Irish Apple Cake
A tender, buttery cake studded with spiced apples and topped with a sweet cinnamon streusel. This rustic Irish dessert is moist, comforting, and ready in under an hour.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Servings
- 8
- Calories
- 385
- Protein
- 6g
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 whole large eggs
- ½ cup full-fat Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 whole Granny Smith apples, medium
- ¾ cup rolled oats
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed
Instructions
- 1
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch round cake pan with butter and line the bottom with parchment paper — this prevents sticking and makes removal easier.
- 2
In a small bowl, whisk together 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 0.25 teaspoon ground nutmeg, and 0.25 teaspoon fine sea salt. Set this dry mixture aside.
- 3
Peel 4 medium Granny Smith apples using a vegetable peeler, then cut them in half and scoop out the cores with a melon baller or small spoon. Slice each half into thin half-moons, about 1/4-inch thick, and set aside in a bowl.
- 4
In a large mixing bowl, cream together 0.5 cup softened unsalted butter and 0.75 cup granulated sugar using an electric mixer on medium speed for 3-4 minutes, until the mixture is pale, fluffy, and noticeably lighter in color — this incorporates air that helps the cake rise.
- 5
Add 2 large eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition for about 1 minute. The mixture should look smooth and creamy, not curdled.
- 6
Pour in 0.5 cup full-fat Greek yogurt and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, then mix on low speed just until combined — do not overmix, or the cake will be tough.
- 7
Add the reserved dry ingredients to the wet mixture in two additions, folding gently with a rubber spatula until just combined. The batter should be thick and smooth with no streaks of flour visible.
- 8
Gently fold the sliced apples into the batter with a few sweeping motions of the spatula — be gentle so the apples don't break apart and turn to mush.
- 9
Pour the apple batter into your prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula so it bakes evenly.
- 10
In a small bowl, combine 0.75 cup rolled oats, 0.5 cup packed light brown sugar, 0.25 cup all-purpose flour, and 0.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Add 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed, and using your fingertips, rub the mixture together until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs with some pea-sized clumps remaining — this creates a crispy, buttery topping.
- 11
Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the batter, pressing it down very gently so it adheres but doesn't compress into a solid layer.
- 12
Place the pan in your preheated 350°F oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake (avoiding the apples) comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it, and the top is golden brown. The cake should smell fragrant and cinnamon-forward.
- 13
Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes — this allows the crumb to set and makes removal easier. Then turn it out onto a wire rack and cool completely, about 30 minutes, before slicing.
- 14
Slice into 8 wedges and serve at room temperature or slightly warm, with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream if you like.
Tools you’ll need
- 9-inch round cake pan
- parchment paper
- small mixing bowl
- whisk
- vegetable peeler
- melon baller or small spoon
- large mixing bowl
- electric mixer
- rubber spatula
- toothpick
- wire cooling rack
Cook smarter
Get matched recipes for what’s in your fridge
CookSnap is a free iOS app that finds real recipes from the ingredients you already have. No more grocery-list aspirations.
