Do you prefer cake or pie?
There seems a definitive split.
Pie is my soul, but cake is my heart.
Filling this heart is simple – a fluffy sweet, but not too, deeply intense slice of cake. Top with fall spice frosting and I’m done.
In big and small ways, I’ve changed quite a bit. Do you feel similar, or not so much?
Chocolate cake wasn’t always a passion. I was all about white cake with white frosting, but then one day turned, and in a big way. Raise your hand if you’ve conquered a P.F. Changs Great Wall of Chocolate. That monster was the gateway into bonafide chocolate cake love.
Then came another shift, one I only feel comfortable confiding here. Once making chocolate cake from scratch, I could no longer eat just any. No, cake has to be exceptional and frosting, flawless. When the two meet, move out the way. Kidding, not really, but in all seriousness…
This cake is both.
Enough talk, let’s make.
A little extra time will bring one can’t look away, but need a slice cake.
Healthy Swaps
• applesauce
• whole wheat flour
• coconut sugar
With these swaps, I promise this cake’s rich, light in texture, and over the moon moist.
May I suggest tasting the cake batter before adding to the pan, as the batter reflects the cake.
I sometimes forget and follow with a swift kick in the booty, as this was my last chance to add a touch more vanilla or dash of cinnamon.
Fall Spice Buttercream Tips
Use unsalted high fat butter.
Room temperature butter is important. There are two ways to achieve the right consistency –
Leave the butter out overnight, or
Microwave in increments of ten seconds until the butter is soft enough to squeeze but keeps its shape. If the butter goes beyond that point, then pop it in the refrigerator for a little.
Sift the powdered sugar at least once.
Add the milk or cream last; depending on the weather or temperature, the full amount may or may not be needed.
Welcome the season with Mexican vanilla and fall spices!
Garnish Ideas:
Chopped or whole pecans or walnuts
Leaves, flowers, or twigs
Cinnamon sticks or ground cinnamon
How to Make a Clean Slice
Fill a glass with hot water.
Set a medium paper or dishtowel to the side.
Dip a long thin blade into the water for a few seconds.
Careful to wipe, then cut with a gentle sawing motion.
Crumb.
Yum.
The answer: the crumbs were eaten; there’s no such thing as cake waste in this house.
Fall Frosted Chocolate Cake
Ingredients:
Three 8 - inch rounds
- 1⅔ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1¼ cup cane sugar
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1¾ teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2½ teaspoon espresso powder
- 1½ cups milk, almond milk, or coconut milk
- ⅔ cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1½ teaspoon pure almond extract
- 1½ cups boiling water - or strong coffee
Buttercream Frosting
- 14 Tablespoons unsalted butter - room temperature
- 2-3 Tablespoons heavy cream - room temperature
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon mexican vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground clove
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat oven to 375°F.Spray three 8-inch cake pans with olive oil spray, then dust with cocoa powder and line with a ring of parchment. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk flour(s), sugar(s), cocoa, baking powder and soda, salt, and espresso powder.
- In a medium bowl, add milk, applesauce, eggs, vanilla, and almond extract; whisk until smooth. Add milk/egg to flour mix. On medium combine until just incorporated. Reduce to low and add boiling water, then mix on high for about 1 minute.
- Pour mixture into a large glass measuring cup and distribute cake evenly between the three cake pans. Drop each pan flat on the counter to eliminate air bubbles, then bake for 25 - 35 minutes.
- When a toothpick in the center comes out with very few crumbs to clean, remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the cakes from the pan and let cool completely (I float a prayer, then use the cover with a cutting board, flip, cover with a wire rack, flip again method).
Buttercream Frosting
- In large bowl or that of a stand mixer fit with metal beaters or a paddle attachment. Beat the butter on medium speed for 5 minutes, which makes it fluffy and pale in color. Starting on low and working towards high, add the powdered sugar in two increments. Beat for three to five minutes after each addition.
- Add vanilla and spices to two tablespoons of cream, then to the buttercream and mix until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl and test the buttercream for consistency. Is the frosting smooth and spreadable? If not, add an additional half to one tablespoon of cream. When the right consistency is reached, have a celebratory taste.
Cake Assembly
- If the cake layers have small domes, carefully trim them by using a cake leveler or running a serrated knife in a sawing motion across the tops to create flat, even layers.
- Center the first cake layer, bottom side up on a cake plate (or turntable fitted with a greaseproof cake board). Spread ⅓ of the buttercream on top. Add and center the second cake layer and spread another ⅓ of buttercream frosting, then center the top cake layer. If you so desire, top with buttercream and spread in a circular swirly design, or pipe a design.
- *** If using a pastry bag to fill the cake layers, fit with a large round tip and fill with buttercream frosting. Spiral ⅓ of the buttercream atop the first layer, then with an offset spatula, smooth. Top with the second cake layer, center, and spiral and smooth another ⅓ buttercream frosting, then center the top cake layer. Pipe the top layer as you wish.
- Garnish with nuts, leaves, flowers, twigs. A cake canvas, what a beautiful thing.
- Aren't quite ready to frost the cake? That's okay too, refrigerate the frosting in an airtight container. Once ready, let the frosting come to room temperature and give it a whip until it's fluffy again, then frost.
Notes
- the cake layers can be made ahead and kept up to three days at room temperature and one month in the freezer.
- a frosted cake will keep in the refrigerator for about three days.
