How fast can you say Apple Spice Cake with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting & Toasted Walnuts?! Come on now! My #BakerSpotlight, Rebekah, brought it with this FULL RECIPE!
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour (I prefer King Arthur Baking Company)
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of brown sugar (light or dark)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp salt (some folks like to use Kosher salt)
4 large eggs
1 cup of vegetable or canola oil (I prefer vegetable)
1 cup of unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla (I prefer Watkins 1868 Baking Vanilla)
1 large apple, peeled and diced into ¼ inch chunks (Honeycrisp or Granny Smith)
Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting:
1 cup of buttered, softened (I prefer Land O’Lakes)
4 cups of powdered sugar
2-3 tbsp milk (I use Lactaid milk)
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 9-inch cake pans with cooking spray and either line with parchment rounds or flour the pans. I’m old fashioned, so I lightly flour my pans.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until well combined. Add in the eggs, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Fold in the diced apples using a spatula or wooden spoon.
3. Pour even amounts of batter into the prepared pans. I use a 1 cup measuring cup to scoop batter into my pans. Use your spatula or wooden spoon to scoop the remaining batter into each pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes until a deep golden color brown. Stick a toothpick in the center to see if it comes out clean. If so, take the cakes out of the oven. Cool on a wire cooling rack for about 15 minutes and then remove from the pans, peeling off the parchment and then letting the cakes cool completely.
4. *Here’s a cool tip: if not using parchment rounds, use the handle of a wooden spoon to firmly pound the bottom of your cake pans to release the cakes.
5. While the cake is cooling, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add 2 cups of roughly chopped walnuts and toast/bake for 15 minutes or until brown. Set aside and let cool. Or if you like plain walnuts, no need to toast. Just place on top of the cake once it is cooled and frosted.
Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting:
1. While the cakes cool, make the frosting. In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter using an electric mixer (or handheld mixer). Gradually add in the powdered sugar, two tablespoons of milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Continue mixing until desired consistency is reached, adding an additional tablespoon of milk if needed.
2. To frost the cake, place one of the cooled cake rounds on serving plate. Add about 1/3 buttercream on top and spread over cake layer. Carefully place on the second, top layer of cook. Scoop the remaining frosting on the top of the cake and spread the frosting on top and sides of the cake. Once finished frosting the cake to your liking, sprinkle the toasted walnuts on top of the cake. Bon appetite!