Irish Cuisine: Apple Cake Recipe
Apple, Hazelnuts and Raisins in a Traditional Irish Hallowe'en Cake
Oct 4, 2008
Hallowe'en feasts in Ireland have included the traditional foods of barm brack, colcannon and apple cake. Light slices of apple cake are celebratory of Hallowe'en (or Halloween) on October 31 each year. Given the abundance of ripe cooking apples, Irish Apple Cake can be enjoyed as baking for local Apple Festivals taking place in the first two weeks of October.
Irish Food Apple Cake Recipe
Apple Cake, a traditional Irish food, sandwiches hazelnuts, raisins and cooking apples between light and delicate sponge. Slices of the Irish Apple Cake can be served cold or warm.
Ingredients:
For cooking in a 23cm / 9 in cake tin
- 450g or 1 lb cooking apples
- 1 lemon
- 175g or 6 oz Irish butter
- 175g or 6 oz caster sugar
- 3 large free range eggs
- 225g or 8 oz white self-raising flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 50g or 2 oz raisins
- 2 tbsp chopped hazelnuts
Directions:
- Grate the rind of the lemon and set this zest to one side. Squeeze the lemon juice.
- Peel, core and thinly slice the cooking apples. Sprinkle with the lemon juice and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
- In a bowl, mix the butter, lemon zest and the caster sugar until light and creamy.
- Beat the eggs and then add to the bowl gradually.
- Sift the white self raising flour and baking powder together into the bowl.
- Fold into the creamed mixture.
- Grease and base line a 23 cm / 9 in round cake tin.
- Spoon half of the mixture into the prepared cake tin to cover the base well.
- Mix the cinnamon into the thinly slices of apple and lemon juice.
- Arrange the apples slices into the cake mixture in the tin.
- Sprinkle the raisins and chopped hazelnuts on top of the apples.
- Smooth the remaining cake mixture over the hazelnuts, raisins and apples
- Bake in the oven for 1 hour until golden brown on the top.
- Cool in the tin for 15 minutes and then turn the cake out to serve as warm slices or cold.
Apple Cake in Ireland and the Traditions of Hallowe'en
Brid Mahon in Land of Milk and Honey: The Story of Traditional Irish Food and Drink, (Merdier Press, 1998) writes about Hallowe’en: "people looked into the future, and when feasting and merriment were ordained. Up to recent time this was a day of abstinence, when according to church ruling no flesh meat was allowed. Colcannon, apple cake and barm brack, as well as apples and nuts were part of the festive fare".
Irish food recipes for apple cake, colcannon and barm brack can be created by cooks for Hallowe'en and enjoyed at other times of the year when the ingredients of potatoes,apples and fruits are in season.
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