Irish Apple Cake

Submitted for your approval -- what we'll be baking this dark, rainy Saturday afternoon. Here's a wish the skies are sunnier in your world.

Irish Apple Cake

This simple, satisfying dessert is sure to please and quick to prepare.

1 stick of butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
3 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 or 3 apples
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and lightly flour a 9-inch spring form pan. Set aside.
Peel and finely chop the apples — Gala are lovely, but Cortland, Golden Delicious, Granny Smiths, and Empire appear in many recipes. Place in a small bowl and toss with the lemon juice. Set aside.

Cut the butter into pieces and place in a large bowl. Beat until creamy. Add the sugars, and beat until mixture is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract, cinnamon, eggs, and milk, and beat again until thoroughly mixed. Sift the flour with the baking powder and gently beat into the mixture until well blended. Do not, however, over beat. Add the apples, raisins, and walnuts and mix with a large spoon or spatula.

Spoon the batter — it will be stiff — into the spring form pan and smooth the top. Bake at 350 degrees until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes (check the cake after 35, just to be sure). Cool in pan on rack for ten minutes. Loosen the edge with a knife and release the rim. Allow to cool, or serve while still warm with a scoop of ice cream. Wrap well in plastic to keep cake moist.

Photo by Elizabeth Brown.