Spiced Apple Layer Cake with Goat Cheese Frosting paired with Autumn weather: Check.  This recipe is definitely for a weekend gathering with friends & family.

Recipe: Spiced Apple Layer Cake with Goat Cheese Frosting & Caramel

For the Cake

Ingredients:
3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ginger
pinch nutmeg
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cup applesauce

Method:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour four 8-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices. In another bowl, mix milk and vanilla extract. In a third bowl, beat together butter and sugar until light. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat in. Alternately in increments, add wet and dry ingredients to the butter mixture and incorporate fully each time. Fold in applesauce. Pour your mixture into your pans and bake in the oven for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove and let cool about 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on a cooling rack.

For the Goat Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
6 ounces goat cheese
8 ounces mascarpone
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Method:
Beat all ingredients until well incorporated. Refrigerate for one hour.

For the Caramel

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar 
6 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces 
1/2 cup heavy cream 
2 tablespoons bourbon
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch allspice 

Method:

In a saucepan, bring sugar and 1/4 cup water to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Boil for about 10 minutes, until caramel is a deep amber color. Reduce heat and add butter and stir until smooth. Stir in cream, bourbon and spices. Stir until smooth. Remove from heat and let cool.

To assemble cake, place one layer on a cake plate and frost generously with goat cheese frosting. Add each layer, alternating cake and frosting, finishing with a top layer of frosting. Smooth or scrape down sides of cake to expose the sides of the layers. Top with caramel sauce, allowing it to drizzle down the sides of your cake.

Recipe from Anthropologie

To continue with our Autumn Recipe posts every few days, here is one of our favorites for this time of the year: Hot Cider & Cinnamon Apple Chips.

Strangely enough, Hot Cider isn’t as popular in Iceland as it is in the states, but that’s quite alright with us because we enjoy making it for our guests & will making  lots of it this winter season at our pop-up markets & future Restaurant Days in Reykjavík with some of our gift boxes & soft goods for sale.

For the Cider:

Ingredients
10 winesap apples, quartered
3/4 cup sugar
4 cinnamon sticks
Pinch of whole cloves
1 tablespoon allspice berries
Enough water to cover

Method
Wrap all spices in a small piece of doubled-up cheesecloth and tie off securely. Add apples, sugar, spice pack and water to a large stockpot and bring to a boil for one hour. Lower heat and allow mixture to simmer for an additional two hours. Remove from heat and let cool. Remove spice pack and discard. Strain the remaining mixture through a fine mesh sieve, as many times as needed to reach desired consistency. Reheat to enjoy, and top with whipped cream and apple chips.

For the Cinnamon Apple Chips:

Ingredients
1 apple, thinly sliced with seeds removed
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Method
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange apple slices, evenly spaced. In a small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle the mixture over apples. Bake for two hours, moving the slices with tongs once to prevent sticking. Remove from oven and let cool.

Recipe from Anthropologie