Apple Cider Cake
Tender apple cider cake made with fresh apple cider, warm fall spices and brown butter. This moist cake is topped with an apple cider caramel whipped cream and more caramel sauce.
Servings 1 9 inch cake
Equipment
- 1 8 inch metal square or round pan
Ingredients
Prep Ingredients
- 3 cups fresh apple cider boiled down to a little over ½ cup (we’ll use 120g or ½ cup for the cake and save the rest for the glaze)
- 113g or ½ cup butter unsalted
Apple Cider Cake
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 100g or ½ cup brown sugar light or dark
- 100g or ½ cup fine granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 85-90g browned butter from above
- 30g or 2 tablespoons avocado oil or something flavorless (don’t use canola oil or anything with a strong flavor)
- 190g or 1 ½ cups cake flour shake the flour over the cup and level - never pack it in or dip to scoop
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 120g or ½ cup reduced cider from above
- 60g or ¼ cup buttermilk
Apple Cider Caramel Whipped Cream
- 360g or 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- ¼-⅓ cup apple cider caramel make the full recipe, use some for the whipped cream, some for drizzling on the cake afterwards and keep the rest for another use
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Reduce the cider: set the three cups of fresh apple cider in a large pot. If you like, add a few tablespoons of mulling spices to the pot and stir (this gives it a more spiced flavor). Set the heat on medium high. The liquid will come to a boil, then a rolling boil, you’ll continue to cook it until it’s roughly one sixth of the volume it was to start. We don’t want it to cook down into a syrup, it should be a thick, cloudy liquid. This can take up to 30 minutes, more or less depending on how high and steady the heat is and the material of the pan. Once you have a little over half a cup, pour into a heat safe jar and cool. Once cool, seal and set in the fridge. You can do this ahead of time, up to a week before baking the cake.
- Brown the butter: set the butter in a light colored skillet over medium heat. Let it cook until melted, then begin to sputter and bubble. The milk solids will separate (you’ll see bits that look like panko or breadcrumbs in the bottom of the pan) and as you keep cooking they will turn caramel colored brown. Once all the bits are a toasty brown color and the butter has gone silent. Scrape all of it into a medium to large bowl (this will be the bowl you make the glaze in). Pour the liquid into a separate bowl over a scale, trying to keep the brown bits in the bigger bowl. Stop when you have about 85g of liquid, this will be the butter that goes into the cake batter. Into this, add the cinnamon and allspice, and stir to combine.
- Preheat & prep: Preheat the oven to 325 F. Lightly grease then line a square cake pan (8x8 inch) with parchment paper.
- Make the cake batter: in a large bowl, add the sugars (100g each), salt and vanilla. Crack in the two eggs and use a hand mixer to beat until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Then, with the mixer on, slowly pour in the liquid browned butter (85-90g) and the oil (30g or 2 TB), keep beating until well combined. Sift the cake flour (190g or 1 ½ cups) into the batter and add the baking soda (¼ tsp) and baking powder (¾ tsp) . With the mixer on slowly pour in the reduced cider (120g or ½ cup) and the buttermilk (60g or ¼ cup). Beat until the batter is just combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl for even mixing.
- Bake the cake: transfer the cake batter to the prepared cake pan. Smooth into an even layer. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, or the middle springs back; about 30-35 minutes. Let cool briefly in the pan then invert onto a cooling rack. Let cool completely before slicing and glazing. Use a bread knife to trim off the edges of the cake and use a cake slicer to slice it horizontally so you have two layers.
- Make the caramel whipped cream: set the heavy cream (360g or 1 ½ cups), caramel (¼-⅓ cup), salt, and vanilla in a food processor. Run the processor on high until the cream thickens; this can take 60 seconds or more. Stop to check it, if you can swipe a spoon through it and it holds shape it’s done. Spread over the completely cooled cake.
Video
Notes
For a larger crowd, double the recipe and bake it in a sheet cake pan, 13x9 inches. Bake time will differ, go by visual cues: a cake tester or the top springing back when pressed. For a tiered cake, double the recipe and bake in two 8 or 9 inch round pans.