Apple Spice Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

This is a cake that was one of three, that went along with two french pear tarts and dark chocolate almond toffee from the week of baking.  This is an apple cinnamon spice cake.  This cake is all about the apples...3 red...3 green...some were grated and others were chopped.  

I don't know what it is, but I have been on a serious apple kick.  An apple with almond butter is my new snack every morning at work.  Its my little break...my five minutes in the morning to take a breath... to stop thinking about what is on the computer screen in front of me for a hot minute, and maybe just day dream.  I have been day dreaming a bit too much lately it seems...oh well, sometimes its necessary.  Sometimes there is just too much real world, real job stuff going on...seriously though.

This is my real world...

Morning run along the Pacific Coast Highway...my favorite place to run

Breakfast at Ruby's Diner

Sometimes I get up and run just so I can eat pancakes at Ruby's diner three mornings in a row....  

Sometimes I eat a pint of Ben and Jerry's for dinner, because it has just been one of those days... 

Sometimes I feel like I don't have any idea what I want:  What do I want to do with this site?  (I wish my pictures were bigger...this I know) What do I really want to be do in five years? In 10?  Could I really move to California?  Or is this just me being ridiculous?

Oh my silly 25 year old non-real world problems...I guess life just isn't always easy, but apple spice cakes can make it just a bit simpler...even if only for a little while.

Lets talk cake...this cake smelled amazing coming out of the oven...we are talking cinnamon and nutmeg and all things good.  And to top it off, I covered these cakes in cinnamon cream cheese frosting.  If you like apples and cinnamon, these cakes are right up your alley.  If you only need one cake, go ahead and stack them and just frost the whole cake.  No matter how you stack or don't stack it, Enjoy it!

These are the ingredients...dry, wet and apples...

I had a little fun to start with when icing the cakes, then I spread them all out.  

Thanks for scoring the cakes Meghan!

Apple Cinnamon Spice Cake: (adapted from John's Three Layer Cake)

1 1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups light brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 apples (3 crisp red, 3 granny smith), 3 coarsely grated, 3 diced

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line 3-9 inch round cake pans with parchment paper and dust sides with powdered sugar.

2.  In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt.

3.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs until well combined.  Fold in the grated and diced apples.

4.  Add the flour mixture and mix just until combined.  Divide the batter among prepared pans and smooth tops.

5.  Bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool cakes in pans for 20 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack and peel off parchment paper.  While cakes finish cooling, prepare cinnamon cream cheese frosting.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 block (4 oz) 1/3 less fat cream cheese at room temperature

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 cups powdered sugar

1.  In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer cream together cream cheese and butter until smooth and and fluffy.

2.  Mix in vanilla and cinnamon until well combined

3.  On a lower speed, mix in powdered sugar one cup at a time, mix in the powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.  This frosting should turn out light and fluffy.  Once cupcakes have cooled completely, frost the cupcakes end Enjoy!