Kerry Apple Cake, also known as Irish Apple Cake, is a moist cake with a crunchy top, and can be served cold or warm with chilled cream or custard.
An Irish Apple Cake is technically not a cake at all. Apple bread is a better description, but I suppose our ancestors assigned the title cake to any baked good with a little bit of precious sugar added.
Table of Contents
Traditional Apple Cake Cooked Over An Open Fire
Known as Kerry Apple Cake in many parts of Ireland, I thought it was high time to share my recipe, especially since we took a lovely photo tour of County Kerry in an earlier blog post this week.
This cake was traditionally cooked in a bastible, a black wrought iron cooking pot. The bread was covered in the pot and hung over the fire to cook.
Here's a quick video recipe tutorial which shows how simple this cake is to bake...
I remember my granny's kitchen in County Cork, with a black iron kettle singing over the fire, or the bastible cooking potatoes or bread. The day the open fire was replaced with a big range, complete with oven and cooktop, has left an indelible mark on my memory.
On that day I witnessed the end of an era. But that's a story for another day.
Here's my traditional Irish apple cake recipe.
Ingredients for Kerry Apple Cake
Here's a list of the simple ingredients you'll need. If you check out the printable recipe at the end of this post, you'll find the US amounts and metric amounts for each ingredient.
- cake flour
- baking powder
- salt
- ground cloves
- nutmeg
- butter
- sugar
- Granny Smith apples
- eggs
- milk
- sugar (to sprinkle on top of cake)
Best Apples for Kerry Apple Cake
The apples I use are Granny Smiths. If I was in Ireland I would use Bramley cooking apples, the best apples in the world for baking. But alack and alas I can't find my favorite cooking apple here in America.
But why are they better than an eating apple, you may ask? When cooked they retain a lovely tangy flavor, and with heat develop a perfect 'melt-in-the-mouth' texture, since they contain more acid and less sugar than other apples.
Granny Smiths are my chosen substitute when baking this cake in America, because they are the tangiest of American apples I can find.
Every apple is not created equally. They come in all the same shapes, but different sizes.
The amount of sliced apples used is key to apple cake success so really check your apple size. Three apples means three large Granny Smiths. If you can only get small apples, then you will need to use at least six.
Some Irish apple cake recipes call for oats in the ingredient list, but my Irish granny's recipe is oat free.
Directions for Irish Apple Cake
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a 9-inch round baking pan by spraying with oil or coating with butter.
Prepare the Dry Ingredients
Sift the cake flour, baking powder, salt, cloves and nutmeg into a large mixing bowl.
Trust me - you need a big bowl, because once the sliced apples are added you'll have a large amount of cake mix.
I like to prepare the flour and rub in the butter before I peel and slice my apples. This avoids adding browning apple slices to the cake.
All-purpose flour works for this recipe, but I prefer cake flour. This lighter flour produces a softer crusted cake, which better resembles an apple cake made in Ireland.
You'll notice I don't use any cinnamon. I prefer to add a hint of cloves and nutmeg, spices more closely associated with apples in Ireland. If you can't imagine cooked apples without cinnamon, feel free to toss some in.
When I first came to America I was overwhelmed by the amount of cinnamon used in so many breads and cakes. It took many years for my taste buds to adjust to apple pie with cinnamon. Irish apple pies or tarts are made without spice or with a hint of cloves.
Cut the cold butter into small pieces and add to the flour in the bowl. Rub them together using your fingers or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.
I confess I don't own a pastry cutter. Throughout my childhood I watched my mom and grannys rubbing butter into flour using their bare hands, so there's no modernizing me at this stage. You can't teach an old horse new tricks.
If you use all-purpose flour instead of cake flour, I would increase the amount of butter to 6 ounces. This helps keep the crust from getting too hard.
Next toss in the sugar and mix it through the flour.
Prepare the Apples
Now it's time to wash your hands and prepare the apples. Use a minimum of 3 large apples, but in my opinion, it is hard to have too much apple in this cake, so feel free to add an additional one.
Peel and slice the apples into similar sized pieces.
My apple slices are about ¼ inch thick. Lie each slice flat and cut them into triangular quarters. The thinner rectangular side slices can be cut in half.
Some cooks like to dice the apples into smaller pieces and add walnuts. I prefer larger apple slices and as my granny would have said - "It's far from walnuts you were reared."
Toss the apples into the flour mixture and combine them thoroughly.
My advice is to work quickly because apples turn brown pretty fast. The faster they are covered in flour mixture the better. You can see how my apples are beginning to go a little brown at the edges, but a pause was needed to take photos.
Form the Dough
Beat the eggs and add a dash of milk. Add to the apples and flour and combine well with a large spoon.
Add more milk as needed to fully moisten the flour. The result is a pretty sticky dough.
The final texture is somewhere between a dough and a batter.
Transfer the dough into the prepared cake pan and flatten the top surface using the back of a large spoon.
I use a 9-inch round pan. An 8-inch round pan will simply yield a taller cake. However, moving up to a 10-inch round pan is not advised. With these specific ingredient ratios, the cake would be way too flat.
Next comes the final touch for a crispy top layer.
Sprinkle two tablespoons of sugar over the top of the cake.
In Ireland I recommend using caster sugar, but regular American sugar is just perfect. Regular Irish sugar is far grainier than the American variety.
Oven Baking
Bake the cake in the preheated 375 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes. A toothpick or knife will come out clean when it is cooked and the top will be a lovely golden brown.
Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire wrack to finish cooling.
I love to see the slices of apple peeping through the top layer. Just yummy!
Recipe Card for Irish Apple Cake
Here's the printable recipe card for your kitchen files.
Kerry Apple Cake
Ingredients
- 3 cups cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- 4 ounces butter
- ¾ cups sugar
- 4 large Granny Smith apples
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup cup milk
- 2 tablespoons sugar to sprinkle on top of cake
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a 9-inch round baking pan by spraying with oil or coating with butter.
- Sift the cake flour, baking powder, salt, cloves and nutmeg into a large mixing bowl.
- Cut the butter into the flour and rub it in using your fingers or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.
- Toss in the sugar and combine it with the flour mixture.
- Peel and slice the apples into similar 1" to 2" sized pieces.
- Add the apples into the flour mixture and mix them thoroughly.
- Beat the eggs and add a dash of milk. Add to the apples and flour and combine well with a large spoon. Add more milk as needed to fully moisten the flour. The result is a pretty sticky mixture.
- Transfer the dough into the prepared cake pan and flatten the top surface using the back of a large spoon.
- Sprinkle two tablespoons of sugar over the top of the cake.
- Bake the cake in the preheated 375 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire wrack to finish cooling.
Nutrition Information is estimated based on the ingredients and cooking instructions as described in each recipe and is intended to be used for informational purposes only. Please note that nutrition details may vary based on methods of preparation, origin and freshness of ingredients used.
My family love this cake served still slightly warm. Lovely with butter melting on top, or a dollop of cream or smothered in custard, you'll certainly be licking your fingers and asking for seconds.
Irish apple cake also tastes great with a scoop of melting ice cream. I love vanilla ice cream with the tartness of the apples.
Hope you all enjoy this little taste of rural Ireland.
Slán agus beannacht,
(Goodbye and blessings)
Mairéad -Irish American Mom
Pronunciation - slawn ah-gus ban-ock-th
Mairéad - rhymes with parade
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Ducklady
Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig ort, Mairéad. Greetings from County Waterford.
I have a lovely 8.5 inch/22cm Denby Dutch oven. I'm going to bake this cake in it in the oven but don't know if I should put the lid on it.
I suspect the lid in the open hearth allowed for the banking of coals on top, plus kept out any ash. My cousin in Mayo used to bake the cake daily in the open hearth, but did I think to ask for details??? Nope.
What do you think--lid or no lid? I'm probably going to try baking something in the open hearth sooner or later, but I'd better pick the brains of my older cousins first...
Nice blog. I find it helpful as I convert my Mayo grandmother's recipes back into Irish ingredients and cooking methods now that I've immigrated back to Ireland. She had to convert them to US ingredients when she emigrated.
Irish American Mom
I would recommend cooking without the lid in the oven. Too much steam could be generated as the cake heats and with the lid on it might steam rather than bake. Hot coals on the lid of a bastible created an oven with heat all around the cake. I believe my granny would remove the lid towards the end of cooking to make sure the outer crust would dry.
I hope you have a lovely Saint Patrick's Day in Ireland.
All the best,
Mairéad
☘️☘️☘️
Elizabeth Ann Birt
It was delish! We really enjoyed it! And, I chose not to add any cinammon. Actually, your comment about how much of that spice the US uses made me stop and think. When I think of apples I just naturally think of cinammon but for this recipe it was clove and nutmeg only. It was truly a hit with ages 3-74! However, I do have a question. Not sure if I have a slow oven or, if I left the cake in too long or, if the cake is a dryer texture. In order to achieve the browned top as shown in your picture I left the cake in the oven for 60 minutes. While it was delicious and very flavorful, it was a dryer cake and, I could see why it would be served with cream.
Irish American Mom
Hi Elizabeth - The texture of this cake is closer to a scone than a cake. Your oven could be a little slower than mine, since 60 minutes was quite a long time to brown the top. A little extra sugar sprinkled on top may help it brown faster. Thanks so much for taking the time to rate this recipe.
All the best,
Mairéad
Shannon Underwood
I was looking for something irish to make for a st.patricks day treat. I found this and made it. Oh my gosh! it was so easy and so delicious. I plan on making this very often! Thanks for sharing.
Irish American Mom
Hi Shannon - I'm so glad you found this Irish recipe - it truly is simple and delicious and a rustic tribute to the cooking of ancestors. I hope you had a lovely St. Patrick's Day celebration.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
☘️☘️☘️
Patricia P.
Mairéad, we're getting ready for St. Pat's and I'm making this lovely cake for the second year now--new tradition! That, and Guinness cottage pie instead of corned beef....my Irish ancestors were well and truly Americanized I have to say, but after our trip to Clare, Kerry, and Cork last year, I'm going back to my roots :D.
Thank you for all these wonderful recipes and your website, and stay safe and well!
Irish American Mom
Hi Patricia - I'm so glad you discovered my cake recipe. Your menu for Saint Patrick's Day sounds delicious. Thank you for checking out my recipes and ramblings and have a lovely Saint Patrick's Day. Sending good wishes to you and yours that you too may stay safe and well.
All the best,
Mairéad
D Wright Downs
One of our favorite desserts in Apple Season. Make it so often yet we never get tired of it.
Irish American Mom
Thank you so much for giving this apple cake your seal of approval. It's a simple yet delicious recipe and definitely one to be made over and over again.
Thanks so much for stopping by.
All the best,
Mairéad
Aine
Growing up in Galway, one of our neighbours used to make this cake and share it, but she never shared the recipe. I've tried many different versions, and this is the closest to what I remember!
Irish American Mom
Hi Aine - That's wonderful. I'm delighted my recipe is close to the apple cake your neighbor made.
All the best,
Mairéad
Jill
Followed this recipe's ingredients. I found the batter was very dry so I increased the milk to 2/3 cup.
Hubby & I had it with vanilla ice cream on the side. We both found it nice but a bit bland. I would increase the spices and add cinnamon. Nice cake with tea. Flour changes depending on where you live. In Alberta Canada we are very dry, so is our flour. In Ireland it's very humid, so the flour fluffs up with the moisture. That's why you need to adjust the milk.
Looking forward to trying more recipes.
Mel
My husband grew up in Ireland and was craving Kerry Apple Cake like his ma and nan used to make.
I used this recipe and it turned out perfect according to him.
I didn’t have ground clove so used cinnamon. I also cheated with the apples as we didn’t have any in the house but we did have a tin of pie apples so I used the whole tin (just cooked it a little longer and lower at the end).
Thank you for the recipe and helping me give my husband a taste of home. Living in hAustralia I was very thankful for the metric conversions too.
Irish American Mom
Hi Mel - Thanks for sharing your approval and great rating for this recipe. I'm so glad it helped you create a taste of home for your Irish husband. Thanks also for sharing your changes to the recipe - it's great to have tips to help other readers be creative when they make this recipe.
All the best,
Mairéad
Ann Pike
Great
Irish American Mom
Hi Ann - Glad you like this Irish apple cake. Best wishes for a very happy New Year.
Mairéad
Ken
Hi Mairéad,
My granddaughter and I made your Apple Kerry cake tonight for New Years Eve, and it came out absolutely perfect. We did use light brown sugar and a little cinnamon for the topping, and it worked just great. The cake was a big hit for sure, and we will be making this a lot in the future.
Thank you, and Happy New Year to you and your family
Irish American Mom
Hi Ken - I'm thrilled to hear my Kerry Apple cake was a success and a big hit in your house. It's one of my favorite recipes. Thanks so much for checking out my recipes and ramblings.
Best wishes to you and yours for a very happy New Year.
All the best,
Mairéad
Mags
This is traditional Irish baking at its best. Thanks for this lovely recipe.
Angela
Hello,
I would love to make this cake. I am Australian and use weights for all my cooking. When I clicked on the Metric tab it just kept taking me to the beginning of the post rather than converting the ingredients.
Could you please tell me the weight of 3 cups of cake flour?
Warm regards from Australia,
Angela
Irish American Mom
Hi Angela - sorry to hear you had trouble toggling to the metric version of this recipe. I'll check out what's happening. In the meantime here are the ingredients, in metric measurements.
375 g cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
110 g butter
150 g sugar
4 large Granny Smith apples
2 large eggs
60 ml cup milk
2 tablespoons sugar
I hope this cake turns out well for you.
All the best,
Mairéad
Amanda
This was my first time making apple cake and it was a huge hit. Apart from being delicious, I love that it was simple enough for the kids to help make. I used Pink Lady apples since they're my husband's favorite. I was a little unsure when making the batter because it felt like it was mostly apples and just a bit of flour, but it baked up perfectly and the ratio of apples to cake was spot on. I made the egg custard too (also a first) and it was a fantastic pairing. What an amazing blog. I'm so glad I stumbled upon it! I plan on making this cake many more times. Thanks for sharing your heritage and your recipes.
Irish American Mom
Hi Amanda - I'm so glad your Irish apple cake was a great success. Pink Lady applies are a great choice for this cake. Custard sauce is the perfect pairing with this cake. I'm delighted you found this little Irish American corner of the internet. Thanks for checking out my recipes and I hope you'll find many more Irish favorites in my recipe library. I hope you had a lovely Saint Patrick's Day.
All the best,
Mairéad
Rachael Maher
An absolute win! I made this (the first time) for my family’s St. Patrick’s Day dinner this year. Your cake was an instant hit, and they’ve all asked me repeatedly to make it again. Thanks for sharing this delightful recipe.
Irish American Mom
Hi Rachel - I'm so glad this cake was approved by your family - it's a simple yet delicious recipe, and a family favorite for me too. Thanks so much for rating my recipe. I really appreciate it.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
Deedee
First of all, love your blog! I learn a lot of different things and I enjoy that very much.
I do have a question , on our travels through Ireland we stayed at Ashford castle in Cong, they served for a dessert apple cake with clover ice cream made from clover found locally in the forest. I have searched high and low for a recipe for clover ice cream but to no avail. Do you by any chance know of or have a recipe for clover ice cream?
Thank you
Irish American Mom
Hi Deedee - Your clover ice cream at Ashford Castle sounds wonderful. It sounds like it is a chef's creation especially for the hotel restaurant. I'm afraid I don't know of this recipe, but if I ever come across it I'll be sure to come back to this comment to let you know. I'm intrigued by the concept so hopefully the recipe will find its way to us.
All the best,
Mairéad
Diane
Hi! Thank you for the recipe! It turned out very wall!!
Must say though, Granny Smith apples are not an American apple, but were “created” in Australia in the 19th. century! Popular world-wide now, of course ! 😄
Irish American Mom
Hi Diane - Lovely to hear your apple cake turned out nicely. Thanks for letting us know about the origin's of the Granny Smith apple. The name even sounds more Australian than American.
Thanks so much for stopping by.
All the best,
Mairéad
Ellen Erangey
Made this yesterday after receiving a copy of your ebook (Thanks!). Didn't have cake flour so used self raising and needed nearly a cup of milk as it seemed very dry (not sure if that was right or not; next time will use a bigger mixing bowl & see if I really need that extra milk). It turned out well though - so easy to make. Had some while still warm with cream cos we couldn't wait for dessert later that evening 😉 but made some birds custard to go with it for actual dessert.... delish!
Irish American Mom
Hi Ellen - Thanks for letting us know your cake turned out well using self-raising flour. You probably did need some extra milk to get the right consistency for your dough. Bird's custard is the perfect accompaniment to this cake.
Happy baking.
Mairéad
Shelia
It was Thanksgiving morning and I planned on making your Kerry Cake recipe instead of a third pie. I was taking desserts to my sister's house. I thought I had cake flour but no such luck. Made the cake anyway with mixed results. My overly critical husband took the first bite and loudly announced to one and all, "Well it's a little dry - kind of like eating a scone." He's not a big scone fan in case you didn't get that already:)! But my brother-in-law loves scones and loved the cake! As a point of reference the rest of the family liked it too - there was only one small piece left after dessert.
Will make with cake flour next time!!
Irish American Mom
Hi Sheila - Even with cake flour it will still resemble a scone, but it will be less dry than with all-purpose flour. It's a sweet bread rather than what we consider to be cake in America. So glad the rest of your family liked this little taste of Ireland. Thanks for stopping by.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
Sheri
I made this cake in November and my husband and 95year old mother-in-law loved it. So I decided to make it for the family (20 people) at Christmas. I'm making 2 in 8" springform pans. Can I make it a day or 2 ahead of time?I'm making your custard again but adding a bit more sugar. Can the custard be made earlier too?
It's so much cooking for one day, I need to make as much as I can ahead of time. We are also making your Irish Soda Bread. Will it keep a couple of days or should I freeze it? Were making the Cottage Pie a day ahead and the Fish and Chips during the party for an appetizer. It should be delicious. I love your blog and your recipes
Irish American Mom
Hi Sheri - I would make the soda bread and the apple cake only one day in advance. They get stale quickly. You could make the soda bread in advance and freeze it. I find the texture of the apples can change a little if you freeze the apple cake, so I don't recommend that. If you make the custard in advance a thick layer will form on the surface which has to be removed before reheating. It does not melt during reheating and can create a strange lumpy texture in the custard. You could reheat the custard in 30 second bursts in the microwave. Take the bowl out to stir the custard really well between each 30 second burst. Exactly how long you will need to fully heat it depends on how much custard you have and the power of your microwave. I hope you have a wonderful Irish family feast at Christmas.
All the best,
Mairéad
Karen B O'Brien
I made this cake exactly as written. I used an 8" pan. I was very tempted to add some cinnamon, because you are right it's everywhere in American baking, but I fought the urge. I wanted to experience what you described as Irish flavors. I have to say it was very good. We did not have any cream or custard but the next time I make it I'll be sure we do! It's one of those cakes that is good from breakfast to a late night snack. I know that from experience!
I will be making this cake again, and again. Thanks so much for the recipe.
Irish American Mom
Hi Karen - This is definitely a cake for any time of day. It's one of my all time favorite cakes, and I'm delighted to hear you enjoyed it too. It is very good with cinnamon but then we could call it an Irish American Apple Cake perhaps. Thanks so much for trying out my recipe and for taking the time to rate it. That really helps my blog with Google rankings.
All the best,
Mairéad
Katarzyna
Hi Mairead, i am Polish and just have done polish version of Your cake. Experimentally i added raisins and slightly changed proportions. Next time i'll be more obeyer and will use cake flour, because this time i used all-purpose one. As somebody else i hesitated to use cinamonn as my Dad loves it, but i wanted to try something another as usually. Great thanks for inspiration
Irish American Mom
Hi Katarzyna - Lovely to hear you were inspired to create a Polish version of this cake. It will be less dense if you use cake flour, rather than all-purpose four. Thanks for trying out my recipe and for stopping by with your feedback.
All the best,
Mairéad
Nan
When this prints it cut off the bottom of the recipe at #9.
I looked at the top and it says cook time 50 minutes.
Since I never made this before I trusted the time.
After taking it out at 50 minutes it appeared to be done, but when I tom it out of the pan it looked dry.
I went down in my office to look at the recipe bottom where it cut off. The bottom instructions say bake 45-50 minutes.
Maybe you should change that 50 minute cook time at the top.
Frustrating!
Irish American Mom
Thanks for this feedback, Nan. I'll definitely change that. Happy Saint Patrick's Day - you'll need a little custard if your apple cake is dry.
All the best,
Mairéad
Josey
A little late to the comments, but just came across this recipe from a search after getting a craving for my Nan’s. Looking forward to making it! Just a question - could you/would you use buttermilk rather than whole milk? In my memory, Nan used buttermilk (and it was cooked in the big open hearth even tho she had the big Aga - certain things were still always cooked in the hearth).
Thanks!
Irish American Mom
Hi Josey - If you use buttermilk instead of regular milk you would need to substitute one teaspoon of the baking powder with one teaspoon of baking soda. This will react with the acidity of the buttermilk to help the cake rise. My granny used whole milk for her cake, but I'm sure many people used buttermilk.
Thanks for checking out my recipe. I'm delighted you found my little corenr of the internet.
All the best,
Mairéad