Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Spice Cake with Cinnamon Buttercream

It's November, and that's the perfect time for all things spice. This is another recipe that I decided to make because I am still trying to perfect a "white cake" recipe, aka a non-chocolate cake, and tis the season to have copious amounts of cinnamon in everything, so here we are. This recipe makes three 8-inch round cakes OR 24 cupcakes with a bit extra. I chose cupcakes for this one so that I could shove them full of fig marmalade. No regrets.

For the Cake:
1/3 c vegetable oil
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
3 eggs
2 c granulated sugar
2 c all purpose flour
1 1/2 c cake flour
1 1/2 c buttermilk
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger

1. Preheat oven to 350F and prepare 24 cupcake tins with liners (and an extra little cake pan for the extra batter. No batter left behind!)
2. Combine vegetable oil and butter in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment.
3. Gradually add in the granulated sugar and whip until light and fluffy.
4. Add in eggs and vanilla to the sugar mixture.
5. In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and spices.

6. Pour 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the sugar mixture and mix to combine.
7. Pour 1/2 of the buttermilk into sugar mixture and combine.
8. Pour another 1/3 of dry.
9. Pour second 1/2 of buttermilk.
10. Pour in the last 1/3 of the dry ingredients.
11. Divide the batter between cupcakes liners. Bake for 18 - 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

For the Buttercream:
3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
4 c (ish) powdered sugar, sifted
1 tbsp vanilla
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon *I am gonna be honest here- I didn't measure. I rarely do with cinnamon. This is my best estimate. Put some in and taste it and add more if you need to. That's all I got. 
**You could also add a splash of heavy cream to loosen it up if you like. I did not.*

1. Put butter into stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment and start to mix.
2. Slowly incorporate the powdered sugar and cinnamon. *I actually sifted these two together. 
3. Add vanilla and salt.
4. Whip until light and fluffy. If you feel like it's too loose, add more sugar. If it feels too tight, add a splash of cream or milk.
5. Slather on everything. Everything.
Assembly:
1. Take the cooled cupcakes and hollow out a hole in the center, making sure not to go all the way to the bottom of the cupcake. Put your favorite fig marmalade in a piping bag and cut off the tip. *You could also use like a pumpkin or apple butter here. That would be delicious. Or like an apple pie filling. Oh man, now I want apple pie.
2. Pipe the marmalade into each cupcake. I took the piece that I cut out of the cupcake and just took the very top and put it back on top of the jam so that it's easier to frost.
3. Pipe or scoop buttercream onto each cupcake- I scooped here and swirled with an offset spatula. These have a rustic feel to me, but you could jazz them up for the holidays easily.
4. Make some coffee and sit on your couch with a warm blanket and eat at least 3 in a row to make sure they're just right before you serve them to your guests. Quality control people.

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