A moist vanilla and fruit cake, Apple and Blackberry Cake is even sweeter with a drizzle of sweet and boozy Vanilla Hard Sauce.
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Apple and blackberry. Before my trip a few years ago to Ireland with my mom and sister, I didn't realize just how beautiful these two fruits are together. Or how beloved blackberry and apple desserts are in Ireland.
My sister had a dish of Apple Blackberry Crumble at a stop on the scenic Slea Head Drive in Dingle, and it was incredible. (She was nice enough to share!) That's when my fascination with this sweet fruit duo began.
Apples and blackberries—a favorite pairing in Irish desserts
Darina Allen, founder of the famous Ballymaloe Cookery School in Shanagarry, Ireland researched ingredients and gathered recipes from across the country for her acclaimed book Irish Traditional Cooking.
She writes, "Most traditional Irish desserts are based on the fruits readily available in the garden or orchard, or on those found in the wild. My own mother taught me many of the recipes I still use; she would vary the fillings according to the season, from rhubarb to green gooseberries, blackberries, and apple."
These desserts include the well-known Irish apple cake as well as breads and traybakes made with both fruits.
Whether you get your apples from the orchard, your blackberries from the brambles, or stumble upon both fruits in the dead of winter at the store, apple blackberry cake is a tantalizing way to showcase their flavors.
And the vanilla Hard Sauce? Well, with full bottles of Knappogue Castle Irish Whiskey and Tullamore Dew on hand, it seemed only fitting to whip up a smooth and sweet whiskey sauce to drizzle over the slices.
Why you'll love this recipe
My Blackberry and Apple Cake is really tender and moist; it's brimming with tart apples and floral blackberries. This cake is sweet—but not too sweet, and that makes it a nice treat to have at breakfast or as an afternoon tea cake.
You could enjoy this delicious cake all on its own, but a drizzle of Vanilla Hard Sauce gives it a little somethin' somethin'.
This recipe for hard sauce is quick to whip up with just a few ingredients. It's smooth and sweet, with a boozy whiskey kick that tastes pretty darn fine with the apples, berries, and vanilla-laden cake.
With flavors inspired by Ireland, this blackberry apple cake recipe is one you should absolutely make for St. Patrick's Day. But don't save it just for holidays—make this apple and blackberry dessert cake for brunch, a potluck, or to bring to a friend!
Another apple blackberry fave!
Blackberry Crisp with Coconut
What is hard sauce?
According to The Food Lover's Companion, hard sauce is a blend of butter, sugar, and spirits such as brandy, whiskey, or rum. It was customary to chill the sauce to solidify the butterfat, which is why the dessert sauce is called "hard."
You may have heard of using hard sauce for fruit cake, but it's also a traditional accompaniment for other old-fashioned treats like bread pudding, Christmas puddings, mincemeat pie, and plum pudding.
My vanilla hard sauce recipe, made with Irish whiskey, is smooth, drizzly, and wonderful with this old-fashioned apple and blackberry cake.
🔪 How to make Apple and Blackberry Cake
Ingredients:
- All-Purpose Flour: My go-to brand for this and other flours is King Arthur Baking.
- Baking Powder: This leavener activates twice to help the cake rise and achieve a light texture.
- Salt: I add just a little salt because it helps amplify the flavors in this cake.
- Apples: I like tart McIntosh apples, but you can also try Granny Smith, sweet Honeycrisp, or Jonagold.
- Blackberries: Use fresh-picked berries if you have them! Or, choose the best ones you can find in the produce section.
- Sugar: To sweeten the cake I use two kinds of sugar; the first is granulated sugar.
- Brown Sugar: Light brown sugar adds more sweetness, plus moisture and notes of molasses.
- Butter: Use unsalted butter and for the best flavor, a good brand such as Cabot or Kerrygold.
- Eggs: I use large eggs in this cake recipe.
- Vanilla Extract: It's worth it to use a good quality, pure vanilla extract, such as Nielsen-Massey brand.
- Milk: To add moisture to the cake and bring the batter together, use whole or 2% milk.
- Powdered Sugar: It dissolves quickly to make a smooth vanilla hard sauce.
- Whiskey: A splash of Irish whiskey adds some spirit to the hard sauce! Go with an easy-to-find brand like Jameson or Tullamore Dew, or spare a little of your special Redbreast or Dingle Distillery whiskey if you're feeling generous!
Combine the dry ingredients
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Get your fruit ready
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Peel and core the apples, and dice them into cubes. Have the blackberries ready to go—slice the really large ones in half.
Combine the wet ingredients
Stir together the sugars, butter, eggs, and vanilla.
Bring the batter together
Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, alternating with milk. Stir until the batter is smooth, then fold in the apples and blackberries.
Bake!
Spoon the batter into a greased pan, and bake the cake for just under an hour.
Serve
Once the apple blackberry cake cools, serve slices with a generous drizzle of hard sauce over the top.
How to make Vanilla Hard Sauce
Beat together softened butter, vanilla, confectioners' sugar, and whiskey to make a smooth, sweet sauce.
FAQs
Because this cake is filled with chopped fruit, it should be refrigerated to protect the flavor and the quality. Cover the cake tightly with food wrap, or transfer it to an airtight container. Store it in the fridge for up to four days.
Covered and stored in the fridge, your vanilla hard sauce will stay fresh for weeks. It may form up once chilled: let it sit at room temperature to soften, then whisk to bring the sauce together again.
The name hard sauce is confusing since this sweet topping usually has a drizzling texture; sometimes it's thicker to make it spreadable. According to The New Food Lover's Companion, the origin of the name is from the firm texture that hard sauce has when chilled. Because it's made with butter, the cake sauce becomes very firm when refrigerated, and can even be spooned into decorative molds before chilling for a festive presentation.
You can make a nonalcoholic hard sauce by simply omitting the whiskey in the recipe and using milk instead.
You can also choose to skip the hard sauce altogether, as the apple blackberry cake is sweet and moist enough to serve all on its own.
Tips:
- I use McIntosh apples in this recipe, which are both tart and sweet and are a great choice for baked goods including pies.
- No need to lug out your stand mixer for this recipe: it's a cinch to stir together by hand, which also lessens the chance of overmixing the batter.
The recipe for Apple and Blackberry Cake with Vanilla Hard Sauce is below. And here are more recipes inspired by the flavors of Ireland:
💬 Did you make and devour this recipe? Leave a comment below.
📖 Recipe
Irish Apple and Blackberry Cake with Vanilla Hard Sauce
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Ingredients
Cake ingredients:
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 medium tart apples ( I prefer McIntosh) (about 15 ounces))
- 6 ounces blackberries, rinsed and allowed to air dry
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 8 ounces milk
Vanilla Hard Sauce Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar
- 2 tablespoons Irish whiskey
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease an 8-inch by 8-inch baking dish.
Blend the dry ingredients:
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Hold it aside.
Prepare the fruit:
- Peel the apples and remove the cores. Slice the apples into small cubes around 1 to 1½ inches in size.
- Slice any large blackberries in half so that your whole berries and berry pieces are all about 1 to 1½ inches in size.
Mix the wet ingredients:
- Pour the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and melted butter into a large bowl, and stir them together into a smooth mixture.
- Add in the eggs, stirring to fully incorporate them with the butter and sugar. Stir in the vanilla extract.
Combine the mixtures:
- Pour about half of the flour mixture into the bowl with the butter-egg mixture. Fold the flour in using a few strokes.
- Pour in half of the milk, and stir it in. Add in the rest of the flour mixture and stir. Pour in the last of the milk. Stir the batter until it looks smooth.
- Fold in the diced apples and the blackberries. Don't overmix, but try to distribute the fruit as evenly as you can through the batter.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared baking dish and even out the top.
Bake
- Bake the cake for 50-55 minutes. The top of the cake should be golden brown with a few cracks, and a knife inserted in the center should come out clean.
- Move the pan to a cooling rack and let the cake cool completely.
While the cake bakes, make the Vanilla Hard Sauce:
- Put the 2 tablespoons of butter, vanilla, and confectioner's sugar into a small bowl.
- Beat the ingredients together with a hand mixer or a spoon.
- Add in the whiskey, and continue beating the mixture to make a smooth, spoonable sauce. If it's too thick you can add in a teaspoon or two of water - or more whiskey, but this will make it even boozier!
Serve:
- When the cake is cool, cut it into slices. Serve the slices with a little drizzle or a generous spoonful of the whiskey hard sauce.
Option: Booze-free sauce
- To make a nonalcoholic sauce, replace the whiskey in the sauce ingredients with milk.
Notes
- I love using McIntosh apples in this recipe, which are both tart and sweet, and are a great choice for baked goods including pies.
- No need to lug out your stand mixer for this recipe: it's a cinch to stir together by hand, which also lessens the chance of overmixing the batter.
- If you prefer to skip the hard sauce, the apple blackberry cake is sweet and moist enough to serve all on its own. You can also make a nonalcoholic sauce by simply omitting the whiskey and using milk instead.
Nutrition
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