Cinnamon Cake With Apple Rosemary Buttercream

I hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend. I don’t know where the 4 days vanished because there were too many things squeezed into one short break. On the other side of the break we are suddenly into winter like weather. Daylight savings came to an end and the weather aligned itself in perfect harmony.

It rained so much on Friday and Saturday that we almost doubted if the apple picking and picnic would go as planned. But the brilliant sunshine on Sunday not only made it a perfect day for the outing but everything looked so bright, neat and beautiful. Like a big blow dry after a rain wash. This year was more about chasing little kids (and their families) around the orchards for photographs than picking fruit, for me. The rain apparently had done a lot of damage to the orchards and there were more apples on the ground than on the trees. Like every year I did not miss the giant apple pie that is sold at the resident cafe. With full bellies we headed towards the picnic destination. The scenery changed as we drove on. The fall colors showing up at every bend on the road. Finally when it was too much to just sit back and admire from the car, we had to pull over and pose in front of the orange and red hued trees. How magical is nature! In Sydney, we don’t get to see these coloured trees within the city..maybe very few. So you really can’t blame us for jumping in excitement when we managed to spot them along the country side!

The picnic spread was huge. The appetites were bigger. Friends, conversations, a breath taking setting and you realize you are constantly eating. Among other things I took my famous orange poppy seed cake to share. Famous because somehow it always gets made for picnics and outings after I get the ‘don’t make rich cakes’ look from my husband the evening before. It is never planned but I end up taking it. It lacks my usual height and drama but is always a winner in the flavor department. Since I was also taking double chocolate cupcakes with piped roses I had to agree with hubby. Finally the day ended the way we hoped it would.

Sometime during the weekend we also went to the beaches. Despite the rain I took my favorite ferry ride which is all the more exciting when you sit outside in the deck with the rain on your face. Food as always was big on the agenda and I sampled many new dishes that I am all geared up to recreate. This place has been missing some savory action so you may see a few coming up soon.

Now for this cake. While it seems so perfect for this post, it was made much before when I wanted to just test out an apple buttercream recipe. I couldn’t find many on the Internet so I wanted to give it a shot. The cinnamon cake is simple and very tasty. As an afterthought, I would like to add chopped apples to the batter next time. The apple buttercream has a very slight taste of apples despite adding half a cup of applesauce. The rosemary flavor is more prominent. I did not have a ruffle cake on the blog so I turned this into one. The ruffles are far from perfect but I love the overall moreish look of the cake.

Cinnamon Cake With Apple Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Serves 8-10

175 g butter, softened
1 3/4 cups caster sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated orange rind
3 eggs
1 3/4 cups plain flour, sifted
3/4 cup self-raising flour, sifted
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, sifted
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 cup milk
Apple Roserary Swiss Meringue Buttercream (recipe below)
Apple chips (store bought) to decorate
Rosemary sprigs, to decorate

Apple Rosemary Swiss Meringue Buttercream
4 egg whites
1 cup castor sugar
300 g unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/4 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (160 degrees C fan-forced) Grease two 19 cm round cake pan. Line bases with baking paper.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and orange rind together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until just combined. Stir in flours, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and milk. Divide mixture equally among prepared pans. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in centre of cake comes out clean. Stand in pan for 10 minutes. Turn onto a wire rack to cool.

Once cooled completely, frost the cake. Place one layer on a cake stand or plate. Spread about half cup of frosting (recipe below). Place the second layer and repeat. Frost the sides of the cake. To make the ruffles, crumb coat the cake first and place in the fridge for 4 hours. Using a leaf nozzle, make ruffles in your desired size.

To Make the Apple Rosemary Swiss meringue Buttercream : Place the egg whites and sugar in a large bowl that is placed over a saucepan of simmering water (over low heat), and whisk continuously, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the bottom of the bowl is warm to touch

Remove the bowl from the heat and whip on high speed until meringue holds stiff peaks and looks glossy. The bowl should have completely cooled by now.
Add the butter, 2 tablespoon at a time, until thick and fluffy. If it begins to look curdled, continue to whip until it comes back together, before adding in remaining butter.

When the buttercream has come together, add the apple sauce and chopped rosemary and mix till smooth and well blended.