baking – Page 17 – Bead Yarn & Spatula

Blood Orange-Olive Oil Cake

I recently picked up Martha Stewart’s newest cookbook – Martha Stewart’s Cakes – and after going through it I was eager to try out one of the many delicious recipes in it. I was all set to make a butter cake until I came across some blood oranges in my local supermarket and remembered a Blood Orange – Olive Oil cake recipe from the book.

The oranges…

After zesting and peeling the oranges….

I squeezed a few segments to get 1/4 cup of juice. While it probably would have been easier just to squeeze the juice into a measuring cup this oddball method was what my hands reached for first.

After mixing the orange zest and sugar together with my fingers (per the instructions) I then added in the juice and buttermilk and whisked it together with my hand mixer… not my fingers!

I then added in three eggs and extra-virgin olive oil. No worries… There wasn’t a hint of taste of olive oil in the final outcome and I must say the olive oil produced a very moist cake. If you want some more information on baking with olive oil check out this website.

And finally I added in a sifted mixture of flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

I knew this cake was going to be a winner when the batter itself already had a wonderful aroma and it wasn’t even in the oven yet.

I then poured it into a prepared – I sprayed it with non-stick baking spray – 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and baked it in a 350 degrees preheated oven for about forty-five minutes.

I first let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for fifteen minutes and then turned it out on the rack to finish cooling overnight.

Once the cake cooled I made a dark chocolate glaze to drizzle over it. I did so by chopping up two ounces of bittersweet chocolate and then poured warmed heavy cream over it.

After letting it sit for a few minutes I whisked it together.

And then drizzled it over the cake.

I couldn’t wait to slice it into it and was not disappointed. The cake had a nice orange taste and that little bit of chocolate on top was just perfect! The recipe actually called for a honey-sweetened blood-orange compote to go along with it but I opted not to make it and I definitely didn’t miss it.

Blood Orange – Olive Oil Cake

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 blood oranges

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

3 large eggs

2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 oz. bittersweet chocolate

1/4 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare a 9-by-5 inch with non-stick baking spray. Finely grate enough rind from oranges to yield 1 packed tablespoon zest.

2. Peel the oranges and then working over a bowl squeeze the segments to obtain 1/4 cup juice.

3. Combine sugar and zest in another bowl; using your fingers, rub together well. Add juice and the buttermilk; whisk to combine. Add eggs and oil; whisk to combine. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a small bowl; add to buttermilk mixture, whisking until smooth.

4. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake until golden and a cake tester comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool 15 minutes. Turn out cake onto rack to cool completely.

5. Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring cream to a gentle simmer in a small saucepan. Pour over chocolate, let stand 5 minutes, and then whisk together until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cake and let set about 1 hour.

Checkerboard Cake

I’ve attempted to make a Checkerboard Cake two times before and both times I didn’t have much luck. The first time I followed the directions on the pan set I have for it exactly, even following the recipe for the cake and I didn’t like the taste of the cake and my cake batter ran into each other so it didn’t look all that great when I sliced into it. The second time I opted to use box cake and while the cake tasted better I still had the issue of the cake batter running so once again not all that checkerboard looking when I sliced into it. According to the directions for the pan set you put the ring separator into the pan, pour the batter in, remove the ring and then bake. This wasn’t working for me, so on this (my third) try I opted to bake the cakes first and then use the ring separator to cut the cakes and then assemble it for the checkerboard pattern and I’m happy to say I didn’t strike out! Granted it was a bit messy to assemble but it wasn’t anything that couldn’t be fixed (or hidden) with a little frosting.

Using Betty Crocker’s Super Moist Milk Chocolate and Yellow cake mix I prepared the cakes according to the directions on the box.

After letting the cakes cool I took the ring separator and sliced each of the cakes into three rings.

And then the messy part began… Assembling. As you can see some of the rings broke up a little, but like I said frosting covered up all the little imperfections. To make sure the rings of the cake wouldn’t fall apart when slicing I “glued” them together with icing along the inside of each ring.

After covering the first layer with frosting I added the second layer and then spread frosting on it as well.

And finally the third layer…

I’ll admit the final product was a bit lopsided and could have used a little extra frosting (I used two containers of Betty Crocker’s Milk Chocolate Frosting to get to this point) but this was an afternoon whim of baking to see if the technique would work.

And the moment of truth… I got a pretty decent looking checkerboard!!! The saying is true… If at first you don’t succeed try, try, try again. And I’ll definitely be trying it again with more time and frosting.

Cranberry Cupcakes

While everyone is so focused on pumpkin being the “it” flavor of the Fall, another fruit quietly makes its way into the fold – albeit mainly to be a nice accompaniment to your Thanksgiving turkey… the cranberry. Granted most of us don’t (or won’t) eat raw cranberries due to their bitterness, but they are quite tasty when dried, blended into wonderful juice combinations (thanks Ocean Spray!) or made into a sauce (my personal favorite.) So when I came across a recipe for Cranberry Cupcakes in a recent issue of Food Network Magazine I knew I had to try it.

To begin, I whisked together flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and nutmeg in a bowl and set it aside.

I then mixed together my wet ingredients. Starting with the sugar and butter, then adding in an egg and vanilla extract.

Next I added in the flour mixture and mixed it until the two mixtures were just incorporated.

And finally I added in sour cream, which allows for a denser cupcake. After mixing it with the mixer I gave it a couple of extra stirs with a spatula.

The batter was the perfect amount for 12 cupcakes.

I baked them for 20 minutes in a 350F preheated oven and voila…

Next, I made a small indentation in each of the cupcakes…

And then added in a few teaspoons of canned cranberry sauce into the indentation. Since the cupcakes are denser there are no concerns about them falling apart due to the liquid of the sauce.

While they cooled I made a Cranberry Buttercream Frosting.

Once they cooled completely I piped a 1M Swirl of frosting on each of the cupcakes.

Final verdict… They’re a keeper! Although next time I’m thinking of trying them with a different fruit, maybe blueberries.

Cranberry Cupcakes

Makes 12 Cupcakes

For The Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/8 to 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup canned whole-berry cranberry sauce

For The Frosting

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/4 cup canned whole-berry cranberry sauce

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Dried cranberries, for topping

1. Make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350F and line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and nutmeg in a medium bowl.

2. Beat the butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until fluffy, about 3 more minutes. Reduce the speed to low; add the flour mixture and beat until just incorporated, about 1 minute. Add the sour cream and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 more minutes.

3. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 22 minutes. Let sit until cool enough to handle, then gently press the back of a small spoon into the center of each cupcake to make an indentation. Fill each indentation with a few teaspoons of cranberry sauce. Remove the cupcakes to a rack to cool completely.

4. Meanwhile, make the frosting. Beat the butter and 1 cup confectioners’ sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium low; gradually add the remaining 2 cups confectioners’ sugar and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium high; beat in the cranberry sauce, vanilla and salt until combined. Spread the frosting on the cupcakes and top with dried cranberries.

Snickerdoodles

I always thought that Snickerdoodles were a cookie with toffee or something of the sort. I remember having a cookie like that back when I was in college and for some reason I thought that was it. But, not too long ago I had the real thing and was instantly hooked. For those of who are in the dark like I was, Snickerdoodles are essentially sugar cookies that are rolled in cinnamon sugar prior to baking. Recently I picked up Martha Stewart’s Cookies cookbook and one of the first recipes I came across was for Snickerdoodles so of course I had to try it out.

To begin I sifted the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt) into one bowl and mixed together my wet ingredients (sugar, butter and eggs) in another bowl.

I then gradually mixed the flour mixture into the sugar mixture and as simple as that the dough came together.

Using a small cookie scoop I shaped the dough into balls and then rolled them in cinnamon sugar and placed them on parchment paper lined cookie sheets.

After baking for 13 minutes (I rotated the sheet at 6 minutes) in a 350 degrees preheated oven my Snickerdoodles were done.

I let them cool on the cookie sheets on wire racks and once they were cool enough I tried one and they were great! A favorite to be baked over and over again!

Snickerdoodles

Makes about 1 1/2 dozen

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. coarse salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tbsp. sugar

2 large eggs

3 tsp. ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Put butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in the flour mixture.

2. Stir together cinnamon and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl. Shape dough into twenty 1 3/4- inch balls; roll in cinnamon sugar. Space 3 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

3. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment paper in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

Thanksgiving Wrap-Up

So I ate the last of my Thanksgiving leftovers yesterday and they were definitely good while they lasted. Ironically cooking a turkey on Thanksgiving has never intimidated me like cooking on an everyday basis used to. Go figure! I would like to say that I turned those turkey leftovers into something creative, but, that just never happened (although I did have a thought or two about it.)

Along with my turkey (which I must say came out really juicy and tasty thanks to brining and an herbed butter rub)…

I also made a Sweet Potato Casserole (it was the first time I ever made one and it will definitely become a staple of mine), Williams-Sonoma’s Focaccia Stuffing and Brussels Sprouts with Caramelized Onions…

And in my opinion Thanksgiving is just not complete without some Cranberry Sauce.

For dessert I decided to make a Pumpkin Pecan Pie. I usually just make a plain old Pumpkin Pie but after seeing a recipe that included pecans I was intrigued to try it. In all honesty I didn’t particularly care for that recipe so originally I decided to add pecans to the usual recipe I follow for Pumpkin Pie, but, I decided this year to try out Libby’s Famous Pumpkin Pie recipe. They are known for their packed pumpkin in cans so I figured they should know a thing or two about turning that into a delicious pie.

To start I toasted about 1/2 cup of chopped pecans on a lightly greased baking sheet in a 350 degrees preheated oven for five minutes. After they cooled I scattered them on the bottom of a deep-dish pie shell. I took a major short-cut and opted to buy a frozen pie crust.

Next, I made the pumpkin filling by beating 2 large eggs in a bowl and then adding in the pumpkin and a mixture of sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves. And then I gradually stirred in a can of evaporated milk.

And finally I poured that into the pecan covered pie crust and baked it for fifteen minutes in a 425 degrees preheated oven and then dropped the temperature to 350 degrees and baked it for another forty-five minutes.

I loved the texture the pecans added to the pie as well as the nutty flavor.

And while many were out scoring Black Friday deals I opted to stay in and work on some Christmas crafts… Stay tuned!

Sweet & Salty Oatmeal Cookies

Not too long ago I went on a Cupcake Tour in NYC and my favorite treat on the tour wasn’t a cupcake – even though all of them were quite good – but a cookie, a Salted Oat Surprise cookie from Milk & Cookies Bakery to be exact. It was the perfect combination of sweet and salty with white chocolate chips, toffee bits and sea salt. Since then I have wanted to try and create a version of the cookie myself since there isn’t a definitive recipe floating around anywhere. I finally got around to it by tweaking my favorite oatmeal cookie recipe.

First up… I whisked together flour, baking soda, and salt together and set it aside.

Using my stand mixer I creamed together butter, brown sugar and white sugar.

Next I added in two eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Then some vanilla extract.

And then the flour mixture.

And finally the key ingredients to these cookies… old fashioned oats, white chocolate chips and toffee bits.

Once all my ingredients were mixed together well it was time to scoop them out onto my prepared baking sheets (I covered them with parchment paper.) I squeezed two extra cookies onto my second baking sheet so the order was a little wonky but it didn’t alter the baking at all. Before popping them in the oven I sprinkled each cookie with some sea salt to get that salty flavor.

The first batch out of the oven after baking for 11 minutes in a 350 degrees preheated oven.

Final verdict… They didn’t taste exactly like the cookies I had on the tour, but, they were delicious nonetheless!

Salted Oatmeal Cookies*

Yields: 42 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

3 cups old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup toffee bits

Sea Salt, for sprinkling on cookies

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and cover baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.

Cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until smooth. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then add in the vanilla extract.

Stir in the flour mixture until just combined and then add in the oats, white chocolate chips and toffee bits.

Using a cookie scoop drop spoonfuls of the dough on to the prepared baking sheets and sprinkle a few flakes of sea salt on each cookie.

Bake for 11 minutes in the preheated oven and allow the cookies to cook for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

*Adapted from the Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies recipe found on Allrecipes website.

Banana Chocolate Chip & Nut Muffins

So once again I had a few bananas that were a tad over-ripe and while I had a few ideas as to what I wanted to make I settled on some muffins. I figured I had to have a recipe somewhere for something so basic and then I came across a 50 Muffin booklet I ripped out of an issue of Food Network magazine last year. The recipe was simple and I had all of the ingredients on hand so I got to baking.

Up first I mixed together my dry ingredients: flour, walnuts, baking powder, salt and baking soda. I also added some chocolate chips which weren’t part of the original recipe.

Secondly I mixed together brown sugar, melted butter, mashed banana, sour cream and eggs.

I then folded the wet mixture into the flour mixture.

Since it was fall I decided to use up the last of my pumpkin decorated cupcake liners. I was concerned since they seemed as though they had lost their shape….

But once I filled them with the muffing batter they were just fine. While the recipe said it only yielded twelve muffins I had some extra batter to squeeze out two extra muffins. I filled the empty compartments of the muffin tin with water so the two muffins would bake evenly but recently read that it’s not necessary.

I baked them for about twenty minutes in a 350 degree pre-heated oven. After letting them sit in the pan for a few minutes I then transferred them to a wire rack so they could cool completely.

While these muffins did taste good I wasn’t too thrilled about them so I doubt I will be baking up another batch of them anytime soon. I am thinking the next time I have some bananas past their prime I might make a Banana Cream Pie.

Banana Chocolate Chip & Nut Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups flour

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips*

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup mashed banana

1/2 cup sour cream

2 eggs

*The original recipe didn’t include chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the flour, chopped nuts, chocolate chips, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl whisk together the brown sugar, butter, banana, sour cream and 2 eggs and then fold it into the flour mixture. Divide among 12 prepared muffin cups and bake 20 to 25 minutes.

Comfort Desserts

It’s been about a month since I last posted and it’s not for the lack of baking, beading or knitting. I did a bunch of baking for a friend’s birthday earlier this month but stuck to treats that were among his favorite and ones that I have blogged about before- my newly discovered pumpkin doughnuts, mini chocolate-chip cheesecakes and a strawberry shortcake birthday cake. As for knitting, I recently completed two scarves which I plan to post about soon – a ruffle scarf for a friend and a cowl neck for myself. I liked the ruffle scarf so much I am planning on making one for myself. And finally beading, after about a four month hiatus I finally picked up some beading needles and started making jewelry again. But in between all of that I did try out two recipes for what I like to call comfort desserts – a pound cake and a rice pudding. I know rice pudding is not most people’s cup of tea when it comes to desserts, but it has been a favorite of mine for quite some time. Both of these recipes are super easy to follow and turn out some delicious treats.

Grandma’s Pound Cake

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 15 Minutes

Servings: 12

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 cups sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

6 eggs

Directions:

Heat oven to 350ºF.

Mix flour and baking powder; set aside. Beat cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each until blended. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until blended.

Pour into 12-cup fluted tube or 10-inch tube pan sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake 1 hour or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 min. Loosen cake from sides of pan with knife. Invert cake onto wire rack; gently remove pan. Cool cake completely.

Arborio Rice Pudding

Prep Time: 5 Minutes

Total Time: 40 Minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 cup water

pinch of salt

1/2 tbsp. butter

1/2 cup Arborio rice

2 cups whole milk

4 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Few dashes ground cinnamon

Whipped cream, for serving

Directions:

Bring water, salt, and butter to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the rice, return to a boil, and then reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Shake the pan occasionally and cook until rice has absorbed the water but it still al dente, about 15 minutes.

Bring milk, sugar, vanilla, and a few dashes of cinnamon to a simmer in a separate saucepan. Add the cooked rice and cook at a simmer over medium-low heat until rice absorbs most of the milk and mixture starts to get thick and silky, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Transfer pudding to a large bowl and cool to room temperature. Place in refrigerator until cool and set. Serve with whipped cream and a dash more cinnamon.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Doughtnuts

I recently purchased a Wilton Doughnut Pan and had every intention of making cinnamon doughnuts to try it out but then some other recipes got in the way of that and I kept putting the doughnuts on the back-burner. But then last week I made Tortellini with Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce (which was super simple and quite delicious) and I had leftover canned pumpkin and it was only a day or two before that I had come across a recipe for Pumpkin Doughnuts in the recent issue (October 2013) of Real Simple magazine… It was pretty much kismet. I scratched the cinnamon doughnuts and opted for the pumpkin doughnuts instead.

The pan and the leftover canned pumpkin…

To begin I whisked all of my dry ingredients together: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and ground cloves. (The recipe actually called for pumpkin pie spice which I didn’t have on hand, hence me using cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and ground cloves.)

In another bowl I whisked together pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, egg and vanilla extract.

Next up I mixed the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture.

Then it was time to scoop it into my prepared doughnut pan.

Per the directions I scooped a 1/4 of a cup of the batter into each doughnut crevice.

I then baked them in a 350 degree preheated oven for 13 minutes.

After letting them cool in the pan for 15 minutes I prepped my second batch of doughnuts to be baked. I ran a little short on batter so as you can see one of the crevices was barely filled.

That small doughnut ended up being my tester and I was quite pleased with how they came out. I let the remaining 11 doughnuts cool properly before trying another one.

The doughnuts were a hit among my friends and I already received requests to make them again!

Pumpkin Doughnuts*

Makes 12

Ingredients

1/2 cup canola oil, plus more for the pans

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup pure pumpkin puree

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Lightly oil two 6-compartment doughnut pans* (or use 1 pan and bake in batches). Whisk together the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl; set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined (do not overmix).

3. Spoon ¼ cup batter into each compartment of the prepared pans. Bake until the doughnuts are golden brown and spring back lightly when touched, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

*The original recipe included a Sour Cream Icing which I opted not to put on the doughnuts.

A Quintessential Fall Birthday Cake

A good friend recently celebrated a birthday and a few days prior to it I asked her what kind of cake she would like me to bake for her and she responded with an apple cake. The only apple cake I could recall making was an Apple Walnut Cake that really wasn’t what I would consider to be a birthday cake. So, after a few texts back and forth we settled on an apple cake with walnuts with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting. While her birthday technically falls in the summer according to the calendar it’s unofficially in the fall since it is after Labor Day, hence this cake being the quintessential fall birthday cake. Since I haven’t mastered creating my own recipes I did a few internet searches to find a recipe for the cake and frosting. After coming up empty handed I decided to follow the recipe for my favorite carrot cake and substitute grated apples in lieu of the carrots and for the frosting, I made my favorite cream cheese frosting and added in ground cinnamon in small increments until I reached my desired flavor.

To begin I prepped my Granny Smith Apples…

First I peeled them…

Then cored and sliced them using an apple divider…

And finally grated them using a food processor.

I started the batter by combining the dry ingredients and setting it aside.

I then creamed butter and sugar together.

Once the butter and sugar were mixed together well I added in the eggs and dry ingredients by alternating between the two.

And them some vanilla extract.

It was then time to add in the grated apples.

And finally I folded in some chopped walnuts.

Once the walnuts were incorporated well into the batter it was time to divvy it up among my prepared pans.

Once divided I popped them into a 350 degrees oven.

After baking for 25 minutes the cakes were done.

I let them cool for a bit in the pans and then inverted them onto cooling racks to let them cool completely.

After the cakes cooled completely I made the Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting by combing cream cheese, butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract and of course cinnamon.

I spread frosting between each of the layers…

And then crumb coated the cake and refrigerated it for a bit while I made another batch of frosting to finish covering the cake and for decorating.

After about twenty minutes in the fridge I finished frosting it…

And then I added some decorations and scattered some walnuts along the sides of the cake prior to writing a birthday message on it.

Final verdict: It was a hit… Definitely something I’ll make again!

Apple Walnut Cake

(Adapted from Gigi’s Carrot Cake)

Ingredients

3 sticks unsalted butter

2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 cups grated apples (I used Granny Smith apples)

1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray 3 (9-inch) cake pans with baking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer. Add the sugar, and beat. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt and mix well.

Add the dry ingredients, alternating with the eggs, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and mix. Add the apples and beat on medium speed until well incorporated, about 2 minutes. Fold in the walnuts. Divide the batter between the 3 cake pans and bake until set and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest in the cake pans for 10 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, remove from the pans, and let cool.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

2 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter, softened

2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

In a medium bowl cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add in the vanilla extract and then gradually add in the confectioners sugar. And finally mix in the ground cinnamon.

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