The Ultimate Layered Apple Cake Recipe 465

Steps:

• 1.Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans. Place the raisins and water in a glass measuring cup and nuke until the water boils for a few seconds (~1 minute, total time). Set aside. 2.Preheat the oven to 325ºF. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside. 3.Put the oil, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat until combined, then add eggs, beating until incorporated. The batter should be smooth and thick. On low speed, mix in the apples, raisins (strained, liquid reserved for another purpose), and lemon zest until everything appears to be fully distributed, ~30 seconds. Continuing on low speed, add the flour mixture, beating just until incorporated. Scrape the batter into the bowl that held the flour mixture. 4.Clean and dry the stand mixer bowl and fit it with the whisk attachment. Whip the egg whites to soft peaks. Fold them into the batter in 2 additions. Scrape the batter into the pans and level them with a spatula. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until: The tops of the cakes darken to the color of an well-toasted or even overly-toasted marshmallow. The sides of the cakes begin to pull away from the edge of the pan. A tester comes out clean 5.Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the pans. Once the cakes are stone cold, remove them from the pans and place them on flat plates or a cookie sheet. 6.To make the frosting, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and syrup until light and airy, ~3 minutes on speed 6. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the cream cheese and beat until the frosting is completely homogenized, ~1½ minutes, speed 4. Spread decidedly more than half the frosting over the top of the cake that will form the bottom layer and the remaining frosting over the other cake. Push the frosting very close to the edge of the cake, but stop short of getting there. Don't frost the sides. Place both cakes in the refrigerator and chill for 45 minutes. 7.Once chilled, stack the cakes on a cake plate. (Dust with confectioners' sugar.) Return the cake to the refrigerator[7] until it's time to serve. Serve the cake cold or at room temperature. Notes [1] Servings ... as a double layer. If you want to stretch it even further, consider leaving the cakes unstacked and serving them as two single layers. A one-eighth slice of a single layer is a small serving, but in no way paltry. The cake is filling enough to make that work for 16 total servings. [2] Olive Oil: A good, everyday olive oil works beautifully. Save your extra virgin for salad dressing and bread dipping. [3] Vanilla: I recommend my man-made, hand-made, ideologically-superior vanilla extract. You regular readers know how I feel about the that! [4] Room Temperature: The butter and cream cheese will come to room temperature in about the same amount of time that it takes for the finished apple cakes to cool. [5] Cold Butter: Don't try to cream a stick of cold butter with a cheap hand-held mixer. Oh, and in case you've ever wondered how well a hand-held mixer would work with only one working beater, the answer is "like crap." [6] Syrup: You're going to want to use real maple syrup for this cake, not Aunt Jemima. You can swap out as much as 2 Tbs of the syrup for reserved raisin liquid. You can usually find real maple syrup in tiny bottles (thankfully, because it's so expensive). I found a 3.4 ounce bottle (you could fly with it) of Archer Farms, and that was perfect. Yes, that's the Targé brand. Sorry, Aunt Jemima. [7] Refrigeration: To keep it from drying out while in the refrigerator, I place the cake in a tightly-sealed cake tote, which I then place into the fridge.

Steps:

• 1. Toss apples, cinnamon, and 5 Tbsp of sugar together to coat. Then set aside.
• 2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together oil and sugar. Add eggs one at a time.
• 3. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together. Then add to sugar and egg mixture, alternately with orange juice and vanilla.
• 4. Grease and flour a tube or Bundt pan. Put in a layer of batter, then a layer of apple mixture, another layer of batter, another layer of apples, then finish with a layer of batter.
• 5. Bake at 350 F for 1 1/2 hours. Cool 1 hour in the pan.
• 6. Then invert onto a serving plate. Sift with powdered sugar and serve with hot coffee or tea.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Whisk all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together in a bowl. Whisk oil, white sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla together in a separate bowl. Stir flour mixture into sugar mixture; fold apples and 1 1/2 cups walnuts into batter. Pour batter into a 10x13-inch baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cake is set, about 1 hour. Pierce surface of cake in several places with a large fork.
• Stir brown sugar, butter, and milk together in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high until sugar is dissolved and mixture boils, about 2 1/2 minutes. Sprinkle 1/2 cup walnuts over hot cake and pour brown sugar mixture over the top.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 8-inch-round cake pans; line bottoms with parchment paper. Butter, then flour paper and sides (tapping out excess); set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together butter, sugar, and eggs until well combined; fold in grated and diced apples. Add flour mixture; mix just until combined. Divide batter among prepared pans; smooth tops.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool cakes in pans 20 minutes, then invert onto wire racks; peel off parchment. Invert cakes again, and let cool completely on racks.
• Make buttercream: In a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pan of simmering water, whisk together egg whites, sugar, and salt until sugar has dissolved; remove from heat. Using an electric mixer on medium, beat mixture until fluffy and cooled, about 15 minutes. Increase to high; beat until stiff peaks form. Reduce to medium-low; gradually add butter, beating until fully incorporated, about 3 to 5 minutes.
• Assemble cake: Place one layer on a serving plate; spread top with buttercream. Top with another layer; spread top with buttercream. Top with third layer; spread remaining buttercream over top and sides of cake. Refrigerate at least 1 hour (or up to 4 days). To serve, bring cake to room temperature; slice with a serrated knife.

Steps:

• Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans; line with parchment. Butter and flour parchment, tapping out any excess.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together butter, brown sugar, and eggs until well combined; fold in grated and diced apples. Add flour mixture; mix just until combined. Divide batter among prepared pans; smooth tops.
• Bake until a tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cakes cool in pans 20 minutes, then invert onto wire racks; remove parchment. Invert cakes again; let cool completely on racks.
• Frosting: In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add cream cheese and beat until well combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes more. Add confectioners' sugar and salt; beat 5 minutes.
• Place a cake layer on a serving plate. Spread about 1 cup frosting evenly over it; top with a second cake layer. Repeat with another 1 cup frosting and third cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 4 days. Return to room temperature before serving. Garnish with apple chips, if desired; use a serrated knife to slice cake.