Fall Cakes With Almond Maple Buttercream

 

 A taste of fall!

These Fall Cakes are a happy accident. I got a bunch of carrots from my mom that prompted me to scroll through a bunch of recipe sites for carrot-based desserts to try. After turning down the generic carrot cake recipes, I decided I wanted something a little different. At first I was aiming to make carrot cake snickerdoodle cookies, but I quickly realized the more fall candle scent flavors I added, the more like fall the cakes became. I let the spirit of the Fall season take the wheel and it inspired me to go off the beaten path! I decided to add more baking powder and baking soda to make a cookie-esque treat. With a dollop of flavorful fall icing, lots of cozy spices and flavors here we are at Fall cakes! To give credit to the original creator, the cookie recipe that inspired these is linked here https://dashofsanity.com/carrot-cake-snickerdoodles/

 

Ingredients 

 

Cake

• 16 tablespoons of melted butter 
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• heavy dash of vanilla extract (to taste)
• heavy dash of almond extract(to taste) 
• 3 cups of all purpose flour 
• 2 teaspoons baking soda 
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon 
• 2 teaspoons ground cloves 
• 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg 
• 2 teaspoons allspice 
• 2 instant ginger honey tea packets 
• 2 cups grated carrots 
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Cinnamon Sugar Crust

• 1/4 cup cinnamon 
• 1/4 cup sugar

 

Almond Maple Buttercream 

• 3 cups powdered sugar 
• 1 cup of butter softened 
• 1/2 cup crisco shortening 
• 3/4 Cup maple vanilla whipped cream 
• Dash of almond extract to taste 
• 2 Tablespoons of milk 
• Pecan Pieces(optional) 

 

Directions

• Step 1

Preheat oven to 350F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper

• Step 2

Combine dry ingredients (excluding brown sugar) in a mixing bowl. 

• Step 3

Combine brown sugar, extracts, and eggs. Introduce dry ingredients until batter becomes clumpy. 

• Step 4

Add in softened butter and heavy cream, stir in the rest of the dry ingredients. Batter should be moist but not runny. Stir in carrots. 

• Step 5

spread cinnamon sugar onto the bottom on the baking sheet on top of the parchment paper. Spread batter over the cinnamon sugar mixture. cover top with cinnamon sugar mixture. 

• Step 6

Bake for 10 min or until cake is risen and cooked all the way through. 

• Step 7

Cut out shapes with mold. Leave on cooling rack until cool. 

• Step 8

Make buttercream by creaming butter and shortening first. Add in sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time, mix in between adding. Add in almond extract, milk ,and whipped cream. Mix until smooth. 

• Step 9

Pipe on butter cream, top with grated carrots and pecans(optional).

Spice shopping

 

All the spices and extracts I used are from Aldi. I'm sure any brand of seasoning and extracts will work, but these work fine, and they are very affordable. I do notice that some seasonings I get there are a slightly different color than in other places. I'm sure there is some professional food reason for that, but I don't know why and the seasoning hasn't been an issue for me.

 

Ginger Tea

 

The ginger tea featured in the recipe is just what I had on hand(pro-tip drink a cup with these cakes for ultimate fall vibes). I believe substituting the ginger tear for regular ground ginger would work; however, I have not tried that. If you want the ginger tea for the recipe or just to have(it's delicious tea), I've linked the amazon site I use to get them here (https://a.co/d/1AjLg8w) . I've also seen this tea in farmer's markets and holistic stores, so maybe check there if you are anti- amazon

 

Naked Cakes 

If you are like me and want a more subtle sweet snack, skip the buttercream frosting. Although they unfortunatly look a lot like little meat patties, the cakes are perfectly fine without the toppings. I added the buttercream because more sweetness wouldn't hurt this dish. I tried them before the icing, and they were still delicious just more loaf like.

  

Cookie Cutters

The circular cutter you use is up to you. I happened to have a small Tupperware bowl I used since it was handy, but I am sure a cute cookie cutter should work. I think a pumpkin shape would be fitting. I do not believe an elaborate cookie cutter would work unless you thin out the cakes more, like a star's edge or a face shape. The small corners might cause the cookie to get stuck in the little bends. As you can see, they are very fluffy, and I had to be careful with them when I was cutting. I cut mine while warm.

              

               

Buttercream

The buttercream was my favorite thing to make in this recipe. The flavor came through wonderfully and was a great compliment to the fall cakes. The most important things about buttercream are the butter and shortening have to be room temp. It cannot be melted or refrigerator cold, which means no heat! I cut mine up into squares and left them on my counter for about an hour before starting. The important thing is not to try to speed up the process by putting the squares in the microwave. Melted butter and shortening throws the consistency off, and the mixture won't whip correctly. Make sure to sift the flour! Clumpy flour will ruin the buttercream and make it impossible to mix smoothly. Using a colander and a spoon will do in a pinch if you do not have a sifter handy.