Irish Apple Cake
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Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with this authentic Irish Apple Cake! Hearty, moist, and full of sweet apples, served with a creamy whiskey hard sauce.
Table of Contents
- Here’s Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- How To Make Irish Apple Cake
- More Recipes
This is the kind of cake you could enjoy just about any time of year. It’s moist, hearty, and just bursting with tart, juicy apples. The more apples, the better. It packs in FOUR Granny Smiths, and the almost bread-y texture of the cake is a perfect foil. It really stands up to all that fruit.
There’s just a hint of warm spice in this recipe. Just enough to bring out the best in the fruit. This cake is really meant to be all about the apples, and boy, is it! They really shine in this authentic Irish dessert. Before it goes into the oven, the top of the cake gets a generous sprinkling of granulated sugar, for crunch and a beautiful sparkling crust. It’s fantastic!
Serve yourself a slice over a pool of creamy whiskey hard sauce. The caramel notes in the whiskey complement the apples in the most delicious way!
This cake works for any occasion. Serve it at brunch with coffee, bring it to a potluck, or offer it after dinner with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and watch it disappear.
With simple ingredients and classic flavors, this cake delivers great results. Let’s get started.
Here’s Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Authentic, old-fashioned vibes with a sturdy, comforting crumb.
- Packed with apples for a moist texture and bright flavor.
- Warm spices that complement the fruit without overpowering it.
- Whiskey hard sauce makes it feel bakery-level impressive!
- Easy to make ahead, and even better the next day.
Ingredients You’ll Need
The recipe card at the bottom of the post contains the full list with all of the amounts. Refer to that when you’re cooking.
For the Irish Apple Cake
- Cake flour: This gives the cake a soft, tender crumb. All-purpose flour works too, but the texture will be a bit more rustic.
- Granulated sugar: Sweetens without weighing the cake down.
- Baking powder: Make sure it’s fresh. If it has been in the cupboard since last year, it’s time for a fresh one.
- Cinnamon: Adds warmth and that classic apple-cake flavor.
- Kosher salt: Balances sweetness and helps to bring out the spice.
- Cloves: A tiny amount goes a long way!
- Nutmeg: Freshly grated tastes extra fragrant, but ground will work if that’s what you have.
- Unsalted butter (softened): Adds richness and helps create a tender crumb.
- Eggs: Use fresh eggs if you have access to them.
- Buttermilk: Adds tenderness and a slight tang. See below for a substitution if you don’t have buttermilk.
- Granny Smith apples: Tart, firm apples that hold their shape and taste amazing. Honeycrisp or Braeburn are great alternatives.
- Sugar for garnish: Gives a lightly crackly, sweet top.
For the Whiskey Hard Sauce
- Unsalted butter (softened): The base of the sauce, making it creamy and rich.
- Powdered sugar: Sweetens while keeping the sauce smooth.
- Irish whiskey: Adds warmth and a little bite. Use your favorite.
- Vanilla extract: Rounds out the flavor.
- Pinch of salt: Keeps the sweetness in check.
- Heavy cream or milk (optional): Helps loosen the sauce if you want it softer and more drizzly.
How To Make Irish Apple Cake
Step 1: Prep your pan and oven
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper for easy release.
Step 2: Mix the dry ingredients
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and nutmeg until well combined.
Step 3: Cut in the butter
Add the softened butter and work it into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
You can use a pastry blender, two forks, or your fingertips for this step. A stand mixer on low also works, but be careful not to overmix.
Step 4: Add the eggs and buttermilk
Whisk the eggs with the buttermilk, then stir them into the batter until just combined. The batter will be thick.
Step 5: Fold in the apples
Gently fold in the chopped apples until evenly distributed.
Step 6: Bake
Spread the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with a little sugar for garnish.
Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (or with a few moist crumbs).
Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack to cool.
Step 7: Make Sauce
- Beat until creamy – Beat softened butter until smooth and creamy.
- Sweeten and flavor – Gradually mix in powdered sugar, then add whiskey, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Beat until fluffy.
- Adjust texture – If you prefer a thinner sauce, add a splash of cream or milk, a little at a time, until it reaches the consistency you like.
Step 8: Enjoy
Spoon over warm cake so it softens and melts into the crumb.
Helpful Tips and Tricks
- Chop apples into small, even pieces so they bake up tender and distribute nicely.
- Don’t overmix once the wet ingredients go in. Stir just until combined for a tender crumb.
- Use parchment paper. This cake is moist, and parchment makes unmolding stress-free.
- Serve the cake slightly warm for extra comfort, especially with the hard sauce.
More Recipes
Irish Apple Cake with Whiskey Hard Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups (312.5 g) cake flour
- 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon (0.13 teaspoon) ground cloves
- 1/4 teasppon (0.25 teasppon) ground nutmeg, (a few scratches of freshly grated nutmeg)
- 3/4 cup (170.25 g) unsalted butter, , softened
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup (180 g) buttermilk*
- 4 Stemilt Granny Smith apples,, peeled, cored, and roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, for garnish
Instructions
- Please visit Stemilt’s blog, The Stem, for more info and the full recipe with directions.
Hi Allie, First I want to say…I had absolutely no issues navigating this recipe or the links provided. And not meaning to imply I’m smarter than any of the reviewers that had trouble, but more to the point of I am not rushing through to read the recipe, but am taking the time to read all the helpful instructions provided; which ensure a successful bake on my part. Your site is setup very well and I have always found it easy to click back and forth to instructions and ingredients with relative ease (unless my hands have batter on them, but that’s my problem..haha). Well done on this site!
Next, I am back here today to make this recipe for the fourth time. It has become one of my husband’s favorite desserts. The first time I made it I thought the amount of apples (once I had them cut up and I’m using Gala apples) had to be incorrect, because the ratio to the batter seemed off, but I went back to your comment that “its all about the apples and you can’t have enough”, and folded them all in. The final bake was a “WOW” moment. I’ve made the hard sauce (with and without whisky) and it is yummy, but the cake does take center stage and is just as yummy without the sauce. I’ve been adding chopped walnuts to the cake top prior to baking and again, so yummy! I also have been cutting the cake into pie size slices and freezing and it holds up well when thawed. The crunch of the sugar on the cake top gets a bit lost in the freezing process, but it is still ‘oh so yummy!
Another 5 star rating from me!! I love your site and your recipes!
Thank you for making it so difficult to get this recipe. Cake looks good but can’t find the recipe.
It’s at the bottom. You would have scrolled right past it to leave your comment. You can also hit the “Jump to Recipe” button at the top, just below the title. Works just like every other recipe site out there!
Where’s the sauce recipie?
Please click the link given in the recipe directions.
I adore hardsauce. What a great way to serve this cake!
Mmmm! This cake is perfect!
I love apple cakes and this one looks fabulous, I will have to try it even though St. Patrick’s Day has come and gone. However, you answered a question about the cake pan on Stemilt by saying there’s a link to the pan you use here on this page, but I can’t find any such link. I have the same question.
Hey Millie! The link is below the recipe card. Scroll all the way to the bottom and just past the Pinterest board. It says “My Amazon Picks,” and there are four pics of tools/ingredients I used to make the recipe. Just click those affiliate links and you can purchase from there. Hope that’s helpful!
Went to the link and the cake is no longer on the apple suppliers website, bummer
Aly I’m stumped! I just clicked through and the recipe is there- did you scroll down all the way? Because there is a large graphic at the top of the page so you might not see it immediately.
Allie this is absolutely gorgeous! Looks like we’re on the same page this week 🙂 Pinning!
Love that! So happy you like this Tricia- thanks so much for pinning!
Love this cake! And the sauce … hm would love a slice with my afternoon tea! 🙂 Beautiful photos as always 🙂
Thank you so much Julia!