Let Them Eat Cake (and Prepare to Marathon!)

I have a complicated relationship with cake.

On one hand, it's (usually) totally bad for you.  On the other, it's (usually) delicious.

I've previously talked about my paternal grandmother, who was the town baker in a small town in Nebraska.  She was a terrible cook, but a brilliant baker.  You would suffer through her dinners to get to the dessert afterward, which was universally spectacular.

I love to bake, and can make a very good layer cake and great coffee cakes, quick breads and other less-complicated sweets.  However, I claim no mad skills (or should that be "skillz"?) when it comes to beautiful decorations or foo-foo sweets.

Last month, when I saw an invitation on FoodBuzz to join the Cake Slice Society, I totally jumped at it--a chance to work on my baking skills, plus see the work of lots of bakers more talented than I am?  Yes!  I am in! 

The point of the group is for far-flung food bloggers (say that fast three times) to bake the same recipe from the same cookbook once a month and post on the same day.

I made this cake for the pre-half-marathon dinner I went to last Friday.  It was pronounced good race fuel, and besides that it was wicked good.  It has the added bonus of holding up well for a few days.



Ah, fall in Alaska.  It'll last for about another five minutes.

As an aside, if you tell your spouse/partner/colleague that you just have to blog tonight or you won't meet your Cake Slice Society deadline, you may be mocked.

Pre-Marathon Apple Cake with Maple Frosting

Adapted from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle

For the cake:

1.5 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup softened unsalted butter

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2/3 cup buttermilk

2 cups Granny Smith apples, cored and chopped*

1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

For the frosting:

6 oz. cream cheese, softened

3 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground ginger

Pinch of nutmeg, preferably freshly ground

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1/8 cup pure maple syrup**

For the cake:

Start your oven to preheating at 350 degrees and make sure there is a rack in the middle.  Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with nonstick spray, preferably one with flour.

Combine and whisk the following ingredients in a medium bowl:  flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, baking soda and salt.

Look at me, being all organized.

Using an electric hand mixer and a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed until it is creamy.  Add the sugar gradually and beat at medium speed until light in color.  Add the vanilla, then the eggs one at a time.  Scrape the sides of the bowl down to make sure the entire mixture is blended.

Bring the mixer to low speed and add the dry ingredient mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk.  When the mixture is blended, stop mixing and stir in the apples and walnuts by hand.

Using a spatula, scrape the batter into the baking pan and level the top.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until the cake is golden and a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  At that point, remove the cake from the oven and cool on a baking rack.

While the cake is baking, start the frosting:

Using an electric  mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until well-combined.  Add the vanilla, maple syrup and spices until just combined.  With the mixer on low, gradually beat in the powdered sugar until the mixture comes together;  then, increase the mixer speed until the frosting is fluffy.

Serves 12, even with people doing a half-marathon the next day.

*The original recipe calls for peeling the apples, too.  I was feeling busy and lazy at the same time (complicated, but true), so I didn't bother.  No one seemed to notice.

**The original recipe calls for 1/8 teaspoon of maple extract.  Being a dunce, I didn't have maple extract and added the maple syrup instead.  If this is wrong, I don't want to be right--the maple flavor was pure and natural.