FOOD STORIES
Photographer Andrew Montgomery and Leiths-trained cook Cherie Denham present a new series based on their latest book The Irish Bakery. This month: apples
IRISH APPLE CAKE WITH WHISKEY SULTANAS
This traditional Irish recipe was made throughout apple season and harvest time back home. When the men came to help Daddy on the farm, they’d eat apple cake with hot custard and cream. It was always homemade, and every family had their own version. My Auntie Evelyn made ours with apples from Armagh, also known as the ‘Orchard County’. Today, the fragrance from a box of Bramleys transports me right back to my childhood, when apples tasted and smelled just like they should. I still find it wonderful to pull fruit off the branch and smell that scent.
55G SULTANAS
3 TBSP IRISH WHISKEY
225G UNSALTED BUTTER
225G CASTER SUGAR, PLUS
1 TBSP FOR SPRINKLING
3 EGGS, BEATEN
2 TSP VANILLA PASTE
OR EXTRACT
225G SELF-RAISING FLOUR
1 TSP BAKING POWDER
4 DESSERT APPLES, PEELED
AND CORED – 2 DICED AND
2 SLICED
2 TBSP DEMERARA SUGAR
ICING SUGAR, FOR
DUSTING
1 Preheat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan oven) gas mark 5.
2 Grease a deep 23cm loose-bottomed cake tin and line with baking parchment.
3 Mix the sultanas and whiskey together in a small bowl and set aside to soak while you make the cake.
4 Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl, food processor or freestanding mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla paste or extract.
5 Sift the flour and baking powder into the batter and pulse or lightly mix until combined. Add the diced apple, sultanas and whiskey and combine until just mixed. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin and smooth the top.
6 Lay the sliced apple on top of the cake, pushing in slightly. Sprinkle with the caster sugar and then the demerara sugar.
7 Bake on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for 60-75 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool further.
8 Dust with icing sugar before serving.
The fragrance from a Bramley transports me back to childhood, when apples smelled and tasted just like they should
BAKED APPLES WITH SPICED BUTTER, CRANBERRIES & WALNUTS
When I was young, if Mummy had any leftover apples, she’d simply core them and fill the cavity with sultanas, walnuts and demerara sugar. We could hardly wait to eat them, and often did so when they were far too hot from the oven. Mummy only mad
