All that’s left to share from last weekend is this incredible apple butter cake!
I love to bake, but ever since I started paying attention to eating mostly healthy foods I’ve tried to put aside that urge to make a batch of cookies every week. I have a huge folder full of bookmarked recipes for when I need a “fancy” dessert, if only I had enough occasions to make them all!
This is a cake that I heavily modified from another recipe. It’s so far changed from that “inspiration cake” though that I feel totally cool with posting it as my own recipe.
Apple butter cake
A damp and delicious cake with the warm winter flavors of cinnamon and rich apple butter.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 1 9-inch cake layer
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 and 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 3/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup apple butter
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 small eggs
- 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/4 tsp. ground clove
- 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
Cooking Directions
- In a stand mixer, mix together oil and brown sugar followed by the vanilla, apple butter, and eggs one at a time.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients and spices and slowly add to the wet mixture in three installments, allowing the dry to fully incorporate with the wet each time.
- Slowly drizzle in almond milk while the mixer is at it's lowest speed until it is fully combined.
- Pour batter into a non-stick tart pan or regular 9-inch cake pan sprayed with a non-stick spray.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely before frosting.
I love how damp the texture of this cake is. It reminds me of a really good banana bread. The frosting is a sweet contrast to the subtle cake flavor but it isn’t too crazy sweet either. The flavor of the cider is barely noticeable in it, it just adds a kind of fresh fruity crispness.
Cinnamon cider buttercream
Sweet buttercream with a hint of fresh fall apple and warming cinnamon.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 3/4 stick unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup apple cider
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- up to 4 cups powdered sugar
Cooking Directions
- Beat room-temperature butter in a stand mixer until light and fluffy.
- Add in a cup of the sugar and all the other ingredients and beat until combined.
- Keep adding sugar a bit at a time and mixing until the desired thickness is achieved.
- Spread over a completely cooled cake.
I ended up pawning the rest of the cake off on my mom and brother-in-law. If it had sat in my house any longer I would have undoubtedly eaten it all myself. I love sweets.
Speaking of sweets, today I’m baking up a carrot cake to take to Christmas Eve dinner with Jeff’s family. I’m adding some special signature touches to it, so I’ll be sure to share the recipe with you after the holidays. Hope yours are wonderful!
Such a pretty cake! Great idea making it in a tart pan. And the icing sounds addicting!
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table recently posted..Salted Biscoff Hazelnut Cookies
I saw someone make brownies in a tart pan and I thought, “Hey, that instantly looks fancier, what a great idea!” Couldn’t wait to try it.
Back in college I used to steal and horde apple butter packets from my dorm’s cafeteria. I ate an apple-butter covered banana every day for a snack. Then I didn’t touch it for, like, 7 years. Clearly it’s time to pick the apple butter back up again, cuz this is calling my name. Yum!
Amber Shea @Almost Vegan recently posted..12 Days of Giveaways #12: Nasoya
That’s hilarious. I’m kind of the same way about peanut butter. I can eat any other nut butter just fine but peanut butter is a nostalgic flavor that I have consumed far too much of in my life and I’m just now able to eat it again.
That first photo is utterly, utterly swoonilicious, my dear! This sounds perfect; if only I could swap this for the icky Christmas pudding tomorrow š
Hannah recently posted..The Un-Christmas Post, with Bonus Hypocritical Recipes
I just made this and it was possibly the best cake I’ve ever made. It turned out perfect, with the small exception where the cake muffined (it’s a word, dammit) a bit over my 1″ tart pan. But nothing too bad, and the taste easily made up for that.
Ahh! So glad you liked it! I didn’t have the muffining (totally a word) issue, but baking tends to turn out differently for everyone so I’m not surprised. Sorry that happened though, glad it was tasty enough to make up for it!
Anything apple butter is a gift from the heavens. I’ll be trying this recipe pronto. Looks delicious. Also, there is nothing wrong with a batch of cookies per week. š
I agree, apple butter is one of my very favorite foods. Let me know if you make it!