Moist and tender petite cake squares, bursting with apples and topped with a scrumptious streusel and a fresh apple garnish, will surely delight guests who come for afternoon tea. Balance the sweetness of this traditional Irish dessert with a complementary and comforting cup of hot tea for a marvelous pairing.
Irish Apple Cakes
Serves: 16
Ingredients
- 1⁄2 cup salted Irish butter, softened
- 1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1⁄4 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1⁄8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1⁄4 cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 cups small-diced peeled Granny Smith apples
- Oat Streusel (recipe follows)
- Garnish: finely diced unpeeled Granny Smith apple
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, allowing edges to hang over sides. Spray foil with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, and vanilla extract with a mixer at medium-high speed until light and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
- In a small bowl, stir together milk and sour cream. Add flour mixture to butter mixture in thirds, alternately with milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating at low speed. Spread batter into prepared baking pan, smoothing with an offset spatula. Scatter diced apples evenly onto batter surface. Scatter streusel evenly over apples.
- Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean with very few crumbs, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cake cool completely in pan.
- Using excess foil as handles, remove cake from pan. Remove foil and place cake on a cutting surface. Using a sharp, long knife and pressing downward to create clean cuts, trim and discard rough edges and cut into 16 squares. Store cake squares in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
- Just before serving, garnish with unpeeled apple, if desired.
Oat Streusel
Serves: approximately 1 3⁄4 cups
Ingredients
- 1⁄2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1⁄3 cup quick-cooking oats
- 1⁄4 cup granulated sugar
- 1⁄4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 3⁄4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 6 tablespoons cold Irish salted butter, cubed
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Using a pastry blender or 2 forks, cut in butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Use immediately.
I used this recipe for my Wicked themed afternoon tea party! In addition to the Granny Smith apples for garnish, I added Pink Lady apples too 🙂 They were really tasty!