Irish Apple Cake

Irish Apple Cake (courtesy of my Irish Food & Cooking cookbook)
Ingredients:

2 cups self-raising flour
Good pinch of salt
Pinch of ground cloves
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
3-4 cooking apples, sliced
1/2 cup superfine sugar (Baker's sugar)
2 eggs, beaten
a little milk, to mix
Granulated sugar to sprinkle over

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8 inch cake pan.

2. Sieve the flour, salt and ground cloves into a bowl. Cut in the butter and rub until the mixture is like fine breadcrumbs. Peel and core the apples. Slice them thinly and add to the rubbed in mixture along with the 1/2 cup sugar.

3. Mix in the eggs and enough milk to make a fairly stiff dough, then turn the mixture into the prepared tin and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

4. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until springy to the touch. Cool on a wire rack.



I'm not a huge fan of apple pie because rarely can the crust please me...this was a great alternative! I got the yummy cooked apple taste in a not overly sweet cake! I topped it with a bit of whipped cream. Wonderful end to a great day of food!