Irish Apple Cake with Custard Sauce: One-Bowl Fall Bake That Keeps All Week

Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Butter a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment.

Serves 10

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed, plus more for the pan
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for the top
• 3 tart apples such as Granny Smith or Bramley, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• For the custard: 1 1/2 cups whole milk, 3 egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Butter a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cloves. Add the cold butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in the 3/4 cup sugar.
3. Fold in the apple slices so they are coated in the flour mixture.
4. Whisk the eggs, milk and vanilla in a measuring cup, pour into the bowl and stir just until a thick, lumpy batter forms with no dry pockets. It will be much stiffer than a typical cake batter.
5. Scrape into the pan, smooth the top and sprinkle with the 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake 50 to 60 minutes until deep golden and a skewer in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out.
6. For the custard, warm the 1 1/2 cups milk in a saucepan until steaming. Whisk the yolks and 1/4 cup sugar in a bowl, then slowly whisk in the hot milk. Return to the pan and stir over low heat 4 to 5 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon. Off the heat, stir in the vanilla.
7. Serve wedges warm or at room temperature with custard poured over. The cake keeps, covered, for 5 days and the custard for 3 days in the fridge.
8. Every Irish farmhouse kitchen had a version of this cake, baked in September and October when the orchards dropped more Bramleys than anyone could stew. It sits somewhere between a scone and a cake, dense and craggy with fruit rather than airy, and it was built to last on the counter for a week of tea breaks and lunch tins. The custard is the Irish way, but it is also the practical way: a slice packed into a lunchbox needs nothing, while the same slice on a plate at home becomes a proper dessert the moment the custard hits it.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 380 kcal
• Protein: 8g
• Fat: 14g
• Carbohydrates: 57g
• Fiber: 2g
• Sugar: 26g
• Sodium: 220mg