Spiced Apple Cake With Italian Meringue Buttercream Recipe
Sweet and Spiced Apple Cake, with a delectable Meringue Buttercream to top it off! Thanks to Sam Hayward (@south_african_baker) for sharing this yummy recipe. To see more of Sam's show-stopping cakes and brilliant other bakes, we strongly recommend you check out her Instagram (link below). Happy baking!
Spiced Apple Cake Method
Making the cake:
- Preheat your oven to 180C/170C fan and line two 20cm diameter tins with baking paper.
- With an electric hand mixer or stand mixer with the whisk attachment, mix the oil, sugars and vanilla together in a bowl until well-combined. Add the eggs and mix until smooth.
- Pat the grated apple dry using a clean, dry tea towel to get rid of the majority of excess moisture.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarb, salt and spices and tip into the bowl with the mixed wet ingredients. Using a balloon whisk, mix together the wet and dry ingredients by hand until smooth. Don’t overmix.
- Tip in the grated apple and mix together using the balloon whisk, a spatula or a wooden spoon.
- Divide the mixture into the two lined tins and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean. Place on a cooling rack to cool before trimming the tops level with a sharp knife.
Italian Meringue Buttercream Method
Making the icing:
- Place the 4 egg whites into a clean metal or glass/Pyrex bowl. A stand mixer with a balloon whisk attachment is easiest but an electric hand mixer can work too. Tip the salt into the egg whites.
- Add the sugar and water to a medium saucepan and swirl to combine. Heat the sugar and water over a medium/high heat and measure the temperature with a sugar thermometer. When the temperature reaches 110C, start whipping your egg whites on high speed.
- When the egg whites reach soft peaks and the sugar syrup has reached 118C, keep the mixer running on high and pour the hot sugar syrup down the side of the bowl in a thin even stream. Once all the syrup has been added, keep the mixer running on high and leave it to run for ~6-10 minutes until the outside of the bowl is almost room temperature.
- While still mixing, add the butter in one/two cubes at a time. The glossy, fluffy meringue will deflate but don’t worry, once enough butter has been added it will whip back up. Keep adding the butter until it’s finished. You may need to pause and scrap down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the spices, lemon zest and vanilla and mix until combined.
*Note: If the icing starts looking a bit grainy and curdled, stop the mixer, take out about ⅓ cup of the icing and place it into a microwave safe ramekin. Microwave at ~20 second increments until hot to the touch. Turn the mixer back on and pour this heated mixture back into the bowl. Keep mixing on high speed and it should come back together.
Assembling the cake:
- Once the cakes are cool, trim the tops level with a sharp knife or cake slicer. Place one of the cake layers onto a cake board and spoon half the icing onto the top. Roughly spread it out with a palette knife and place the second layer on top. Cover the top of the cake with the rest of the icing and spread it out to the edges.
- Decorate with edible flowers, chopped walnuts and/or gold leaf for an Autumnal feel!
*Note: I wouldn’t recommend refrigerating this cake as the icing texture becomes very firm when cold. It’s best enjoyed at room temperature.
