Description
This recipe, “Irish Apple Cake,” is a rustic and comforting dessert that showcases the delicious combination of apples and warm spices, served with a luscious vanilla custard sauce
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 3 cups plus 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 Tbsp. baking powder
- ¾ tsp. Kosher salt
- ½ tsp. ginger
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. ground allspice
- ¼ tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into small cubes
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 large Granny Smith apple, thinly sliced into ¼-inch pieces
- 3 Tbsp. demerara sugar, for topping
For the Custard Sauce:
- â…“ cup granulated sugar
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 ¼ cups heavy cream
- 1 vanilla bean, halved (or 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract)
Instructions
Let’s walk through the process:
Make the Cake:
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Preheat and Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter a 9-inch springform pan and line the sides and bottom with parchment paper.
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Combine Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 cups of flour, baking powder, salt, spices (ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg), and granulated sugar.
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Cut in Butter: Add the cubed cold butter and incorporate it with your hands until you have no large pieces left and the mixture resembles sand. This creates a crumbly texture that contributes to the cake’s tenderness.
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Combine Wet Ingredients: In another medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, heavy cream, and vanilla extract.
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Combine Wet and Dry: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
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Prepare Apples: Toss the thinly sliced apples with the remaining 3 tablespoons of flour until evenly coated. This helps to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cake.
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Fold in Apples: Fold the floured apple slices into the batter.
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Transfer to Pan: Transfer the cake batter to the prepared springform pan and spread it evenly.
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Top with Demerara Sugar: Sprinkle the top of the batter evenly with the demerara sugar.
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Bake: Bake until the apples are very tender and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
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Cool: Let the cake cool completely in the pan before removing it.
Make the Custard Sauce:
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Whisk Sugar and Yolks: In a heatproof bowl, whisk the granulated sugar and egg yolks together until lightened in color, about 6 minutes.
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Heat Cream and Vanilla: In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat, add the vanilla bean seeds and pod (or vanilla extract if using) and the heavy cream. Cook the mixture, watching carefully, until it just begins to boil.
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Temper Egg Yolks: Remove the cream mixture from the heat, and whisk a few tablespoons of the hot cream into the sugar-yolk mixture. This is called tempering, and it gradually warms the egg yolks to prevent them from scrambling.
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Combine Mixtures: Gradually add the remaining hot cream to the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly.
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Cook Custard: Return the custard mixture to the pot and continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until just thickened (do not boil!). You can check the consistency by dipping a wooden spoon in, then running a finger along the back; the streak should stay intact.
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Strain Custard: Immediately remove the custard from the heat and pour it through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. This removes any lumps and the vanilla bean pod (if used).
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Cool: Let the custard cool completely.
Assemble and Serve:
- Serve: Once the cake and custard are cool, serve slices of the apple cake with a generous spoonful of the custard sauce.
