This traditional Irish Apple Cake with Vanilla Custard Sauce is a wonderfully tasty cake with the perfect moist crumb studded with fresh apples! Serve this not-too-sweet apple cake up on its own, or drizzle some of my amazing custard sauce over the cake slices when serving!
This is a well-loved apple cake that's the perfect dessert for any day of the year!
It can be enjoyed as a breakfast cake, with tea or coffee, and is especially wonderful after dinner when served as an Irish dessert - complete with the custard!
Like so many other traditional recipes, the variations to this apple cake are as numerous as the Grandmas baking it in farmhouses across the Irish countryside in the fall apple harvest season!
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Make sure to make this amazing Irish Apple Cake this Saint Patrick's Day!
❤️ Why You'll Love This Recipe!
A Fall Favorite! Delicious fresh apples are in abundance in the fall season, and making this cake is a great use of your favorite farm fresh apples!
Amazing Texture! The soft, moist crumb of this tasty apple cake is paired perfectly with the rich, velvety texture of custard sauce!
Easy Cake Recipe! Grab your food processor to make short work of prepping the apples, peeling is optional too!
🥘 Ingredients
Grab your pantry staples, some heavy cream, and a bunch of fresh apples to make this tasty cake! Don't skip the custard sauce - it's so darn tasty, you're sure to love it!!
Irish Apple Cake
- 1 cup Butter (2 sticks - softened, at room temperature)
- 1 ¼ cups Sugar
- 2 tablespoon Baking Powder
- 1 pinch Salt (or use ¼ teaspoon if using unsalted butter)
- ½ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg (freshly grated is suggested)
- 4 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 4 large Apples (peeled, cored and sliced or finely chopped)
- 1 ½ cups Whole Milk (or 2% milk)
- 2 large Eggs (at room temperature)
Vanilla Custard Sauce
- 6 large Egg Yolks (at room temperature)
- 1 ½ cups Heavy Cream (or heavy whipping cream)
- ½ cup Sugar
- ½ tablespoon Vanilla Extract
Notes on apples: Your apple varieties will also make a difference in taste, and we like a good firm apple with a sweet flavor such as Ambrosia (used here), Gala, Fuji, Braeburn, Honeycrisp, or Cameo. You can also use a combination of sweet and tart, such as using a Granny Smith apple or two, but firm apples will work best for baking.
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for ingredients, amounts & instructions!*
🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions
- Prep oven and pan. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and generously coat your 9-10 inch springform pan with butter (or butter and flour), or spray with a non-stick cooking spray.
- Cream butter and sugar. In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, mix together the room temperature butter and sugar.
- Add dry ingredients. Add salt, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg. Stir to combine. Add the all-purpose flour and mix until evenly distributed.
- Wash, slice, and add apples. Prepare the apples as desired. I washed and sliced my apples (peeling them is optional), then placed them in my food processor and pulsed a few times for smaller pieces (but not finely chopped). If chopping your slices, cut the slices about ¼ inch thick then cut each slice into 1 inch chunks. Add the chopped apples, then mix until evenly distributed as well.
- Combine with wet ingredients. Add the eggs to your milk, and stir until eggs are broken and mixed into the milk. Pour the milk and eggs mixture over the flour mixture and stir until just combined. The batter will be thick and lumpy.
Bake the Cake
- Bake. Transfer the batter to a your buttered springform pan, then smooth the top of the batter. Place the springform pan in the center of the oven and bake for about a hour and 15 minutes, or until an inserted knife or cake tester comes out clean. *Check the cake at 50 minutes to make sure the top isn't getting too browned, if needed, cover with a sheet of aluminum foil.
- Cool and serve. Remove the cake from your oven and allow to cool slightly on a wire cooling rack, about 5 minutes. Then remove from the springform pan and allow to cool slightly, if serving warm. Or allow to cool completely if serving later.
How To Make Vanilla Custard Sauce
- In a saucepan, heat the heavy cream and sugar over a medium temperature until it comes to a low boil. Stir the heavy cream occasionally as it heats, rapidly if needed to prevent the heavy cream from boiling too rapidly. If needed, remove your saucepan from the heat to keep your cream at a low boil.
- Whisk the egg yolks while the heavy cream is heating. Then slowly add the heated heavy cream and sugar slowly (very slowly at first to prevent cooking the eggs!). Drizzle in a tablespoon potion initially, whisk, repeat until the egg yolks have been tempered with the heated cream. It should take a few minutes of whisking to fully incorporate the heated cream and egg yolks.
- Return the cream to your saucepan. Continually whisk the mixture over medium-low temperature until the sauce thickens, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla extract.
- Transfer to a glass bowl, jar, or small creamer carafe with a sheet of plastic wrap laying on the surface to prevent 'skin' that will form. Serve warm over cake if desired, or store in the refrigerator.
Overall, an Irish Apple Cake is best served warm (and it is so very fragrant right out of the oven). The thick cream or custard sauce that is customarily served with an apple cake can be served cold, which is convenient if you have made the custard sauce ahead of time, or warmed.
This is an extremely easy cake to bake and enjoy any night of the week, but still special enough to serve up for St. Patrick's Day or other special occasions! Enjoy!!
💭 Angela's Tips & Recipe Notes
- Your baking time will be shorter if using larger pieces of apple, or a less juicy variety. My finely chopped apples are a preference, but add about ten minutes to my baking time.
- Larger chunks of apple can be used as well, just be sure to soften them on the stovetop by sauteing in some melted butter over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Allow the apples to cool slightly before combining into the batter.
- When storing your custard sauce, keep the cling film directly on the surface of the sauce to prevent a skin from forming.
🥡 Storing & Reheating
Store both the cake and your vanilla custard sauce in the refrigerator. Cover the cake with a sheet of plastic cling film and transfer the sauce into an airtight storage container.
Reheating Irish Apple Cake
You can warm your custard sauce on the stove top, but a short burst in the microwave on a lower heat setting works equally well. Stir between each short 30-second heating increment until warmed to your satisfaction.
The same is true for taking the chill off a slice of your Irish apple cake. Heat in short bursts until slightly warmed before serving. Cover with a damp towel to keep moist.
🇮🇪 More Tasty Irish Recipes!
- Irish Lamb Stew
- Irish Oatmeal Cake with Caramel Pecan Frosting
- Traditional Irish Soda Bread
- Irish Barmbrack
- Potato Leek Soup
- Apple Blackberry Crumble
📋 Recipe
Irish Apple Cake with Vanilla Custard Sauce
Ingredients
Irish Apple Cake
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks - softened, at room temperature)
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- 2 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 pinch salt (or use ¼ teaspoon if using unsalted butter)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (freshly grated is suggested)
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 large ambrosia apples (peeled, cored and sliced or finely chopped)
- 1 ½ cups whole milk (or 2% milk)
- 2 large eggs
Vanilla Custard Sauce
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Irish Apple Cake
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) and generously coat your 9-10 inch springform pan with butter (or butter and flour), or spray with a non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the room temperature butter and sugar. Add salt, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg. Stir to combine. Add the all-purpose flour and mix until evenly distributed.1 cup butter, 1 ¼ cups sugar, 2 tablespoon baking powder, 1 pinch salt, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, 4 cups all-purpose flour
- Prepare the apples as desired. I washed and sliced my apples (peeling them is optional), then placed them in my food processor and pulsed a few times for smaller pieces (but not finely chopped). If chopping your slices, cut the slices about ¼ inch thick then cut each slice into 1 inch chunks. Add the chopped apples, then mix until evenly distributed as well.4 large ambrosia apples
- Add the eggs to your milk, and stir until eggs are broken and mixed into the milk. Pour the milk and eggs mixture over the flour mixture and stir until just combined. The batter will be thick and lumpy.2 large eggs, 1 ½ cups whole milk
- Transfer the batter to a your buttered springform pan, then smooth the top of the batter. Place the springform pan in the center of the oven and bake for about a hour and 15 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean. *Check the cake at 50 minutes to make sure the top isn't getting too browned, if needed, cover with a sheet of aluminum foil.
- Remove the cake from your oven and allow to cool slightly on a wire cooling rack, about 5 minutes. Then remove from the springform pan and allow to cool slightly, if serving warm. Or allow to cool completely if serving later.
Vanilla Custard Sauce
- In a saucepan, heat the heavy cream and sugar over a medium temperature until it comes to a low boil. Stir the heavy cream occasionally as it heats, rapidly if needed to prevent the heavy cream from boiling too rapidly. If needed, remove your saucepan from the heat to keep your cream at a low boil.1 ½ cups heavy cream, ½ cup sugar
- Whisk the egg yolks while the heavy cream is heating. Then slowly add the heated heavy cream and sugar slowly (very slowly at first to prevent cooking the eggs!). Drizzle in a tablespoon potion initially, whisk, repeat until the egg yolks have been tempered with the heated cream. It should take a few minutes of whisking to fully incorporate the heated cream and egg yolks.6 large egg yolks
- Return the cream to your saucepan. Continually whisk the mixture over medium-low temperature until the sauce thickens, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla extract.½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- Transfer to a glass bowl, jar, or small creamer carafe with a sheet of plastic wrap laying on the surface to prevent 'skin' that will form. Serve warm over cake if desired, store refrigerated.
Equipment You May Need
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Angela is an at home chef that developed a passion for all things cooking and baking at a young age in her Grandma's kitchen. After many years in the food service industry, she now enjoys sharing all of her family favorite recipes and creating tasty dinner and amazing dessert recipes here at Bake It With Love!
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