Irish Apple Cake isn’t just easy to make but it’s absolutely delicious as well. Tart apples and a subtle blend of spices create a tender and flavorful cake that is perfect for St. Patrick’s Day or any time you desire a delicious apple dessert.

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What Kind of Apples to Use for Irish Apple Cake?

In this recipe, Granny Smith apples are used because of their tartness and how they hold up during baking. Granny Smith apples are my go-to apple when baking because they bake beautifully and they’re not overly sweet.

Traditionally though, crabapples are used in Irish Apple Cake because of the abundance of availability in Ireland of them.

Other firm and tart apples such as Honey Crisp, Jonagold, and even Golden Delicious.

Ingredients in Irish Apple Cake

• unsalted butter, cut into pats
• granulated sugar
• Granny Smith apples (about 4 Granny Smith Apples)
• whole eggs
• all-purpose flour
• baking powder
• salt
• cloves
• nutmeg, ground
• milk

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How to Make Irish Apple Cake

Prep the apples – Peel the apples and chop them into 1/2-inch pieces.

Preheat the oven – Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Grease the springform pan – Grease and flour a 9″ round springform pan.

Combine the dry ingredients – In a large bowl, sift the all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, cloves and nutmeg. Set aside.

Cut in the butter – Add the pats of butter into the flour and use a pasty cutter or a large fork to cut the butter into the flour mixture. Mash the butter into the flour until the mixture is made up of small crumbles.

Add the sugar and apples – Add the granulated sugar to the bowl followed by the chopped apples. Mix well.

Make the egg mixture – In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and milk together.

Make the cake batter – Pour the egg mixture into the large bowl stirring to combine the ingredients evenly. The batter will be thick and lumpy.

Add the cake batter to the pan – Scoop the batter into the prepared cake pan and flatten the top of the batter down using the back of a spoon.

Top with sugar – Sprinkle the remaining granulated sugar over the top of the cake.

Bake – Bake for 45-50 minutes. Test the center of the cake with a toothpick for doneness.
The top of the cake should be golden brown.

Cool – Allow the cake to cool for 20 minutes before removing it from the springform pan.

Helpful Tips for Making Irish Apple Cake

Spoon and level the flour – Stir and spoon the flour before adding it to a measuring cup to prevent the addition of excess flour in your cake. This method can reduce the amount of flour used in a recipe significantly.

Use a pasty cutter – Use cold butter when cutting into flour. This prevents the butter from melting and creates a light and flaky texture for the Irish Apple Cake. Alternatively, a lark fork or crumbling the mixture up with clean hands can also be done to cut the butter into the flour mixture. A pastry cutter is much easier!

Use the right apples – Make sure to use the correct apples for the recipe! Not all apples have the right sweetness/tart combo and not all apples hold their shape while baking. As stated above, Granny Smith, Honey Crisp, etc. are good options for baking.

Make Peeling Apples easy – Use a fruit and vegetable peeler to peel the apples quickly and efficiently.