A Time For Firsts

I made this cake for one of the little boys I nanny for. He and his brother have birthdays only 6 days apart and I made them a larger cake for their party but I also wanted to have a cake for his 1st birthday. So the night before we left for the wedding I made this cake for him. And attempted the basket weave for the first time midnight. I was going a little crazy half way through the cake design but I think it turned out decent. If you want step by step instructions on how to pipe a basket weave, go here. It was also my first time to write on a cake. Not bad for an amateur, eh?

I wanted a simple cake because it was late and I didn't have a lot of time to spend on the cake so I used a souped up cake mix recipe that came from Bundt Classics. I also wanted something that would be seasonal in flavor and not too sweet but baby friendly. I settled on an Applesauce Spice Cake. The recipe called for butterscotch pudding but I used a box of pumpkin pudding that I found at Wal-Mart.

I didn't get to taste or take pics of the final product, but I can assure you that the cake was delicious! I tasted the scraps that I leveled off with a little frosting and I was wishing I had made a cupcake so I could have one! It was warm and slightly spicy, but you could definitely taste the apple flavor and the best thing is it didn't taste like it came from a box! I topped it off with my favorite cream cheese frosting but added some pumpkin pie spice for added flavor. Talk about good!

Applesauce Spice Cake

from Bundt Classics

• 1 (18.25 oz.) package yellow cake mix
• 1 (3.4 oz.) package instant pudding mix (vanilla, butterscotch or pumpkin)
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons apple or pumpkin pie spice

Heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 12 cup bundt or 2 9-inch cake pans.

In a large mixing bowl, mix all ingredients. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Spoon into prepared pans.

Bake for 55-65 minutes for the bundt and 35-45 for the cake pans or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Drizzle with a glaze or cover with your favorite frosting.

Vanilla Spice Cream Cheese Frosting

• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
• 1 teaspoon apple or pumpkin pie spice
• 4-5 cups powdered sugar

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined. Then add the vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, apple or pumpkin pie spice and 3 cups of powdered sugar and beat at low speed, occasionally stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, until light and fluffy. Add more powdered sugar to arrive at the consistency and sweetness you like.

NOTE: For this cake I used the full 5 cups because I wanted it stiff for piping.