Irish apple custard dessert (Printable)

Tender spiced apples baked in a soft butter cake served with creamy homemade custard.

# What You Need:

→ Apple Cake

01 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1½ teaspoons baking powder
03 - ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
04 - ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
05 - ¼ teaspoon salt
06 - ½ cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
07 - ½ cup granulated sugar
08 - 3 large apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
09 - 2 large eggs
10 - ½ cup whole milk
11 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 - 2 tablespoons demerara or turbinado sugar

→ Custard

13 - 2 cups whole milk
14 - 3 large egg yolks
15 - ¼ cup granulated sugar
16 - 1 tablespoon cornstarch
17 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

# How to Make It:

01 - Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and line a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper.
02 - In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
03 - Add the cold, cubed butter and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
04 - Stir in the granulated sugar. Add the sliced apples and toss to coat evenly.
05 - In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract.
06 - Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture and stir gently until just combined. Do not overmix.
07 - Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan, spreading it evenly. Sprinkle the top with demerara or turbinado sugar. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.
08 - While the cake bakes, prepare the custard: In a saucepan, heat the milk over medium heat until just steaming.
09 - In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch until pale and smooth.
10 - Gradually pour the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Do not let it boil. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
11 - Serve the apple cake warm or at room temperature, drizzled with the warm custard.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The magic happens when tart apples meet sweet cake and the custard ties everything together
  • It is one of those desserts that actually gets better as it sits, developing a denser, more tender crumb
02 -
  • Overmixing the batter will make the cake tough, so stop as soon as you no longer see dry flour
  • The custard can go from perfect to scrambled in seconds, so keep the heat low and stir without stopping
03 -
  • Use the coldest butter possible and work quickly to keep it from melting into the flour
  • If your custard looks lumpy, press it through a fine mesh sieve and no one will ever know

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