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Irish Apple Cake

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Ingredients
  

For the Cake:

  • ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1-¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • 3 tbsp. whole milk
  • 3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced

For the Streusel Topping:

  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup rolled oats
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, chilled

For the Custard:

  • ¾ cup whole milk
  • 1 dash salt
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions
 

To prepare the streusel topping:

  • In a medium bowl, combine the flour, oats, sugar and salt.
  • Cut the butter into small cubes and toss with the dry ingredients.
  • Using your fingers, rub the butter into the mixture.
  • It’s best to squish the pieces of butter with your thumb and forefingers to flatten and then continue to rub it all together until you get the texture of coarse breadcrumbs.
  • Keep the streusel chilled in the refrigerator until the cake batter is ready to be topped.

To prepare the cake:

  • Pre-heat the oven to 350°F and prepare an 8-inch round cake pan by spraying with non-stick spray.
  • In a large bowl, use the paddle attachment, at medium-high speed, to cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy; about 2 minutes .
  • Add the vanilla, milk and eggs and mix until fully combined; scrape down the sides.
  • In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just barely fully combined.
  • Add the chopped apples to the batter and fold in by hand until evenly distributed throughout; this is an apple-heavy recipe, so should be about 50/50 apples to the batter.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and spread until smooth.
  • Top with the streusel topping, place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 45 -50 minutes, or until the streusel is lightly golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cake.
  • Remove from the oven and allow to cool at least 15 minutes before serving with warm custard sauce.

To prepare the custard sauce:

  • To a medium saucepan, over medium heat, add the milk and salt; heat until steaming; don’t let it boil - it should be just barely to the point of simmering.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until pale and thick; this will take 2 - 3 minutes by hand or about 30 seconds if you use a hand mixer.
  • Remove the milk from the burner and slowly whisk it into the egg yolk mixture, slowly bringing the egg yolks up in temperature.
  • Once all of the milk has been whisked into the eggs, pour the mixture back into the saucepan and heat over medium heat while constantly whisking until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon; about 3 - 4 minutes.
  • Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla; serve warm over the cake.