Irish Apple Cake

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

I realize it’s been nearly a month since my last recipe. That’s because I spent the past few weeks traveling with my new husband throughout Greece for our honeymoon! It was even more beautiful than I imagined, and of course, the food was absolutely incredible. I plan to write more about our trip and share my favorite Greek recipes in upcoming blog posts, but this week I’m focused on a fall recipe inspired by Irish Fest in Indianapolis this weekend.

I realize there are still two weeks left of summer, but in my mind September equals fall. It already feels like such a short season, so I’m excited to get it started as soon as possible. 

I’m kicking off the fall cooking season with Irish apple cake!

Apparently apple trees have been growing strong in Ireland for 3,000 years and desserts and beverages made from apples are very popular.

Traditionally, Irish apple cakes were made with crab apples, but any tart, crisp apple will work well. I’m using granny smith apples. Even though I would never eat a granny smith apple on its own (too tart and crunchy), they’re great for baking because they maintain their firmness.

One of the best parts about this cake is all of the textures at play—firm apple chunks suspended in tender cake with a crunchy cinnamon sugar topping.

Just as a heads up—even though it’s called a cake, it’s more like a quick bread in the sense that it’s not as sweet as a traditional American cake. So if you’re the type of person who likes cake for breakfast (just learned this applies to my husband and his brothers!), this is the perfect cake for you.

Irish Apple Cake

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 12 Tablespoons Challenge butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 granny smith apples peeled, diced
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
2. In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg
3. Cut in butter using pastry blender
4. Stir in sugar and apples
5. In separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla
6. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix everything until just combined
7. Pour mixture into springform pan and spread top evenly
8. In small bowl, mix together 2 Tablespoons sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over top of cake.
9. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Recipe adapted from Cooking Classy