My good friend, Sinéad Moss, has shared her grandma’s Armagh Potato Apple Griddle Cake recipe. Served with cream, it makes a delicious treat for high tea and of course, don’t forget to make a pot of Irish Breakfast Blend tea to go with it.
Armagh Potato Apple Griddle Cake
1 lb. cooked potatoes, mashed. Must be cold.
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1-1/2 cups plain flour
1 oz salted butter
For the filling
1 large cooking apple, cored, peeled, and finely sliced.
2 tablespoons sugar
knob of butter
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Mash the potatoes with butter and salt - then add the baking powder and flour.
Mix the first five ingredients together in a bowl, they should come together to form a soft dough. (Add more flour if your dough is too wet)
Shape the dough into two equal sized balls. Sprinkle your work surface generously with flour. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface and knead lightly for a few minutes, working in a bit more flour if the dough is sticky. Roll each ball out about 1/2 inch thick.
Add the apples to a bowel, then add the sugar and cloves and toss the apple slices to coat them. Layer the apple slices on one of the circles. Dot with the butter and cover with the other dough circle, pinching the edges to seal in the filling.
Carefully transfer the cake to the pan, brown on both sides, about 15 per side.
Slide onto a plate and cut into wedges.
Because there is no oil in the frying pan, the potato cake does not get a golden color, instead it gets a darker dirtier look. This is exactly what you are looking for and is completely traditional and authentic.