Apple Stack Cake
Makes 1 (8-inch) cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted, plus more for brushing
- 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 1 cup sorghum molasses
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 2¼ teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
- 2 teaspoons lightly packed orange zest
- 3⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1½ teaspoons ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅔ cup whole buttermilk, room temperature
- ⅔ cup hot water
- 1 cup lightly packed chopped dried apples*
- 2 cups apple butter*
- 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- Garnish: ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Brush 3 (8-inch) round cake pans with melted butter.
- In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, sorghum, and 1 cup melted butter until combined. Add eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla, and orange zest, whisking until well combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to syrup mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, stirring just until combined after each addition. Whisk in ⅔ cup hot water.
- Divide batter in half. Set aside one half of batter at room temperature. Divide remaining batter between prepared pans (a scant 1¼ cups per pan). Tap pan on a towel-lined counter to level batter and remove air bubbles.
- Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean and cake starts to pull away from sides of pan, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool in pans for 5 minutes. Remove from pans and let cool completely on wire racks.
- Wipe same cake pans clean and brush with melted butter. Divide reserved batter between pans. Repeat step 5 for baking and cooling.
- Fill a medium saucepan with water; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and add dried apples. Cover and let stand until apples are soft and hydrated, about 15 minutes. Drain apples and place in a medium bowl. Stir in apple butter.
- Place 1 cake layer on a serving platter. Top with about ½ to ⅔ cup apple butter mixture, spreading into an even layer and leaving a ¼-inch border around edges. Top with another cake layer and repeat with remaining apple butter mixture and cake layers (do not top final cake layer with apple butter mixture). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- Before serving: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat cream, granulated sugar, and remaining ¼ teaspoon vanilla on medium-high speed until medium peaks form. Top cake with whipped cream. Garnish with cinnamon, if desired.
Notes
*We used The Apple Barn and Cider Mill & General Store Dried Apples and Homemade Apple Butter.
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