granny smith apples – Bead Yarn & Spatula

Apple Crisp Cheesecake

So, are you savoring these last days of Fall while getting ready for Thanksgiving still embracing the pumpkins, leaves and colors of the season? Or have you just gone full blown into Christmas and all around you is red and green and your Thanksgiving meal will be celebrated with Christmas décor? People have very strong feelings about this and prefer each holiday to have its own time. Me personally I put up my Christmas Tree on November 1^st. I used to wait until after Thanksgiving, but I would always feel rushed then to get all my decorating done in one day. The tree up, décor around the house and the lights outside. It was just too much. So, a few years ago I decided that I would set up my tree right after Halloween. I will wait until Thanksgiving week though to turn it on and enjoy it all lit up. I must say though that this year I found that people really had some strong feelings about people jumping into Christmas right after Halloween. Is it really that big of a deal? Just do you own thing and don’t fault others for wanting to spread some holiday cheer a little early. Regardless, today’s dessert might just be the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving dessert table. It combines quite a few desserts into one, an Apple Crisp Cheesecake. You get your apples, a crisp topping and a cheesecake all tied together into one yummy dessert.

I started off by making the crisp topping since it needed to be chilled, then the apples and finally the cheesecake part. To assemble, I started off by filling a 9-inch graham cracker crust with the cheesecake filling. I added in some apple pie spices – cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ginger – to the cheesecake to help tie all the flavors together since I did add cinnamon to both the apples and crisp topping.

I then arranged the apples over the filling. First in an even layer and then placed the remaining apples over them. I tossed the apples with lemon juice, cinnamon and brown sugar. I used Granny Smith apples, so they weren’t very sweet or mushy after baking.

And finally, I sprinkled the chilled crisp topping over the apples. Initially I wasn’t planning on baking the cheesecake on a baking sheet, but, as I started to sprinkle the topping on it, I thought it best to bake it on the sheet just in case any of the topping fell off. The reason I chilled the crisp topping was to minimize the chances of it over-browning or burning too quickly while in the oven.

I baked the cheesecake for just shy of an hour and then let it cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before placing it on a wire rack to cool completely. It’s best to let cool it for a few minutes on the pan before transferring it so the cheesecake can firm up a bit. The apples will release some juices while baking and while the cheesecake will be done it will feel soft due to these extra juices.

Once the cheesecake had cooled completely, I refrigerated it overnight. And the next day it was time to slice it and enjoy a piece. And I must say, this came out just as I had hoped and envisioned in my head. As with the Apple Tiramisu from the other day it wasn’t overly sweet and all the components worked well together.

Apple Crisp Cheesecake

Servings: 8
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Ingredients:

9-inch graham cracker crust

For the Cheesecake:

2 8oz packages cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon ginger

2 large eggs, at room temperature

For the Apple Topping:

2 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored & sliced thin

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

For the Crisp Topping:

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

4 tablespoons butter, softened

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 F.

For the Crisp Topping: In a medium bowl mix together the oats, flour, sugar and cinnamon until well combined. Add in the butter and mix until the mixture is crumbly. It might be best to use your hands. Refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.

For the Apple Topping: In a medium bowl toss together the apples, lemon juice, cinnamon and sugar until the apples are well coated. Set aside.

For the Cheesecake: In a large bowl beat together the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ginger with a hand mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add the eggs and continue beating until the eggs are incorporated into the batter.

Assemble: Place the graham cracker crust on a baking sheet then pour the cheesecake batter into the crust. Arrange the apples evenly over the batter and then sprinkle the crisp topping over the apples.

Bake in the preheated oven for 50-55 minutes, until the center is set. To prevent the crisp topping from over-browning or burning, tent the cheesecake with aluminum foil for the last 15-20 minutes.

Cool on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 8 hours (or overnight) before serving.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula.

Apple Tiramisu

This week I’m bringing you a twist on some traditional desserts, a Fall twist that is with the addition of apples to both. Up first an Apple Tiramisu, and later this week an Apple Crisp Cheesecake.

So, where did the idea for an Apple Tiramisu come from? Well, I had a pack of ladyfingers that were quickly approaching their expiration date and while I was planning on making a traditional tiramisu with them, I started to think that maybe something a little more seasonal would work. And thankfully I was right. Truth be told I had some reservations that the apple filling, similar to what you would make for apple pie, would work in the tiramisu.

To start, I made the apple filling since it needed to be completely cooled before assembling the tiramisu. After peeling, coring and chopping my apples I tossed them with lemon juice, light brown sugar, cinnamon and flour. I then cooked them in melted butter along with a few tablespoons of water in a medium saucepan. The apples were soft, but still had a slight crunch to them.

While the apples cooled, I made a bourbon whipped cream and the mascarpone filling. I folded some of the bourbon whipped cream into mascarpone cheese and reserved the rest for the topping of the tiramisu. I also made the dipping mixture for the ladyfingers by whisking together milk, sugar, vanilla extract and bourbon.

Once all the components were done it was time to start assembling the tiramisu. I began by dipping half of the ladyfingers in the milk mixture and arranging them in an even layer in the bottom of an 8×8-inch baking dish. I spread half of the mascarpone filling over the ladyfingers and then topped it with half of the apple mixture. I repeated the layer one more time and then spread the reserved bourbon whipped cream over the top. I covered the tiramisu with a piece of wax paper and aluminum foil and refrigerated it overnight.

The following day I made a small and quick batch of caramel sauce. After sprinkling chopped walnuts on top of the tiramisu I then drizzled the caramel sauce over it.

This was a nice Fall twist on the traditional Tiramisu. It was light with just the right amount of sweetness from the apples.

Apple Tiramisu

Servings: 9-12
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Ingredients:

7oz. package of Ladyfingers

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, for topping

For the Apple Filling:

3 large Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored & chopped

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon flour

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 tablespoons water

For the Mascarpone Cream:

8 oz. mascarpone cheese, at room temperature

3 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided

2 cups heavy cream

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons bourbon

For the Ladyfingers Dipping Mixture:

1 1/2 cups milk*

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons bourbon

For the Caramel Drizzle:

1/4 cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

*I used whole milk

Directions:

Apple Filling: In a medium bowl toss the apples with the lemon juice. Add in the sugar, cinnamon and flour and toss together until the apples are well coated.

In a medium saucepan melt the butter over medium heat, add the apples and water and toss everything together. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook the apples until they are soft but still have a slight crunch to them, 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally so the apples don’t stick to the pan. Remove from the heat and cool completely.

Mascarpone Cream: In a medium bowl stir together the mascarpone cheese and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla extract until well combined.

In another medium bowl, beat together the heavy cream, sugar, bourbon and the remaining 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract with a hand mixer on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Reserve about 1 1/4 cups of the whipped cream mixture.

Gradually fold the remaining whipped cream mixture into the mascarpone cheese mixture. Start with a quarter of the of the whipped cream mixture and then the remaining amount. Continue folding the two mixtures together until no streaks of either remain and they are well incorporated.

Dipping Mixture: In a shallow bowl whisk together all the ingredients – milk, sugar, vanilla extract and bourbon – until combined.

Assemble: Dip the rounded side of half of the ladyfingers in the dipping mixture and arrange them in an even layer in the bottom of an 8×8-inch baking dish. Top with half of the mascarpone cream and then spread half of the cooled apple mixture over the cream. Repeat the layers once more. Top with the reserved whipped cream mixture. Cover with a piece of wax paper and them aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

For the caramel drizzle: An hour before serving, make the caramel sauce. In a small saucepan combine the sugar, butter and milk. Heat over medium heat until sugar melts and the mixture boils. Boil for a minute or two stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Allow to cool. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools. If it looks like it’s separating while it’s cooling, whisk it for a minute or so.

Right before serving, sprinkle the chopped walnuts over the tiramisu and then drizzle with caramel sauce.

Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula.

Bourbon Caramel Apple Upside Down Spice Cake

I’ve been willing Fall to get here for the past few weeks. I am sure I have mentioned it before, it’s my favorite season. Cooler weather, the leaves changing, baking without overheating my house, the list goes on and on. There are a few flavors synonymous with this time of year, mainly pumpkin and apples. And while I normally like to welcome Fall with a new pumpkin recipe, I decided to go with the apples this year for a Caramel Apple Bourbon Upside Down Spice Cake. A bit of a mouthful!

A little backstory on this cake. I got the idea from watching a Fall themed movie on Hallmark Channel back in the Spring. I wrote the idea on a post-it and finally revisited it a few weeks ago. And of course, there were a few fails before I finally ended up with a cake that looked and tasted delicious. My first cake collapsed in the middle. My cake tester led me astray! The cake was slightly undercooked in the middle and there was no saving it. The fail though led me to change the flavor of the cake so it was kind of a good thing. Initially I doctored a French vanilla cake mix and decided the flavor just wasn’t right, so I switched to a spice cake instead. That definitely screams Fall more so than French Vanilla. So, I bought a spice cake Mix and made a few tweaks to it. I also decided to bake the cake in a tube pan to ensure it would bake completely without drying out. Well, it still wasn’t quite right. I used heavy cream when I made my bourbon caramel sauce and I just didn’t like the way it looked after flipping the cake. And while the cake tasted good, I just wasn’t getting enough spice from it.

Thankfully my third attempt was a success! First, I decided to omit the heavy cream from my caramel sauce. Second, I went with a yellow cake mix and added in cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and cloves (those yummy warm spices of the season) to really get a strong spice flavor. And third, after I poured the caramel and arranged the apples in the pan, I placed the pan in the refrigerator while I made the batter for the cake. This allowed the apples to set in the caramel so that they wouldn’t move when I poured the batter into the pan. This actually happened with my second attempt at this cake. I had arranged my apples in a nice design and they moved all around once I poured the batter in. I didn’t take any chances with my third attempt though. I spooned the batter into the pan just to be safe.

Just look at how the apples looked before I added the batter. I definitely wanted that look on top of my cake once it was done.

And thankfully since I made those tweaks my cake looked amazing once I flipped it out of the pan. YAY!!!

And even better, the taste and texture of the cake was spot on.

Happy Fall Y’all!

Bourbon Caramel Apple Upside Down Spice Cake

Servings: 12-16
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Ingredients:

For the Bourbon Caramel Apple:

1/2 cup light brown sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup bourbon

2 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (about 1/4 inch)

For the Spice Cake:

1 15.25 box of yellow cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

3 large eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup buttermilk*, at room temperature

1/3 cup sour cream, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*Make your own buttermilk by adding 4 teaspoons of vinegar to a measuring cup and then adding enough whole milk to make 3/4 cup. Let stand for 15 minutes at room temperature, or until the milk becomes thick and appears curdled.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a tube pan with baking spray and set aside. You could also use a Bundt pan.

For the Bourbon Caramel Sauce:

In a small saucepan combine the brown sugar and butter and melt over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once the mixture is melted and combined remove from the heat and add the bourbon. Return to the heat for about a minute and stir to combine. Let cool slightly.

Pour the caramel sauce into the prepared pan and arrange the apple slices in the sauce making sure to overlap them.

While you make the cake batter refrigerate the pan with the apples and caramel sauce so the sauce can set. This will help the apples stay in place when you add the batter.

For the Spice Cake:

In a medium bowl whisk together the yellow cake mix with the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and cloves. Set aside.

In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer on low speed, beat the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, sour cream and vanilla extract until combined. Using a fine mesh sieve (or a sifter) sift the cake mix with the spices over the buttermilk mixture and then beat with the hand mixer on medium speed until just combined.

Remove the pan from the refrigerator and spoon the batter over the apples. Give the pan a few gentle taps on the counter to remove any air bubbles and then bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the cake comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes and then invert onto a cake platter or other rimmed dish. Let the cake to cool to room temperature before slicing and enjoying. It’s important to let the cake cool before slicing so the apples can set on the cake. If you slice it too soon the apples will slide off.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula

Apple Butterscotch Cookies

So, I’m on a bit of an apple kick. I welcomed Fall on here with an Apple Pie Spice Cake, I recently made an Apple Fritter Bread that I will be sharing very soon and today I am bringing you a recipe for Apple Butterscotch Cookies. They do say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but, I am just not sure if that also applies to apples baked into desserts.

These cookies are perfect for Fall. Not just because of the apples, but because the cinnamon and butterscotch in these cookies would pair perfectly with a hot cup of tea or cider. Both of which are a welcome relief to combat the slight chill in the air of a perfectly crisp Fall day. As for the texture, they are firm around the edges and perfectly soft in the middle. The ideal combination of any cookie.

Apple Butterscotch Cookies

Servings: 36 cookies
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Ingredients:

2 ½ cups flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Granny Smith apple peeled and diced

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup butterscotch chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cinnamon and baking soda and set aside.

In a large bowl, using a hand mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter and both sugars until creamy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract.

Add the flour mixture to butter mixture and beat on low until just incorporated.

Add in the diced apple, chopped walnuts and butterscotch chips and mix until everything is well combined.

Use a cookie scoop to drop the dough on the prepared baking sheets. Bake in the preheated oven for 13-15 minutes, until the cookies are set on top and starting to brown around the edges.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula.

Apple Pie Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Happy Fall Y’all! While I normally welcome my favorite season with a pumpkin dessert, I decided to switch it up this year with an apple one, well sort of. It’s a spice cake with an apple pie filling topped with cream cheese frosting. You get all the Fall feels with this cake… the warm spices – cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and cloves – from the spice cake, the deliciousness of apple pie and you can never go wrong with cream cheese frosting!

To start I made the spice cake. I whisked together the dry ingredients and then beat the wet ingredients together and then incorporated both until it was just combined. To make sure I don’t overmix my batter I normally use a hand mixer and beat everything for about 30 seconds to a minute and then finish mixing everything with a rubber spatula. Once the batter was ready, I divided it among two 8-inch pans that I sprayed with baking spray and baked the cakes for about 40 minutes. After letting them cool in the pan for a few minutes I transferred them to a wire rack to cool completely. I always like to make my cakes a day or two in advance of assembling them so I wrapped them in plastic wrap and refrigerated them until I was ready to use them.

For the apple filling you can either make it a day ahead or if you plan on making it the day you intend to use it, just make sure to let it cool completely. I opted to use Granny Smith apples since these are one of the best apples for baking and can be found at pretty much any supermarket. Since you are cooking the apples you want to make sure you choose a variety that won’t get too mushy after cooking. The Granny Smith apples held up well after being boiled and simmered, they were tender but still firm.

Next, I made the cream cheese frosting. I let my butter come to room temperature and then took my cream cheese out for only about five minutes. I don’t like using cream cheese that is too warm because I find that the frosting gets too soft then. I added the butter and cream cheese to the bowl of my stand mixer and beat it on low for a minute or two to incorporate them. I then sifted 2 cups of confectioners’ sugar right into the bowl, beat it on medium for about 30 seconds to blend it all together. And then sifted in another 2 cups of confectioners’ sugar and beat it on medium-high speed until the frosting was light and fluffy. Finally, I added in vanilla extract and beat everything on high for 30 seconds. I did find that my frosting was a little soft so I refrigerated it for a few minutes before using.

With all my components ready to go it was time to assemble my cake. I began by leveling the cakes. On the bottom cake, I spread a thin layer of frosting on it and then piped a dam around the perimeter of the cake so the apple filling wouldn’t “escape.”

I’ll admit that I didn’t pipe my dam perfectly, but, it did the trick and none of the apple filling escaped when I topped it with the other cake layer and finished frosting and decorating it!

Apple Pie Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Servings: 12
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For the Cake:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 teaspoons ginger

3/4 teaspoons nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 sticks unsalted butter, melted

1 cup sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

1 cup sour cream

4 eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Apple Pie Filling:

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups water

For the Frosting:

2 8 oz. packages cream cheese

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray two 8-inch round pans with baking spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and cloves and set aside.

In a large, using a handheld mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and both sugars together until smooth. Add in the sour cream and continue beating until well incorporated. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beat well after each addition, and finally the vanilla extract.

On low speed beat in the dry ingredients until just combined.

Divide the batter among the two prepared pans and bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool the cakes in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes and then remove from the pans and place on the wire rack to cool completely.

For the Apple Filling: Toss the apples in the lemon juice and set aside.

In a medium saucepan combine both sugars, the cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir to combine and then add in the water and stir once again to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add the apples and bring to boil once again. Lower the heat to a simmer and let cook for about 10 minutes, or until the apples are tender. Remove the pan from the heat and let the apples cool completely before using. Can make a day ahead and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the Frosting: Using a stand mixer beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium speed to incorporate. Add in 2 cups of the confectioners’ sugar to mixture and beat on medium for 30 seconds, add the remaining 2 cups of confectioners’ sugar and beat on medium-speed until the frosting is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and beat on high speed for 30 seconds. Refrigerate the frosting until ready to use.

To assemble the cake: Level the cake layers if necessary. Lightly frost the top of the bottom layer. Fill a piping bag with the frosting and pipe a dam around the bottom layer (a ring of frosting around the perimeter of the cake). It may be necessary to pipe two layers of the frosting. Fill with the apple mixture and top with the other cake. Crumb coat the cake and refrigerate for 15 minutes (place the remaining frosting in the refrigerator during this time as well). Finish frosting the cake and decorate as desired.

Recipe first published on Bead Yarn & Spatula

Apple Streusel Dump Cake

I’ve made dump cakes before, but, this one is slightly different because it uses fresh fruit as opposed to canned ones. Specifically Granny Smith Apples. Those are my go-to apples when it comes to baking since they are not overly sweet and are the perfect texture for baking. This cake is a great alternative if you don’t like dealing with pie crust, but, still want something that is akin to apple pie.

To begin, I peeled, cored and sliced Granny Smith apples that I then tossed with lemon juice, cinnamon and salt. I then scattered them in a baking dish that I sprayed with baking spray.

Next, I made the cake mix by combining flour, sugar, rolled oats, baking powder & soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt. I sprinkled this over the apples and then grated a stick and a half of unsalted butter over the cake mix.

And finally, I mixed flour, light brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt with a stick of melted butter with my hands to form clumps and then sprinkled this over the cake.

I baked the cake for about 40 minutes and let it cool before digging in. While the apples were not overly sweet the topping and cake portion of the cake made up for it.

Apple Streusel Dump Cake

Ingredients:

For the base:

3 pounds Granny Smith Apples (or other sweet-tart apples) peeled, cored and thinly sliced (about 7)

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

For the cake mix:

1 1/4 cups flour

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter

For the streusel:

1 3/4 cups flour

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9×13 baking dish with butter or nonstick spray

Make the base: In a large bowl toss the apples with the lemon juice, cinnamon and salt. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.

Make the cake: In a medium bowl combine all of the ingredients except the butter and sprinkle over the apples. Using the largest holes on a box grater grate the butter over the cake.

Make the streusel: In a medium bowl whisk together all of the ingredients except the melted butter. Once the dry ingredients are combined pour in the melted butter and stir. Using your hands squeeze the mixture together forming clumps and then sprinkle over the cake.

Bake until the cake is golden, about 30 to 45 minutes. Let cool 30 minutes before slicing.

Enjoy on its own or with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream.

Recipe from Real Simple

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.