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Irish Apple Cake Bars

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These Irish apple cake bars combine tender, moist cake with fresh apples and a buttery, crumbly topping, making a perfect easy dessert for St. Patrick’s Day or any cozy occasion.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 cups (260 g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup (115 g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) milk, whole or 2%
  • 3 medium fresh apples, peeled, cored, and diced (Granny Smith or Honeycrisp)
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 cup (50 g) brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup (95 g) all-purpose flour (for crumb topping)
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) brown sugar (for crumb topping)
  • 1/3 cup (75 g) cold unsalted butter, cubed (for crumb topping)
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (for crumb topping)

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease a 9×13-inch (23×33 cm) baking pan. Line with parchment paper for easy removal.
  2. Prepare the crumb topping: In a small bowl, mix 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Add cold cubed butter and work it into the dry ingredients with fingers or a pastry cutter until coarse crumbs form. Chill in the fridge.
  3. Make the apple filling: Toss diced apples with 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and 1/4 cup brown sugar in a medium bowl. Let sit to release juices.
  4. Mix the batter: Cream softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes). Beat in eggs one at a time, then add vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, whisk flour and baking powder. Alternately add dry ingredients and milk to the butter mixture, starting and ending with dry ingredients. Batter should be thick but spreadable.
  5. Assemble bars: Spread half the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Spoon apple mixture over batter. Dollop remaining batter on top and gently spread as best as possible. Sprinkle crumb topping evenly over all.
  6. Bake for 40-45 minutes until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted near center comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs.
  7. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before slicing into bars.

Notes

If crumb topping browns too fast, tent pan with foil halfway through baking. Drain excess juice from apples if watery to prevent sogginess. Use tart apples like Granny Smith or Honeycrisp for best texture and flavor. Do not overmix batter after adding flour to avoid dense bars. Chill butter for crumb topping and work quickly for best crumbly texture. Let bars cool completely before slicing for clean cuts.

Nutrition

Keywords: Irish apple cake bars, St. Patrick’s Day dessert, apple dessert bars, easy apple cake, crumb topping apple bars

Find it online: https://pokirecipes.com/irish-apple-cake-bars-recipe-easy-5-step-st-patricks-day-dessert/