It's not that I needed much encouragement to bake a cake, my reasoning only requires a worthy event, so my mouth isn't the only one consuming vast amounts of frosting and I'm not stuck with cake for 12. Though on that note, I am always the one to consume the most frosting, because I am the queen of slicking. I just can't keep my fingers out of the bowl!
I baked a cake. And contrary to many reviews it worked out perfectly. We ate moist, flavourful cake with a delectable and memorable frosting. It was a cake where spice and walnut punched out and called attention, maple stood fast and strong waiting in the background and apple played a passive role keeping things moist and subtle. There were currants (love! I never use currants!) and a hint of almond from the homemade amaretto I substituted for brandy. It was a fantastic cake and would be perfectly suited to a cup of coffee and a rainy afternoon, or better yet, a cup of coffee and a table of friends after a wonderful winter's dinner, which is exactly how we enjoyed it.
Baking notes:
-The apple is not a main flavour in this cake, but does play an integral part keeping things moist. I used 4 apples, about 1.25 lbs dressed, (unpeeled and uncut) which cooked down to a perfect 1 1/4 cups of sauce. Also, I didn't puree the sauce, just kept it slightly chunky.
-Use your best cinnamon here, the spices are warm and inviting. So the better the quality of spices you include, the nicer the flavour will be.
-As I said before, I substituted amaretto for brandy because I didn't have any. I've also read other bakers swapping out vanilla or almond extract for the alcohol.
-I was skeptical of the frosting based on the reviews I'd read, saying it was far too runny. I didn't experience this at all, I followed the recipe's refrigeration times for cooling and setting and the results were perfect.
-I replaced the maple flavoring with vanilla extract, I couldn't find that in my town to save my life!
You can find the recipe for Apple Cake with Maple-Walnut Cream Cheese Frosting on the Epicurious website.
