I’m
just back from Ireland, where I had a version of this cake in The Coffee Shop in the
tiny fishing village of Union Hall (I gave a recipe for another dessert, a
wonderful pear and almond cake, from the same cafe in January of last year, and
I was happy to see that the shop appears to be doing well.) This recipe is also a nice
transition from my most recent Irish immersion to the apple season, which is
pivotal in my next book (shameless plug! Picked
to Die, coming October 7th!)
A
sponge is kind of an odd duck. It’s not exactly a sponge cake, although it is
cake-ish. But it’s not really a tart either, although it’s usually cooked in a
shallow tart pan, and is only one layer thick. I don’t care: it tastes good,
especially when warmed and served with some whipped cream.
Oddly,
when I went hunting for a recipe I couldn’t find anything labeled "sponge." So
here I go again, improvising (with yet another nod to Margaret Johnson, my
go-to Irish cook).
Apple Cinnamon
Sponge
2
large cooking apples (I’m still fond of the Bramleys I
Irish Bramley apples |
find in shops in
Ireland, just because they’re so big
and lumpy—but they have good flavor and
they
hold up well in cooking. You can use Granny
Smith.)
1
1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2
tsp baking powder
1
tsp cinnamon
1/2
tsp salt
1/2
cup/1 stick salted butter (have I mentioned that West Cork is a dairy region?)
1/2
cup plus 1 Tblsp superfine sugar (or the same amount of granulated sugar,
ground a bit in a blender or food processor)
2
eggs
2
Tblsp milk
Confectioner’s
sugar for dusting
Streusel
topping:
2/3
cup all-purpose flour
4
Tblsp butter, chilled
1/3
cup superfine sugar
Preheat
the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch round springform cake pan.
Make
the streusel topping: put the flour in a bowl and rub in the butter until the
mixtures looks like bread crumbs (fairly fine). Stir in the sugar. Oh, heck, do
it in a food processor if you want.
Okay, I cheated--the pink ones are from my own orchard. They're not quite ready, but the squirrels were looking at them a little too eagerly. |
Peel,
core and thinly slice the apples. Beat together the butter and the superfine
sugar in a separate bowl and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Sift
the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt into a bowl. Gradually beat in the
eggs, adding a little of the flour mixture with the last of the eggs. Gently mix
in half of the remaining flour mixture, then mix in the rest with the milk. Do
not overmix! You just want to combine the ingredients.
The batter. Doesn't look like a lot, but it expands. |
Spoon
the batter into the baking pan and smooth the top. Lay the apple slices over
the batter. Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the top.
Bake
in the preheated oven for 1 hour, or until the sponge is browned and firm. Let
cool in the pan before removing the sides. Dust with the confectioner’s sugar
before serving. You may serve with whipped cream on the side.
Theirs... |
...and mine. |
Next time I'll try a slightly broader pan.
So now you have a recipe for the new apple crop, which Meg Corey is harvesting in Picked to Die, coming October 7th.
I should add that this keeps nicely, if you don't happen to eat it all at one sitting. Must be all that butter...
ReplyDeleteFascinating recipe, Sheila. With all that butter, it's definitely not a sponge cake. I wonder why it's called a sponge. It sounds perfect for a mid-afternoon snack with tea or coffee.
ReplyDelete