Ballymaloe Apple Scone Cake

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Ballymaloe Apple Scone Cake - Irish

 

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces (1 stick)

2 large eggs, divided

1/2 cup milk, divided

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling:

1 pound Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1 inch (2.54 cm) chunks

2 tablespoons granulated white sugar, 2 - 3 T. to taste

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Garnish:

Granulated white sugar

 

 

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven.

Butter (or spray with Pam) a 9 inch (23 cm) glass pie plate.

 

In a small bowl whisk together one egg and 1 tablespoon from the 1/2 cup milk.

Set this aside as it will be used as a glaze for the top of the cake.

 

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut

the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry

blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. In a

separate small bowl whisk together the remaining one egg, remaining milk, and

vanilla extract and add to the flour mixture, stirring just until the dough

comes together. Do not overmix the dough.

 

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough gently four or five times

and then divide the dough in half. Pat one half of the dough onto the bottom

and up the sides of the pie plate.

 

In a separate bowl toss together the cut apples, sugar and cinnamon. Spread the

apples evenly over the bottom of the dough in the pie plate.

 

Roll the remaining dough into a 9 inch (23 cm) circle, on a lightly floured

surface, and gently place the dough over the apples. With your fingers seal the

edges of the top and bottom crusts. Brush the top of the dough with the egg and

milk glaze, and sprinkle with white sugar. Cut a slit in the center of the

dough to allow the steam to escape.

 

Bake in the preheated oven for about 35 - 45 minutes or until the pastry is

nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out

clean.

 

Cool on a wire rack. Serve warm with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream.

 

Serves 6 to 8.

 

Author: Myrtle Allen's 'Cooking at Ballymaloe House'

Source: JoyOfBaking.com

Formatted by Chupa Babi: 06.03.08

 

This recipe is adapted from Myrtle Allen's 'Cooking at Ballymaloe House' where

she tells us that " Homemade apple cakes are the most popular sweet in Ireland. "

Now, this recipe is very unique because, while it is called a 'cake', it looks

more like a pie and it uses a scone dough instead of a cake batter.

 

So, what we end up with is two layers of moist and flavorful cake that have an

almost bread-like texture sandwiching chunks of cinnamon sugared apples. As

with all scone recipes try to handle the dough as little as possible. You may

find that the dough tears as you place it in the pie plate. Don't worry about

that as this is a rustic looking cake and all you need to do is patch it

together as best as you can. This is delicious warm from the oven with a dollop

of whipped cream, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or a spoonful of Devon cream.

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