Saturday, October 23, 2010

Apple Butter Spice Cake


Congratulations to all our winners this week!

Don't forget to check back for our next contest -- coming soon!


Today's prize is this adorable ceramic bowl and the oh-so-cute spider salt and pepper shakers. To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment on today's post. Be sure to check back to see if you are the lucky winner!




If you've been longing for the wonderful spices of fall, this is the cake for you. It's packed with those vibrant flavors. I kept it simple, though -- no layers and no extra fillings to make.



Friends complain to me that cakes are too complicated. Not this one. I've gussied it up a little bit for Halloween, but, honestly, I think I'd like it best with a dusting of powdered sugar on top.

For Halloween, though, I've made it with a cream cheese frosting and a chocolate spiderweb on top. I would make a lousy spider, because my web wasn't a work of art. In the end, though, I liked the drips because they made the cake a little bit more spooky. I intentionally placed the candy corn adornment in a off-kilter manner to play up the fun of Halloween.


Apple Butter Spice Cake



1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup flour

1/2 cup apple butter
1/4 cup milk

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg

Take the butter and egg out of fridge and bring to room temperature. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9-inch cake pan.

Combine the spices and flour in a bowl and mix well with a fork or mini-whisk.

Combine the apple butter and milk and blend with a fork or mini-whisk.

Cream the butter with the sugar. Beat in the egg.
Add half the apple butter mixture and beat. Add half the spice mixture and beat. Add remaining apple butter and flour and beat.

Pour into cake pan and bake 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 bar (4 ounces) cream cheese
2 tablespoons butter (room temp works best)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat together the cream cheese and butter, Add sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. Spread on cool cake.

(Note: this makes enough to cover the cake but if you like a lot of frosting, you may want to double the recipe.)

Chocolate Spider Web

2 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate
2 tablespoons butter (optional)

Melt the chocolate and butter. (I use the microwave on half power.)

If you want a perfect spider web, omit or use very little butter. If you want a drippy spiderweb, use the butter. Either way, work fast because the chocolate hardens surprisingly fast. You can drizzle the chocolate, or, for more control, use a pastry bag.

Making A Spiderweb

Beginning in the center, make a small circle. Make four more circles, each one about an inch from the last. Starting in the middle, drag a cake tester or toothpick in a straight line through all the circles. Eight lines work best.


Happy Halloween!

36 comments:

  1. I love spice cake & I love cream cheese frosting--this looks fantastic! The candy corn edging gives it an adorable flair. :)

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  2. Krista,
    My mom loved loved loved Apple Butter...and now my kids do :-) Thanks so much for a recipe that will make them happy and give me a few extra moments remembering my lovely mom!! Have a great Fall weekend...we have our first frost warning of the season...

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  3. You did a terrific job on that cake. It looks great! And sounds yummy =)

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  4. This cake sounds absolutely yummy! Thanks for sharing.

    Denise

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  5. This not only looks yummy, but just the name of it makes me think fall with visions of cuddling by a fireplace with a cup of coffee and a slice of this cake.

    Mason
    Thoughts in Progress

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  6. My mom used to make a spice cake and I loved it. I will definitely try this one out on my family. Looks fabulous, Krista!

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  7. Wendy, I think the candy corn is a fun touch, too. It just says "Halloween!"

    Booklover, food makes so many memories for us. I love that your kids share your mom's fondness for apple butter.

    Thanks, Zita and Denise!

    Mason, you're so right. The fall flavors are intense. All you need is a fire and a good book to go with the coffee and cake.

    Thanks, Julie. I love spice cake, too. The apple butter gives this one a little extra kick of flavor.

    ~ Krista

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  8. That looks really good. Love the spiderweb and candy corns. I think if I try this I might add a little apple pie spice to the cream cheese frosting. I always like to add a little hidden flavor.

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  9. That sounds great. I LOVE apple butter (my ma and grandma used to make it homemade when I was little), and mix it with spice cake? ... great. Now I just have to find someone to make it for me bc I don't bake/cook. =)

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  10. Great idea, Poser! The flavors in the cake are pretty strong, so I chose to go with a plain cream cheese frosting, but I bet it would be delicious.

    Oh no, Jo! This cake is soooo easy I bet you could bake it without any problem.

    ~ Krista

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  11. I just finished a batch of applesauce. This will be perfect. I'll just do the dusting of powdered sugar for Sunday Brunch. Thanks.

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  12. Apples and spice are some of my favorite flavors of fall. Every once in awhile I pick up a jar of apple butter and eat it on toast every morning!

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  13. I love that you used apple butter in this cake (much more interesting than the typical applesauce). This is a must-make for me! Those prizes are so much fun, too, especially the salt and pepper shakers - Spider-Man is my Queens' homeboy, so you know I'm lovin' your theme today!

    ~ Cleo
    Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

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  14. This looks so good. I like spice cakes in the fall. Somehow they just seem more appropriate this time of the year than any other.

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  15. The cake looks fantastic! And as for the prizes, those spider salt 'n pepper shakers are just too cute. Thanks for the recipe.

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  16. I am putting the mix together as we speak! Cannot wait to see how yummy this is going to be and I'll have it along with a Peppermint Mocha Latte! : )

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  17. I remember friends serving an awful lot of apple spice cake in the fall. Loved it but was young and not yet cooking. Will have to give this recipe a try.

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  18. Spice cake is my all time favorite type of cake! I can't wait to try this and what a perfect fall cake!

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  19. I love this idea. All the wonderful apple taste and no peeling and cutting. This would go together in just minutes. I'm making one tonight!

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  20. I made the mistake of looking at this when Logan was sitting with me and of course this morning we made a trip to the store :). I was told we really really really need to make this to go with our dinner this evening.

    Great post thanks for sharing.

    The World of Book Reviews

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  21. Beverly, homemade applesauce is the best. I bet it will work great in this recipe.

    Janel, I do the same. : ) It just tastes like fall.

    Cleo, I want those spiders, too!

    Pattie, you're so right. Wonder why we hit the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in the fall? I guess they go better with apples and pumpkin than with spring fruits.

    Patty, I may just have to buy myself a set of those cute spiders! I like them, too.

    ~ Krista

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  22. Sally, I hope you like it.

    You don't waste any time, coffeehouse_fan! I love that you'll be having one of Cleo's lattes with it!

    Lil, this is probably a little bit more dense than the spice cakes your friends made. But it's very good and loaded with spices.

    Melinda, I love spice cake, too!

    LOL, HarbingerDC! I hadn't thought about it as a short cut around peeling and and slicing apples, but you're so right!

    Ah, Logan the all powerful! That's so cute. I hope you and Logan love the cake!

    ~ Krista

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  23. The cake looks amazing and I just love the bowl and s&p shakers. Fabulous!!!

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  24. i am so hungry....and now the only thing that sounds good is your cake!!!

    lori cimino from facebook
    i dont know how to connect my post to my fb profile

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  25. I've had a craving for spice cake and this just fits the bill! Love your pictures, too. Thanks, Krista!

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  26. Thanks, Jenn!

    Lori, I wish I could cyber-send you a piece! I don't know how to connect, either. I guess you could hit share . . .

    Thanks, Lynn. The afternoon sun hit the cake just as I was taking pictures. Some days you get lucky!

    ~ Krista

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  27. I love the spice cake recipe. So simple & fun at the same time. Going to make it for our office Halloween party!

    Linda

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  28. This one sounds yummy! Will definitely be trying this soon....

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  29. OOO...this sounds scrumptious!! Can't wait to try it! By the way, Krista. Would you please send me a friend request on FB? For some reason my friend request to you wouldn't go through. (Jamie Rutland Gillespie). I LOVE your White House mysteries!

    bentleyboy22@comcast.net

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  30. I love spice cake, I love cream cheese frosting...this looks easy-peasy to make too. Thanks for this. The house will smell yum, too, when I bake it.

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  31. I haven't had spice cake in wayyyy too long! And I love cream cheese frosting, too. I can't wait to give this one a go. :)

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  32. Linda, I hope everyone at your office loves it!

    bski92, this is certainly the season for it!

    Vickie, it smelled wonderful when it was baking. Those spices are strong!

    Hope you like it, Elizabeth!

    ~ Krista

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  33. bentleyboy22, I would *love* to friend you on Facebook. Unfortunately, I'm stuck in Facebook never-never land. I reached my limit of 5000 friends and Facebook won't let me have any more friends.

    The odd thing is that my official friend number fluctuates, quite literally, from minute to minute. I'll have 5007 friends and the next time I look, I have 4998. Of course, some people could be unfriending me, but it fluctuates so rapidly, that I'm inclined to think it's some sort of Facebook quirk.

    When my friend number drops below 5000, I hustle in and friend some of the people who have asked to be friends. For some odd reason that I don't understand, I can't go to someone's page and friend them. I can only friend them if they've asked to be friends.

    I've received emails from people who told me they got a "limit reached" notice when they tried to friend me. OTOH, some friend requests still come through! All I can say is to keep trying!

    And, btw, I love the White House Chef Mysteries, too, but I don't write them -- they're written by our own lovely Julie Hyzy!

    ~ Krista

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  34. Thanks, Krista!
    Hi, Jamie! And guess what? We're already friends on FB!
    Thanks for your kind words about the WHChef books!

    Julie

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  35. Krista, sorry!! I am so mortified!! LOL. I LOVE your Domestic Diva Mysteries! (I was actually in the middle of a White House mystery when I wrote that! Guess my mind can't focus on more than one thing at a time.) Julie: Yeah, we are friends on FB. I am itching to read your new book, too. Love ya both!! Jamie

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