The perfect balance of fall flavors. Apples, spices, and deep flavors all combined in one delicious cake! Light and fluffy, but still moist and a little dense, this cake is filled with the flavors of fall.
Hello Fall!
Fall has hit in full force here, with leaves on the trees changing to vibrant reds, oranges and yellows. The mountains are swept with cascading layers of colors. Last week we went for a walk up the canyon and I felt in awe of the mountains covered in color and the river running through the canyon. It was so renewing.
With the change of seasons, comes the fall foods that I love. Apples start to fall from the trees, pumpkins turn from green to bold orange, and spices like cinnamon and ginger start to show up in more in my baking.
After some canning, we had a few honey crisp apples leftover, so when I came across this recipe, I knew I wanted to make it.
I'm not the hugest fan of brown butter (I know, I'm totally not on trend), but I did like it in the butter cream. I think it helped balance out the sweetness that I sometimes feel overwhelmed by in frosting. The nutty flavor also combined well with the apple and spices in the cake.
When you're making the batter for the cake, it seems a little bit on the dry side. Don't worry about that. The apples release a fair amount of juice during the baking and the cake is very moist. Even a few days later, I was surprised at how moist it was.
The cake is filled with the flavors of fall, with the added richness of brown butter buttercream, and a brown sugar ganache, everything feels like the just right balance. Plus, the smell that overtakes the house while the cake is baking is amazing! I will definitely be making this cake again.
*Adapted from preppykitchen.com
Cake:
3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
pinch of ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
about 3 cups apples pealed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I used honey crisp)
Grease and flour 3 6-inch cake pans. Preheat oven to 350.
Sift together the first 8 ingredients into a medium bowl. In a larger bowl, combine oil, sour cream, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix together until everything is incorporated. Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until everything is moistened. Fold in the apple pieces.
Divide the batter between the three pans. Bake 40-45 minutes until cakes are done and a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
Buttercream
3/4 cup butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
5 tablespoons cream
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon allspice
About an hour before preparing the buttercream, heat the 3/4 cup of butter over low heat in a sauce pan. Continue to heat until the butter begins to turn caramel in color and brown bits start to form in bottom of pan. Remove from heat. Transfer to bowl of mixer and let come to room temperature.
Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and cream to the cooled brown butter in the bowl of a mixer and beat until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Add cinnamon, ginger and allspice and mix until combined.
Brown sugar ganache:
1 cup brown sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup cream
1 tablespoon vanilla
pinch of salt
Combine brown sugar, butter, and cream in a saucepan. Whisk to combine. Heat and stir over medium heat until it begins to thicken, about 6 or 7 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla and salt.
Assembly
Make sure each cake layer is level. Place your first layer on cake stand and spread a thin layer of butter cream over the top. Add a drizzle of the brown sugar ganache. Repeat with the next layer.
Place final cake layer top-side down. Frost the cake with a thin coat of frosting to create a crumb coat. Chill in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to set the crumb coat.
Add a final layer of frosting and decorate as desired. I used the brown sugar ganache as a drip down the edges and spread it across the top. I also used the remaining buttercream and piped dollops around the top.
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