Irish Apple Cake, known as Kerry Apple Cake in many parts of Ireland, is the perfect St. Patrick’s Day dessert. Lots of tart, crisp apples create a super moist cake that is baked to perfection. With its crunchy top, Irish Apple Cake is amazing when served warm or cold.
I adapted this awesome cake from the Ultimate Irish Apple Cake.
Ingredients
I used the following ingredients for this delicious cake: Unsalted butter, granulated sugar, egg, vanilla extract, Kosher salt, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, all-purpose flour, Granny Smith apples, and toasted pecans.
Making the Irish Apple Cake
Making the Irish Apple CakeI started by beating together the butter and sugar with my electric mixer. Then, I added the beaten egg and vanilla extract.
I beat the mixture until it was light and fluffy. Next, I added the salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon, and beat the mixture until everything was well incorporated. I know that this is contrary to the view that you sift the salt, etc., with the flour. However, it seems to me that the main idea is to make sure that these ingredients are totally incorporated into the batter. What better way than to beat them with the “wet” ingredients? Anyway, this consistently works for me!
Once everything was well incorporated, I added the flour. I beat the mixture on low speed just until the flour was mixed in. Finally, I added the diced apples and pecans. I stirred the mixture with a wooden spoon until everything was mixed well.
The ratio of apples and pecans to flour was pretty high and the batter was quite thick. Not a problem! I transferred it to an 8-inch spring form pan that I had lined with parchment paper and sprayed with non-stick spray. Then, I evened out the batter with a wooden spoon. Before baking the cake, I sprinkled on a bit of turbinado sugar so that the top would have a nice crunch.
I baked the Irish Apple Cake in a 350° F preheated oven for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, a toothpick inserted in the center came out clean, indicating that the cake was done. I removed the cake from the oven and let it rest for about 5 minutes. Then, I removed the cake from the springform pan and let it cool on a wire rack.
I served the Irish Apple Cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the top. It was amazing. The apple taste shone through as did the crunch of the top and the toasted pecans. It would have been equally good with some whipped cream flavored with Bailey’s Irish Cream. Yum!
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Irish Apple Cake
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter softened (room temperature)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg beaten (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 to 4 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced (2 cups) (See Note 1)
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted (See Note 2)
- 1 Tablespoon Turbanido sugar optional (See Note 3)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Generously grease an 8-inch springform pan.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla; beat on high until creamy.
- Add the salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon; beat until fully incorporated
- Add the flour; beat on low just until combined. Fold in the apples and pecans.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. If desired, sprinkle with Turbanido sugar.
- Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the cake is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven; let the cake set in the pan for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove from pan.
- Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Yield: 8 servings.
Chula's Expert Tips
- The number of apples depends on their size. Cut apples into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces.
- To toast pecans, place in preheated 350° F oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Watch carefully.
- Turbanido sugar is available under the name Sugar in the Raw.
This will be our dessert for St Patrick’s Day. Haven’t made an apple cake this year but this one sounds excellent and I will be making the traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage with carrots and potatoes. This will make the perfect dessert.
Carolyn
Yum! Don’t be fooled by the dominance of the apples. They really shine through! Chula
This looks like it will be my St. Patrick’s Day dessert. I’ve been wanting to make an Apple Cake for a while and this sounds delicious.
Carolyn
I hope you like it. Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Chula
Made it today, OMG it is outstanding. Walter took one bite and said, “You can make this again and again.” He loved it. I admit the ratio of apples to flour had me not quite sure but it was out of this world. Dear Lord, that is going to be my breakfast in the morning. LOVED it!!!!! I knew we wouldn’t wait until tomorrow to cut into it. Just so you know, I had the turbinado sugar in my pantry and I think it is a MUST.
Carolyn
YAY! I’m so glad that you and Walter liked it. I agree that the turbinado sugar adds an incredible crunch! Enjoy your breakfast. Chula
We served this Kerry Cake for St. Patrick’s Day dessert this year, and everyone loved it. My springform pan was 8.5 inches, and I might increase the recipe just a bit next time just to make a thicker cake. We served this with a scoop of vanilla ice cream beside it and topped it with some whipped cream and a drizzle of Bailey’s Irish Cream. Decadent!
Decadent is right Susan! It’s really good with a Bailey’s caramel sauce as well.