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    Home » Recipes » Cakes

    Irish Apple and Blackberry Cake with Vanilla Hard Sauce

    By Nancy Mock January 24, 2021 Updated January 25, 2023 Leave a Comment

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    Cake with fruit inside and cream sauce on a plate
    Cake with berries and diced apple on a black plate.
    Black dish with yellow slice of apple and berry cake
    Slice of cake on a plate with a fork and berries

    Apple and Blackberry Cake is moist, full of vanilla and fruit flavors, and even sweeter with a drizzle of sweet and boozy vanilla hard sauce.

    Slice of cake with white sauce and fruit
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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 pairing began.

    Blackberries on a black plate with a slice of cake

    These fruits are 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 with both fruits mixed together.

    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.

    If you do head to the orchard, remember to pick up some fresh, apple cider donuts!

    WHite hard suace over a cake slice on a plate

    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.

    I think Mary from "Hurry, Hurry Mary Dear" would love this apple cake with her tea!

    Berry topped piece of cake with a fork

    Why you'll love this recipe

    Blackberry and apple cake is so moist, and brimming with tart apples and floral blackberries. It's sweet but not too sweet, and such a nice treat to have at breakfast or as an afternoon tea cake.

    You could enjoy this delicious cake all on its own, but the Vanilla Hard Sauce gives it a little somethin' somethin'.

    The sauce is smooth and sweet, with a boozy 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 definitely make for St. Patrick's Day. (It'll be a nice change from the green milkshakes. Not that I have anything against green milkshakes, mind you!)

    Don't save it just for holidays, though: make this cake for brunch or a potluck, or to bring to a friend!

    Bottle and glass of whiskey with fruit

    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."

    Hard sauce is a traditional accompaniment for old-fashioned treats like bread pudding, Christmas puddings, mincemeat pie, and plum pudding.

    My vanilla hard sauce recipe, made with Irish whiskey, is smooth, pourable, and wonderful with this apple and blackberry cake.

    🔪 How to make Irish Apple Blackberry Cake

    Ingredients: apple, blackberries. sugar, brown sugar, butter, and eggs.

    Ingredients:

    • All-Purpose Flour: My go-to brand is King Arthur Flour
    • Baking Powder: To help the cake rise
    • Salt: Just a little
    • Apples: I use McIntosh apples in this recipe
    • Blackberries: Us fresh-picked or the best you can find in the produce section
    • Sugar: This is white granulated sugar
    • Brown Sugar: Packed, light brown sugar
    • Butter: Choose a good quality, unsalted butter
    • Eggs: I use large eggs in this recipe
    • Vanilla Extract: Nielsen-Massey is the extract brand I like
    • Milk: To add moisture to the cake
    • Confectioner's Sugar: Use this to make the hard sauce
    • Whiskey: Irish whiskey for the hard sauce

    Step 1: Combine the dry ingredients

    Flour and dry ingredients in a glass bowl with a green spatula

    Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

    Step 2: Get your fruit ready

    Diced apples and sliced blackberries

    Peel and core the apples, and dice them into cubes. Have the blackberries ready to go—slice the really large ones in half.

    Step 3: Combine the wet ingredients

    Liquid cake mixture in a glass bowl on a dark surface

    Stir together the sugars, butter, eggs, and vanilla.

    Step 4: Bring the batter together

    Fruit filled cake batter in a bowl with a green spatula

    Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, alternating with milk. Stir until the batter is smooth, then fold in the apples and blackberries.

    Step 5: Bake!

    Chunky cake batter in a lined square pan

    Spoon the batter into a greased pan, and bake the cake for just under an hour.

    Baked square cake with cracks in top and berries visible

    Step 6: Serve

    Slice of cake on a black plate with sauce spooned over

    Once the apple blackberry cake cools, serve slices with a generous drizzle of hard sauce over the top.

    🔪 How to make the hard sauce

    Dish of sugar glaze, shot glass of whiskey and an apple

    Step 1: Whisk it together

    Beat together butter, vanilla, sugar, and whiskey to make a smooth, sweet sauce.

    FAQs

    Can you make hard sauce without alcohol?

    You can make a nonalcoholic, sweet 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.

    How long does hard sauce last?

    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.

    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. 
    Berry filled cake slice on a plate with a bottle of whiskey in the background

    The recipe for this Irish Apple and Blackberry Cake with Vanilla Hard Sauce is below. Check out these recipes, too: all inspired by flavors found in Ireland.

    • Hands holding round loaf of baked brown bread.
      Irish Brown Bread
    • Creamy soup in a bowl with cheese and toppings.
      Traditional Irish Potato Soup, and Dublin, Ireland
    • apple blackberry crumble with cream
      Blackberry and Apple Crumble & Dingle, Ireland
    • Bowl of yellowish soup with diced chives and cream
      Parsnip Soup with Apple and Curry, and Bunratty, Ireland

    💬 How do you like them apples... and blackberries and cake and sauce? Leave a comment below.

    Fruit cake slice on a black plate

    Irish Apple and Blackberry Cake with Vanilla Hard Sauce

    Nancy Mock
    Apple and Blackberry Cake is moist, full of vanilla and fruit flavors, and even sweeter with a drizzle of sweet and boozy vanilla hard sauce.
    4.60 from 5 votes. Tap stars to vote
    Print it! Pin This Recipe
    Prep Time 30 mins
    Cook Time 55 mins
    Total Time 1 hr 25 mins
    Course Cake, Comfort Food, Dessert, Fall Dessert, Fruit Dessert, St. Patrick's Day, Winter Dessert
    Servings 9 servings

    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 butter, unsalted
    • 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

    Serving: 1servingCalories: 416kcalCarbohydrates: 64gProtein: 6gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 77mgSodium: 403mgPotassium: 306mgFiber: 4gSugar: 35gVitamin A: 563IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 99mgIron: 2mg
    Tried this recipe?Leave a comment, tell me what you think!

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