Apple Cider Spice Cake with Cinnamon-Cider Buttercream
I
usually get pictures in my
noggin of
getting the Horde apple-picking
when autumn happens, the
evenings turn cold, and the
days are brightened by that impossibly-blue sky.
I actually do
this in
fruit time, I do it
whenever the
sugary corn
hits in the
summer, and I do it when the
tomato plants perk up and
mature. I
possess beautiful thoughts of
happy children skipping through orchards
together, and gallons of
fresh pressed cider
hanging around to bolster their
thriving little
bodies.
Yet nevertheless - for apples -
just about all I
can easily say is that they involve ladders.
There are actually five guys within the Horde O'Precious Darlings, from
2 to
14,
and that's 10 potential broken or cracked arms.
Not that the Misses
are any better; I
swear each one of the
females might provide all five of the
boys a run for disasters-waiting-to-happen.
And so I copped out
to this point on the apple picking.
My own cider
not simply isn't fresh pressed -
I bought it
at a mega-warehouse club.
I adore fresh, local
as well as all natural
as much as the next guy,
nonetheless presently there are limitations when
applying that
towards the practical and
every day, y'all. Apple picking
has to hold off until I've my own, personal farm,
filled with organic fresh fruits as well as fresh vegetables patiently waiting to be
plucked,
as well as cheerful little farm
creatures gallivanting about.
Payoff for me personally though comes into play this - homemade spice cake. But not just spice cake - but APPLE spice cake, and the following spice cake recipe uses lots of apple cider. The result is about as awesome as it gets - nutmeg and cinnamon, ginger and allspice all party along with apple cider in a wonderful tender treat which is fortified along with a splendid apple glaze plus a stunning cinnamon cream cheese butter cream. Have I absolutely hooked you yet? If not, may i point out that so far as dessert recipes go, this is certainly about as elementary as it gets. There - that ought to have you. ;-)
Seriously though - this particular treat is ultra easy, completely homemade, and just simply yells autumn. Plus your home will certainly smell heavenly at the same time. That's win-win in anybody's book. Cook book that is. Give it a shot -- it is really nearly sufficient to carry 7 kids off to an orchard near you. Nearly.
You'll Need:
* 1 cup butter, softened
* 3 cups white sugar
* 6 eggs
* 3 cups flour
* 1/4 tsp. baking soda
* 1 tsp. salt
* 1 1/2 teaspoon. cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon. allspice
* 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, fresh grated
* 2 tsp. vanilla extract
* 3/4 cup apple cider
1. Preheat oven to 325°. Grease 3 9-inch cake pans and place aside.
2. In bowl of electric mixer using paddle attachment cream together butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time blending following each addition until incorporated. Add vanilla extract and mix. Scrape along sides of the bowl as you work.
3. In different bowl sift together flour, baking powder, salt and spices. Add to butter mixture alternating with cider, beginning and finishing with flour. Blend just till integrated, scraping sides of the bowl to fully incorporate all of the ingredients.
4. Pour into prepared cake pans and spread uniformly. Smooth out the top of the batter with a rubber spatula. Bake at 325° for 35-40 minutes or until surface of cake is browned and begins to split and cake tester inserted into center of cake comes away thoroughly clean.
5. Allow cake to cool in pans for ten minutes, and then turn cakes out on to a wire rack in order to complete cooling down. In the meantime, prepare the glaze and icing.
For the glaze:
* two cups powdered sugar
* 2-3 tbs. apple cider
1/4 teaspoon. cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon. allspice
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
* 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
Mix together sugar and spices in bowl or big mixing cup. Put in apple cider a lttle bit at a time and stir till glaze reaches sought after consistency. (Add sugar or cider as needed.) Glaze really should be easy to pour however thick enough so it doesn't saturate in cake immediately. Pour glaze over completely cooled cake.
For the icing...
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
* 8 oz cream cheese, softened
* 1 tsp cinnamon
* 1/4 tsp . allspice
* 1/8 teaspoon ginger
* 1/8 tsp numeg
* 24-32 oz . powdered sugar
* up to 1/4 cup apple cider
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and cream cheese until softened.
2. Add spices, and about half the powdered sugar. Turn mixer on low until the icing comes together. Gradually incorporate more powdered sugar until frosting is stiff.
3. Add apple cider until frosting reaches a spreading consistency. Don't allow it to become too soft - should you add an excessive amount cider the icing can 'droop'. In the event that you get your own too soft (I do all the time) merely add more powdered sugar till it stiffens up.
4. Ensure the cakes are entirely cool, then frost between tiers, then the top and sides. Excellent!
