We’ve never really been huge celebrators of St. Patrick’s Day, but with everything closed due to coronavirus and little else to do, I figured it would be fun to bake something. My mom suggested that I make something green, but with our currently limited ingredients I didn’t have many options. Instead, I decided to look for desserts that actually originated from Ireland, and I found this lovely apple cake!
The original cake recipe made enough for twelve servings–but since it’s only the four of us, I just made half. This turned out to be plenty; we each ate a piece and still have four left.
Making the cake itself was pretty simple. At first, I was a little concerned because the batter was so thick, but I was relieved to find that that’s actually how it’s supposed to be. Irish apple cake is very dense, with a texture quite similar to banana bread. In fact, it has a lot of similarities to banana bread, such as its moistness and subtler taste (as opposed to the more intense sweetness of a regular cake).
Traditionally, the cake would also be served with a creamy custard sauce drizzled over the top. When making the sauce, you have to combine hot milk with eggs, which is always risky because there’s a chance of accidentally cooking the eggs.
The custard came out a little curdled this time, but it was getting late and I didn’t really want to remake it, so I put it on anyway. I’m sure that next time, when I’m not faced with a shortage of time and ingredients, it will turn out better. While it wasn’t the smoothest it could be, it still tasted perfectly fine, and served as a nice compliment to the cake.
We all enjoyed this dessert, and agreed that it was a fun and tasty treat to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with! If you’re interested in trying it out, here’s a link to the recipe: https://www.cookingclassy.com/irish-apple-cake-custard-sauce/
Hope you’re all staying safe and healthy!
