Apple Spice Cake
With both reduced apple cider and shredded apples, this apple cider cake is auromatic, beautifully flavored and, as always, has a delightfully tender crumb.
I have tweaked this recipe for some time, and it is finally ready to share. Apple cake is one of the hardest cakes to master, in my opinion. It can often be stodgy from using fresh apples, or it can simply be lackluster in apple flavor. Even worse, apple desserts can be artificial tasting with products like apple cider powder. With that said, you might be wondering with all these challenges, how does one make a delicious apple cake?
The answer is a lot of recipe testing and eliminating apple products that don’t serve the cake. With each recipe test, I narrowed the scope of what worked and what didn’t, getting closer to a cake I felt was special. Finally, after delivering a few slices to my testing group, and getting the feedback I expected, I knew it was time to roll up my sleeves and share this long awaited recipe.
What makes this cake special?
A few things, but the star of the show is the process of reducing apple cider. It. Is. A. Game. Changer. For this recipe, I reduce 2 cups of apple cider to 2/3 cups. This concentrates the apple flavor, without overloading the cake with liquid. It also bypasses the dreaded apple cider powder, that tastes like sweet chemicals. Further, to boost the apple even more, I steep orange spice tea into the apple cider while its simmering, ensuring it’s an aromatic and flavorful bake. Lastly, by using shredded apples, that have the juice squeezed out—very important step—the cake has bursts of apple while eating. This also adds a nice texture to the cake—tender but substantial.
The cake is iced with a delicious cinnamon cream cheese frosting, which is the perfect compliment to the crumb. You can’t beat the slight tang from the cream cheese, the sweetness from the icing sugar and the touch of cinnamon—it gives a warm and cozy feeling while enjoying the cake.
More On Reducing Apple Cider
When making apple desserts, there are a few routes that are typical. Recipes either call for apple sauce, apple cider powder, apple chunks, apple juice or reduced apple cider. Let me start by saying, be very wary of apple cake recipes that don’t call for reducing apple cider, but claim to have big apple flavor. Even with all the steps I’ve taken to ensure this cake tastes like apple, I wouldn’t claim it punches you with apple. That claim always bothers me. Apple, in general, has a subtle nuance that is so different that something pungent like banana.
I did not invent the beauty that is reduced apple cider, but is the holy grail to apple desserts. The best part? It’s pretty darn easy. To reduce apple cider, simply bring the desired amount of cider to a low boil and the reduce to a simmer. The cider will cook down, releasing liquid though the steam, and leaving a more potent and powerful apple cider flavor. As mentioned above, to boost flavor even more, I add orange and spice tea to the simmering cider— brand linked here—and brew for 3 minutes. Beware, your house will smell so delightful, people will knock on the door demanding to come inside!
Working with apple cider is very a versatile process and one can get experimental with its reduction. For example, when cooking down apple cider long enough, it gets very thick, like a syrup, and if one takes it even more it turns to caramel. It’s divine and has a nice tartness to it rather than it being sickly sweet like one may imagine. I have even gone as far as burning the caramel, making a burnt apple cider caramel, which is also completely delicious.
Trimming Cakes
This recipe makes three generous six inch layers, giving room to trim the cakes, while still having a nice substantial sized cake. I recommend investing in a cake leveler like this one here. This is the cake leveler that I use at home. By trimming the cakes, it allows for a nice sharp cake edge and further, it allows for even stacking. This way, the cake is less likely to be wobbly and wonky, but rather one that is stands straight and looks beautiful.
If this process feels intimidating, I will link a video tutorial here that will explain everything and more about cake leveling.
Final Tip
Make sure to follow the instructions, squeezing out any excess liquid from the shredded apples, before adding to the cake batter. Too much liquid from the apples will negatively affect the texture of the cake.
Lastly, it can be difficult to eye ball the cider while it reduces. If for some reason after reducing, it yields a little under 2/3 cups, just simply top it off with left over cider. Do your best to watch the apple cider as it reduces, getting a measurement as close to accurate as possible.
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