Irish Apple Cake with Irish Cream Sauce This is a true favourite here at Ballyknocken Cookery School – blessed with a lovely orchard, we can’t help ourselves but make cake!

Serves:  8 to 10

For the topping

70g butter

70g brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

½ lemon, zest only

90g flour

60g hazelnuts, roughly chopped

For the cake

160g butter

180g caster sugar

4 large eggs

270g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

100g natural yoghurt

½ lemon, zest only

400g thinly sliced peeled apples

For the drizzle

100g sifted icing sugar

1 to 2 tbsp water or lemon juice

For the Irish cream sauce, for serving

1 cup cream

4 tbsp sifted icing sugar

3 tbsp Irish cream liqueur

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line a 23cm spring form tin with baking parchment.
2. To make the topping, melt the butter in a saucepan and mix in the brown sugar, cinnamon, lemon zest, flour and hazelnuts and set aside.
3. For the cake, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, one at a time.
4. Fold in the flour and baking powder. Stir in the yoghurt.
5. Spoon two thirds of the mixture into the prepared tin and spread evenly.
6. Arrange half the apple slices over the top and a third of the cake topping.
7. Spoon over the rest of the cake mixture and spread evenly.
8. Arrange the rest of the apples on top and the rest of the hazelnut topping.
9. Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes or until the cake is cooked (test with a skewer, which when inserted in the centre should come out clear).
10. Allow the cake to cool and slide out of the tin onto a cake stand.
11. To make the drizzle, place the icing sugar in a bowl and add stir in enough water or lemon juice to make a thick paste. Spoon into a piping bag without a nozzle, snip the tip and drizzle over the cake.
12. Slice and serve with Irish cream sauce.
13. To prepare the Irish cream sauce, pour the cream into a bowl, add the icing sugar and Irish cream liqueur and whisk to soft peaks.