You can have cake and eat it too!

Yesterday was supposed to be a 'down' day for me. I just wanted to do only what needed to be done and then chillax. But I just couldn't do it. So instead of knocking things off the to-do list I decided to bake a cake, because why not! Speaking of the to-do list, I need to update you all on where I am with that.

I have this wonderful cookbook by Hannah Queen called Honey & Jam. It is beautiful and full of yummy baked goods. I've made some recipes from it before--mainly the apple skillet cake but I've also made the carrot and beet cupcakes and they are divine! But I wanted to make something different using what I had in the pantry and/or freezer. So I flipped through the book (which is now officially falling apart!) and found a recipe for an apple stack cake. I tweaked it, as usual, to use what I had on hand. And friends? It is so good! I thought I'd share the recipe here with my modifications. You are welcome!

The Recipe: Brown Butter Apple Stack Cake
Adapted from Honey & Jam by Hannah Queen

For the cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk
1 cup fresh or frozen currants

For the filling:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 small apples, cored and cut into slices
1/2 bag of fresh or frozen cranberries

For the whipped cream:
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
almonds or any other nut you have on hand

Make the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter three 9-inch round cake pans.

In a medium bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Alternate adding the flour mixture and milk to the mixer bowl, beginning and ending with the flour. Stir in nuts if desired (or save them to add between the layers). Stir in currants.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Allow the cakes to cool completely in the pans.

Make the filling:
While the cakes are cooling, in a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it turns golden brown and nutty scented, about 5-10 minutes. Add the brown sugar, apples, and cranberries, and cook until the apples are tender and the cranberries pop. About 10 minutes.

Make the whipped cream:
In a chilled bowl, combine the cream, powdered sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Using a chilled whisk, whip by hand or with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.

Assemble the cake:
Transfer one cake layer to a plate or cake stand and top it with half the filling mixture. Add a layer of nuts and then top with whipped cream. Place the second layer on top and repeat with the other half of the filling, top with nuts, and then add a layer of whipped cream. Set the remaining cake layer in place, spread whipped cream on top and garnish with nuts.

Tips:
I only used 2 small apples for the filling because that's what I had on hand. I would use a couple more or 3 large apples as the original recipe calls for. Maybe some more cranberries too. If you follow the recipe as I've written it out, only do two layers of cake, rather than 3. The filling recipe above makes enough to spread between one layer. Or it makes two thin layers of filling, which worked fine and tastes good! I also didn't use nutmeg in my whipped cream, but boy it sure would taste good in the whipped cream!

The results:

It make a very rustic cake that is full of yumminess. It's a good cake for the fall, but I happened to have everything in my freezer or refrigerator to make this cake now. Did I ever tell you fall is my fav??

And one more quick update for you. I found these vintage molds while cleaning out this past weekend. And I thought they would make great pincushions! So I'm adding pincushions to the web shop but if you want to preorder, I'll ship them for free. Preorders need to be in by May 10th. You can see all the details on my facebook page. It describes how to preorder and has the fabric choices. Right now I have 6 pincushions left for preorder and I'm out of the yellow gingham fabric. Let me know if you have any questions!

That's it friends. I hope you are having a good week.
'til next time
-k
xoxo