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Irish Apple Cake with Salted Caramel | DonalSkehan.com
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Irish Apple Cake with Salted Caramel

October 13

A crumble is one of my favourite desserts, no matter what fruit you use, but this elevated fancy apple crumble cake takes that classic and transforms it into a true showstopper and real centrepiece for special occasions.

  • serves Serves 10
  • time 1.5 hours

Method

  1. 1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/325°F/Gas 3 and grease and line two 20cm deep sandwich tins with baking parchment.
  2. 2. Put the apple cubes into a pan with a splash of water and the 3 tablespoons of sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for 10 minutes or so until they have broken down. Add a little more water as they cook if they look a bit dry. Set aside to cool completely.
  3. 3. In a bowl, whisk the softened butter and caster sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs in one at a time until you have a rich, smooth mixture. Fold in the flour, baking powder and cinnamon, then fold in the cooked apple. If the mixture is a little thick you can add a splash of milk or a dollop of yoghurt.
  4. 4. Divide the mixture between the two tins and bake in the centre of the oven for 35-40 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Increase the oven temperature to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/Gas 4.
  5. 5. Make the crumble. Rub the butter and flour together with your fingertips until it forms pea-sized lumps, then stir in the sugar and nuts. Spread over a lined baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden. Allow to cool.
  6. 6. Make the filling/icing. Put the apples into a pan with the caster sugar and 40g of the butter. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes until the sugar has melted and the apples are glossy. Increase the heat and bubble for 3-4 minutes until they are caramelised and sticky. Allow to cool.
  7. 7. Whisk the rest of the butter with the duke de leche/caramel and the icing sugar until smooth and pillowy. If it seizes, add a splash of hot water and whisk until it comes back to a gorgeous, smooth consistency.
  8. 8. When you are ready to assemble, put one cake on a serving plate. Spread over half the icing and add a scattering of the caramelised apples and half the crumble, then top with the second cake. Spread the other half of the icing over the top and scatter with the rest of the caramel apples and crumble.

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Ingredients

250g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing 

3 Cox or Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into smallish cubes 

225g caster sugar, plus 3 tbsp 

3 medium free-range eggs 

250g self-raising flour 

½ tsp baking powder 

¼ tsp ground cinnamon 

For the crumble top:

35g unsalted butter 

50g plain flour 

1 heaped tbsp soft light brown sugar 

30g chopped hazelnuts 

For the filling/icing:

2 Cox apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced 

30g caster sugar 

250g unsalted butter, softened 

200g duIce de leche/caramel 

150g icing sugar