Apple Butter Spice Cake

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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!