Apple Pommeau Cake
Enjoy this delightful apple tea cake with a perfectly steeped cup of Irish breakfast tea.
By Yankee Magazine|Aug 15 2019|
Apple Pommeau Cake
Photo Credit: Colin Price“In Ireland, these kinds of tea cakes often have brandy or some sort of liqueur in them,” says Nicole Blum of Carr’s Ciderhouse. “Pommeau is apple brandy mixed with cider, and it isn’t quite as strong, but you can always substitute straight apple brandy.” She recommends enjoying the cake with a perfectly steeped cup of Irish breakfast tea.
From “Apple of Their Eye,” September/October 2019
Recipe excerpted from Ciderhouse Cookbook © by Jonathan Carr, Nicole Blum, and Andrea Blum
Yield:
8 servings
Ingredients
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted, plus more for pan
¼ cup pommeau or apple brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, or seeds from 1 vanilla bean pod
3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch ground cloves
Pinch sea salt
1 ½ cups coarsely chopped pecans
4 apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
Combine the sugar and eggs in a large bowl and beat well with an electric mixer. With the mixer running, slowly pour in the olive oil and then the melted butter in a steady stream, beating until the batter is emulsified. Mix in the pommeau and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Add this mixture, cup by cup, to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Stir in the pecans and fold in the apples.
Use a spatula to turn out the thick batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until the center is firm to the touch and the crust is craggy and golden brown, 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Let it cool slightly, then remove from the pan and set on a rack to finish cooling. When completely cool, dust with confectioners’ sugar.
I tried the Apple Pommeau Cake and found that it was very wet in the center after being cooked for 1 hr. 15 min. So I cooked another 1/2 hour and it still was very very moist. The cake tasted of oil and sugar. Was there a mistake in the amount of oil used or should there have been more flour in the recipe. I was not satisfied with the outcome. Can you tell me what I may have done wrong. Thanks you so much for your help. Recipe was in Yankee Magazine Sept/Oct. 2019
I had the exact same experience as Barbara. This recipe is not correct. The cake was still undercooked after being in the over for an extra 30 minutes. Unfortunate because it seemed like it would be an excellent cake.
Cake was delicious – followed recipe exactly, except used unsalted butter. Will definitely be making again!