If St. Patrick’s Day inspires feelings of hearth and home rather than leprechauns and green beer, you can celebrate tradition with warm, filling meals that harken back to Irish heritage. Complete your festive meal in style with Irish Apple Cake. This version is easy enough to prepare with a handful of everyday ingredients for the cake, a crumbly topping, and homemade custard for the finishing touch.
Irish Apple Cake
Cake:
- 3 cups self-rising flour*
- 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1 stick butter, cubed
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 4 apples of choice, peeled and cubed
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup half-and-half
Topping:
- 1/2 stick butter
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1 cup brown sugar
Custard:
- 6 large egg yolks
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375˚F. Grease and flour a 9-inch round springform pan.
To make the cake: In a large bowl, sift flour with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger. Using a fork, cut butter until the mixture resembles crumbs. Add sugar and apples; mix well. Stir in eggs and half-and-half until the mixture reaches a thick, dough-like batter. Pour batter into a prepared pan.
To make topping: In a bowl, mix butter, flour, and sugar to create crumbled mixture. Sprinkle on top of batter in pan. Bake for 1 hour. Check with a toothpick to make sure the middle is completely done. If not, bake another 5-10 minutes. Let cool on a rack.
To make custard: Whisk egg yolks and sugar. In a saucepan, bring half-and-half to boil. Add one spoonful half-and-half at a time to the egg mixture, whisking while adding. Once whisked together, return to saucepan and stir over medium heat until thickened, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla. Serve custard over cake.
* For every cup of self-rising flour, you can substitute one cup of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon baking soda.
To find more ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, visit Culinary.net.
