Spiced Apple Cake with Cinnamon Sugar Buttercream Frosting

It's no secret that I love baking cakes. Of all the cooking and baking I do, cakes are my favorite to create. I'd bake them more often if it didn't mean I'd have to eat it! Cake baking is reserved for special occasions and for when we're having company or going somewhere. That way, I have others to help make it disappear. A few weeks ago, we had family visiting so I took the opportunity to try a new cake and frosting. After much thought, the spiced apple cake with cinnamon sugar buttercream frosting was born. Speaking of born, today is my sister's birthday. Since she lives far away, I'm sharing this recipe today in her honor, as a virtual birthday cake.

My goal was something that was light, appley and spicey, without being too overwhelming, sweet yet not too sweet, and that screamed autumn. What I wanted was in my head so I looked at a few recipes to get an idea of what I wanted to do. Nothing matched what I imagined my cake to be, so I threw various things together and came up with this spiced apple cake. Buttercreams I always create off the top of my head (consulting with a baker friend of mine), using the basic butter/confectioners sugar/milk base. I kept it as a single layer because having a filling would make the cake too sweet and rich. The cinnamon gives the frosting a nice brown color that works well with orange sprinkles to give it the look of fall. When all is said and done, you get a spiced apple cake that isn't too heavy or cloying, has just the right amount of apple, tastes amazing, and a cinnamon sugar buttercream frosting that tops it off beautifully (and could be eaten by the spoonful itself).

Fall Recipe Week
All week I'm introducing you to easy, tasty recipes that are perfect for fall. Stop by each day for a new recipe: easy chicken pot pie, rosemary & garlic pork chops with cranberry quinoa, best-ever apple crisp, and homemade cinnamon applesauce. I'm also sharing a roundup of yummy autumn recipes from other bloggers.

Spiced Apple Cake with Cinnamon Sugar Buttercream Frosting

by The Stay-at-Home Life

Prep Time: 30 minutes, plus decorating

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Keywords: bake apple cinnamon nutmeg Halloween Thanksgiving birthday cake fall winter spring

6075408

Ingredients (15-20 servings)

For the Cake

• 2 large Gala and 2 large Stayman apples, peeled and cored, three diced and one put through a food chopper
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (not cake or pastry)
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1.5 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 cups packed light-brown sugar

For the Frosting

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (do not use margarine)
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 3 cups confectioners sugar
• 1 tsp milk
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

For the Cake

Preheat oven to 350

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt

In a second bowl, mix together butter, sugar and eggs on high until well combined

Combine flour mixture to the wet mixture just until combined, don't over mix

Fold in apples

Spray a 9x13 pan and line with parchment paper

Pour batter evenly in the pan

Bake for 20 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick poked into the center of the cake comes out clean

Let cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a cooling rack to let it cool completely

For the Frosting

Combine butter, 2.5 cups of the sugar, 1.5 tsp cinnamon and salt. Beat until creamy.

Add milk

Beat until smooth and creamy, at least 5 minutes

Add the remainder of the sugar and cinnamon bit by bit, tasting as you go. Stop when you reach the sweetness and spice levels you prefer. You may end up needing a bit more of either, depending on your tastes

Frost the cake and enjoy!

The lighting is off on this pic so a new one is coming soon.

To make cakes easier to frost, I love using frosting knives. This set that I got doesn't cost very much and works great.


This post contains affiliate links. For more on affiliate links, view the disclosure and policy page.

Affiliate Links

Spiced Apple Cake with Cinnamon Sugar Buttercream Frosting

It's no secret that I love baking cakes. Of all the cooking and baking I do, cakes are my favorite to create. I'd bake them more often if it didn't mean I'd have to eat it! Cake baking is reserved for special occasions and for when we're having company or going somewhere. That way, I have others to help make it disappear. A few weeks ago, we had family visiting so I took the opportunity to try a new cake and frosting. After much thought, the spiced apple cake with cinnamon sugar buttercream frosting was born. Speaking of born, today is my sister's birthday. Since she lives far away, I'm sharing this recipe today in her honor, as a virtual birthday cake.

My goal was something that was light, appley and spicey, without being too overwhelming, sweet yet not too sweet, and that screamed autumn. What I wanted was in my head so I looked at a few recipes to get an idea of what I wanted to do. Nothing matched what I imagined my cake to be, so I threw various things together and came up with this spiced apple cake. Buttercreams I always create off the top of my head (consulting with a baker friend of mine), using the basic butter/confectioners sugar/milk base. I kept it as a single layer because having a filling would make the cake too sweet and rich. The cinnamon gives the frosting a nice brown color that works well with orange sprinkles to give it the look of fall. When all is said and done, you get a spiced apple cake that isn't too heavy or cloying, has just the right amount of apple, tastes amazing, and a cinnamon sugar buttercream frosting that tops it off beautifully (and could be eaten by the spoonful itself).

Fall Recipe Week
All week I'm introducing you to easy, tasty recipes that are perfect for fall. Stop by each day for a new recipe: easy chicken pot pie, rosemary & garlic pork chops with cranberry quinoa, best-ever apple crisp, and homemade cinnamon applesauce. I'm also sharing a roundup of yummy autumn recipes from other bloggers.

Spiced Apple Cake with Cinnamon Sugar Buttercream Frosting

by The Stay-at-Home Life

Prep Time: 30 minutes, plus decorating

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Keywords: bake apple cinnamon nutmeg Halloween Thanksgiving birthday cake fall winter spring

6075408

Ingredients (15-20 servings)

For the Cake

• 2 large Gala and 2 large Stayman apples, peeled and cored, three diced and one put through a food chopper
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (not cake or pastry)
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1.5 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 cups packed light-brown sugar

For the Frosting

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (do not use margarine)
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 3 cups confectioners sugar
• 1 tsp milk
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

For the Cake

Preheat oven to 350

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt

In a second bowl, mix together butter, sugar and eggs on high until well combined

Combine flour mixture to the wet mixture just until combined, don't over mix

Fold in apples

Spray a 9x13 pan and line with parchment paper

Pour batter evenly in the pan

Bake for 20 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick poked into the center of the cake comes out clean

Let cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a cooling rack to let it cool completely

For the Frosting

Combine butter, 2.5 cups of the sugar, 1.5 tsp cinnamon and salt. Beat until creamy.

Add milk

Beat until smooth and creamy, at least 5 minutes

Add the remainder of the sugar and cinnamon bit by bit, tasting as you go. Stop when you reach the sweetness and spice levels you prefer. You may end up needing a bit more of either, depending on your tastes

Frost the cake and enjoy!

The lighting is off on this pic so a new one is coming soon.

To make cakes easier to frost, I love using frosting knives. This set that I got doesn't cost very much and works great.


This post contains affiliate links. For more on affiliate links, view the disclosure and policy page.

Affiliate Links

Vanilla Butter Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

A few special events took place in our family lately. For us, special events mean special cakes. Rather than spending lots of money buying on at the grocery store on a cake that's not from scratch and probably doesn't have as wholesome of ingredients, I made them myself.

I've made four vanilla butter cakes with vanilla buttercream frosting in the past month. Each was so good and got rave reviews from the eaters. I didn't have to argue with guests too much to get them to take home the leftovers so I wouldn't eat it (though I really wanted it). A's co-workers got their own cake and devoured it. This cake is great for birthdays, holidays, or other special occasions.

Vanilla Butter Cake

This recipe make three 8-inch rounds. You can stack them all, or make a 9x13 and one round, or a stacked two-layer and a single 8 inch. I've never stacked them all, I like having the extra cake in case more is needed at the party or to send to work with A.

Ingredients

• Four large eggs, separated, at room temperature
• 3 1/2 cups cake flour (must be cake flour)
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature (do not use margarine)
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk at room temperature
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Spray cake pans with non-stick spray, line with parchment, then spray parchment
Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt
Beat butter until soft (about 2-3 minutes)
Add 1 1/2 cups of sugar and beat until mixture is light and fluffy (about 5 minutes)
Add room-temperature egg yolks, one at a time, beating as you go.
Add vanilla, beat until combined
Set mixer to low and add flour mixture and room-temperature milk in five parts-- flour, then milk, then flour, then milk, then flour
In a clean bowl, use electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment to beat egg whites until foamy
Add cream of tartar, continue to beat until soft peaks form
Add remaining 1/2 cup of sugar gradually
Beat until stiff peaks form
Using silicone or rubber spatula, fold a small amount of the whites into the batter
Fold in remaining whites until combined, being careful not to over-mix or it will deflate
Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smoothing tops when done
Bake 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean
Cool cakes in pans on a wire rack for about 15 minutes, then remove cakes from the pans and cool on the racks
Frost and decorate the cakes once they are completely cooled  

To layer the cakes, put the first one top down, put frosting in the middle (I added sprinkles to one of mine as well), then put the next cake on, bottom down. This helps eliminate gaps and sliding. Keep frosted cakes covered in the fridge. 


Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (do not use margarine)
• 1/8 tsp salt 
• 3 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
• 1 tsp milk
• 1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• Food coloring, if desired

Directions

Combine butter, sugar, and salt. Beat until creamy.
Add milk and vanilla
Beat until smooth and creamy, at least 5 minutes
Add food coloring, if desired, beating until well-mixed

To make cakes easier to frost, I love using frosting knives. This set that I got doesn't cost very much and works great.


This post contains affiliate links. For more on affiliate links, view the disclosure and policy page.

Delicious Hummingbird Cake

The hummingbird cake is the cousin of the carrot cake and is perfect for Easter (or any time, really). After researching the name, it seems no one really knows how it got its name. It's possible it came from the "mmm" you say once you have the first, unexpected bite.

The recipe I used is adapted from one originally printed many years ago in Southern Living magazine. It seems the recipe is the most-requested one ever since it first ran back in the late 70s. My cousin first introduced me to it and I'll be making it many more times, I'm sure! M2 loves it since it has bananas.

Delicious Hummingbird Cake

by The Stay-at-Home Life

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

6077207

Ingredients (Two Layer Cake)

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 3 beaten eggs
• 2 1/4 pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup oil
• 10 oz crushed pineapple, if from can undrained
• 3 large bananas, mashed

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon in a stand mixer and mix on stir setting until blended well.

Add eggs, vanilla, oil, pineapple and bananas and mix until all ingredients are moist

Spray two 8 inch round cake pans well so that the cake will come out easy after baking. Divide batter between the pans, they will be very full.

Bake 35-45 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the centers come out clean.

Let cake rest in the pans 30 minutes then take them out and place on cooling rack to cool completely.

Make your favorite cream cheese frosting.

Once cooled, put one half upside down and frost. Then place other half on top, ride side up, and frost.

Decorate as desired. Mine was for a spring party, so I dyed the frosting robin's egg blue, added chocolate sprinkles to symbolize a nest and dusted with clear sprinkles for sparkle.

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I mashed the bananas in the peel to make it easier.

They rise nice and high.

Yummy!

Delicious Hummingbird Cake

The hummingbird cake is the cousin of the carrot cake and is perfect for Easter (or any time, really). After researching the name, it seems no one really knows how it got its name. It's possible it came from the "mmm" you say once you have the first, unexpected bite.

The recipe I used is adapted from one originally printed many years ago in Southern Living magazine. It seems the recipe is the most-requested one ever since it first ran back in the late 70s. My cousin first introduced me to it and I'll be making it many more times, I'm sure! M2 loves it since it has bananas.

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

3 beaten eggs

2 1/4 pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup oil

10 oz crushed pineapple, if from can undrained

3 large bananas, mashed

I mashed the bananas in the peel to make it easier.

How To

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon in a stand mixer and mix on stir setting until blended well.
3. Add eggs, vanilla, oil, pineapple and bananas and mix until all ingredients are moist
4. Spray two 8 inch round cake pans well so that the cake will come out easy after baking. Divide batter between the pans, they will be very full.
5. Bake 35-45 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the centers come out clean.
6. Let cake rest in the pans 30 minutes then take them out and place on cooling rack to cool completely.
7. Make your favorite cream cheese frosting.
8. Once cooled, put one half upside down and frost. Then place other half on top, ride side up, and frost.
9. Decorate as desired. Mine was for a spring party, so I dyed the frosting robin's egg blue, added chocolate sprinkles to symbolize a nest and dusted with clear sprinkles for sparkle.
   
   
   I'm not sharing the recipe for the cream cheese frosting as the one I tried turned out way too sweet.

They rise nice and high.

Cooling

Yummy!

The frosting didn't spread well either.

Tie-Dye Donut Cake

In stores tie-dye cakes are everywhere it seems. Boxes and boxes of dyed cake and tubs of dyed icing as far as the eye can see (ok, maybe not that much, but it still seems like there's a ton of it!). Two friends of mine and I were celebrating all three of our birthdays together so, of course, I decided to make a cake. After much debate as to what kind, I figured, "Why not give the whole tie-dye thing a go using my own custom colors and dying everything myself?" Doing it myself, rather than getting one of the kits, also meant I got to pick the colors.

Cake

For this cake, I cheated and used a box of butter cake mix, stirred it all up, then pulled out the box of food dye. I wanted deep green, medium orange, indigo blue and dark purple--my friends', A's and my favorite colors. 

1. I divided the batter up into four bowls, with one having more than the others.

2. Following the directions on the box of dye, I added the appropriate drops to each bowl until I had deep, rich colors. The bowl with the most batter was the purple. 

3. Once that was done, I poured the purple into the bottom of a well-greased bundt pan (hence the round shape), since there was the most of that. 

4. Next, I made  a ring of the blue, then a ring of green, and lastly the orange. The rings didn't totally cover one another and weren't overly neat as I wanted it to be a tie-dye rather than rainbow look. 

5. Lastly, into the oven it went, baked per the directions on the box. 

6.Once the was done baking, I let it cool on a rack for about an hour then flipped it out onto the rack to cool completely. An hour or so later, it was nice and cool so onto the wood tray it went! 

Note: It didn't have to be a bundt pan, I just wanted a different shape than what I usually do. Square, round, 9x13 or even cupcakes work as well.

Frosting

Now, for the frosting fun. I wanted to do a mish-mash of colors but not exactly the same as inside. Yellow, green, blue and red were the final choices. 

1. The frosting (two regular size tubs) went into five new bowls which I then dyed until I got the shades I wanted. One bowl was left without dye for the white base which allowed the colors to pop more. Knowing the blue and red would take the most, I put more frosting in those bowls. 

2. Once everything was dyed, with a knife I put the yellow around the inside, then green, then did a big loop of blue, then red. 

3. Finally, the fun! With my handy-dandy pastry brush (mine is silicone and awesome for some many things) I smeared the colors together, being careful to spread the colors around but not turn them into mud by mixing them too much. I did this until I liked the pattern that had been made (I kept playing with it trying to get it "perfect" and had to stop myself before I had mud! :) ) 

4.To top it off, I tipped on some clear  sprinkles. It turned out great and the inside was just as awesome, each slice different from the last with a new beautiful color array. 

Voila! Tye-dye donut cake! I forgot to get shots of the inside (it was awesome), but got plenty of the outside. 

Yes, it tasted as good as it looked! It also didn't dye everything it touched (like our mouths!) as many store-bought kits do since I could control the amount of dye that went in.