Happy Birthday September!

     At school we have a Sunshine Committee that helps to spread happiness by hosting staff breakfasts, happy hours, and parties, giving gifts, and taking care of the needs of the staff with simple every day things such as making sure there is filtered water and forks in the staff room.  This year I volunteered to bake a cake a month to celebrate birthdays.  I recently saw a blog, I can't remember what it was at the moment, that featured a cake of the month.  I thought this project would be fun to feature on my blog and what better way to spread happiness than with cake?  Here's to you September!

Two Layer Apple Cake
Adapted from a Martha Stewart Recipe

Butter Cream Frosting

Ingredients
4 egg whites
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into small pieces


Apple Cake

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted plus more to grease pans
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
2 cups light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
4 granny smith apples, peeled  2 roughly grated and 2 cubed


Method
Apple Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. Cover the bottom of either two or three 8 inch pans with parchment paper.  Coat the bottom and sides of the pans with butter and flour the pans.  Shake out any excess flour and set the pans aside.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Whisk it together and set it aside.
3. Whisk together the eggs, butter, and brown sugar in a separate large mixing bowl.  Fold in the grated and cubed apple.  Then stir in the flour mixture until everything is well combined.
4. Divide the cake mix in the pans.  Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the center of the cake comes out clean.
5. Once removed from the oven, all the cakes to cool in the pans for 20 minutes before turning them over on a wire rack.  Cool completely before icing.

Butter Cream Frosting
1. Beat together the eggs, brown sugar, and salt in a heat proof bowl.  Place the bowl above a saucepan of simmering water.  Stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves completely.
2. Beat the egg mixture at a medium speed for 15 minutes, or until light and fluffy.  Then increase the speed to high until firm peaks form in the frosting.
3. Lower the speed of the mixer to medium low.  Gradually add in the but butter.  Beat until fully incorporated.  If the frosting seems to separate, just keep beating.  It will eventually come together!

To assemble the cake, place one cake on a serving platter and spread a layer of frosting on top before adding the second layer.  Completely ice the cake and refrigerate for at least one hour and up to 4 days.  Bring the cake back to room temperature before serving.

The Taste Test
    I'm not sure I will get a taste of this cake since I haven't made it to the staff room yet this year.  Hopefully someone who gets a taste will post a comment about how it came out.  I'll keep my fingers crossed that it tastes as good as it smelled baking in the oven!