I am sad I did everything and looks like is not rising what did I do wrong? I used the right pan was I suppose to put the pan on cookies sheet cause that’s what I did maybe that’s it ?
This isn’t a tall fluffy cake, Lily, but rather dense, almost like a tart, so it’s possible you did everything right.
Sue can you use a 8” cake pan instead of 9”?
Sure!
Thank you for letting me know that But it was Delicious ! So I know I did it right now thanks for sharing!
Is the custard sauce supposed to be thick?
Not super thick, Amanda.
If I am serving this at a dinner party, can I make it the night before?
Yes, that won’t be a problem, enjoy!
I’ve had a couple of apples knocking about in my fridge for a while and couldn’t decide what to make! I settled on this cake and boy am I glad! Delicious, soft, not too sweet and a wonderful crumble topping. Thank you!
Thanks for letting us know, Katie!
I made this cake for Saturday nite dinner, what a success. I did not peel the apples and I used almond flour, it came out perfect. thank you for your wonderful recipes..
I know this comment is 2 years old, but I am intrigued by your use of almond flour. Was that completely in place of the all purpose flour? I am gluten free and always looking for good ways to alter traditional recipes. Thanks!
I just made this for our family’s St. Patrick’s Day dinner – it was amazing! I didn’t actually make the custard (time constraints) but the cake was incredibly delicious all on its own. I used Kerrygold Butter made in Ireland for that extra special touch. On an unrelated note: I live in New Hampshire but I had never heard of Great Island until I found your blog. Now I’m intrigued!
Oh I’m so glad you found me Kelli ~ I miss New Hampshire SO much, I’m determined to get back there to live someday 🙂 I’m really glad you enjoyed the apple cake!
Sue where is the recipe for this Irish apple cake? I would love to give this a try .
Has anyone added raisins to this? I’m thinking of soaking them in Amaretto first.
I don’t see why you couldn’t, Steph, and the Amaretto soaking sounds pretty amazing 🙂
I soaked my raisins in brandy first and it was amazing I also used 2 Granny Smith’s and a Rome Apple because down here in Va the Mac apples are very mealy not like back home in Mass but came out very good
Love the idea of soaking the raisins, how could that be bad? And don’t get me started on Macs, I miss my New Hampshire Mcintosh apples SO badly!!
Do you serve the custard cold? Can it be served warm? How would you warm it? Love the cake. The custard I’d eat every day for the rest of my days 😉
I think it’s usually served cold, but you could warm it briefly in the microwave and that would be amazing.
When I lived in the United Kingdom custard was served warm over desserts such as this. Super yummy! Can’t wait to make this for Saint Davids day ( I married a welsh man) haha
As a child I always had Birds Eye custard served warm over this kind of dessert, made, of course with full cream milk. Absolutely delicious.