Irish apple cake with matcha custard drizzle

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line the base and grease the sides of a 22cm springform cake tin.

Sift together the dry ingredients in a bowl and fold in the diced apple.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the 120g chilled butter, oil and 200g brown sugar together. Add the 2 egg yolks and beat until light and fluffy, 2 minutes. Fold in the buttermilk and 2 tsp vanilla extract. Add the mixture to the dry ingredients.

In a separate, clean bowl under the stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the 4 egg whites to stiff peak stage. Gently fold into the cake batter.

Spoon into the prepared cake tin. Sprinkle the 2 tbsp brown sugar on top and bake until cooked through, about 1 hour. To test if the cake is cooked, a skewer inserted through the centre should come out clean.

To make the matcha custard drizzle, in a saucepan over low heat, bring the milk, 125g sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract to just before simmering point, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the 3 egg yolks and matcha powder. Add the hot milk mixture, a little at a time, to the whisked yolks until fully incorporated – make sure to whisk continuously so as not to scramble the yolks. Return the mixture to the saucepan and stir continuously over low heat until the custard has thickened and coats the back of a wooden spoon.

Top the cake with thin slices of fresh apple and matcha custard drizzle.