Apple Pie Cake

By Olivia Bogacki, The Cake Blog

Apple Pie Cake! A layer cake recipe with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg, fresh apple pie filling, buttercream frosting and braided pie crust lattice.


Yield: One 6” Round Cake (3 layers)

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Ingredients

• For the Cinnamon Brown Sugar Cake:
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• pinch cloves
• 1 ½ tablespoons cocoa powder (optional – for color)
• ½ cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup light brown sugar (packed)
• 2 large eggs (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¾ cup buttermilk (room temperature) 

For the Apple Pie Filling:

• 2 ½ cups peeled & chopped Granny Smith apples (about 2 apples)
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup light brown sugar (packed)
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch nutmeg
• pinch salt
• 1 cup water 

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For the Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:

• 3 large egg whites
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, cubed (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

For the Pie Crust Inside the Cake, Accents, & Braid:

• Two 11” store bought pie crusts (or homemade)
• 1 egg lightly beaten with a splash of milk
• Pie crust cutters

For the Pie Crust Lattice:

• Two 11” store bought pie crusts (or homemade)
• 1 egg lightly beaten with a splash of milk
• 6” cake ring

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Instructions

Make the Cake:

• Preheat oven to 350F and grease and flour three 6″ cake pans, line bottoms with parchment.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and cocoa powder until well combined.
• Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add sugar and beat on med-high until pale and fluffy (2-3 minutes).
• Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla extract.
• Alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour (3 additions of flour and 2 of milk). Fully incorporating after each addition. Do not overmix.
• Spread batter evenly into prepared pans. Smooth the top with a spatula.
• Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.
• Place cakes on wire rack to cool for 10 minutes then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely. 

Make the Apple Pie Filling:

• Toss chopped apples in lemon juice, set aside.
• In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Add water and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cook for 2 minutes.
• Add chopped apples and bring back to a boil. Simmer until apples are tender (approximately 10 minutes). Remove from heat and cool completely before using on cake.

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Make the Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:

• Place egg whites and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk until combined.
• Place bowl over a pan of simmering water to create a double-boiler. Whisking constantly, heat the egg mixture until it registers 160 degrees on a candy thermometer. Carefully transfer the bowl onto the stand mixer.
• Using the whisk attachment, beat the egg white mixture on high speed for 8 to 10 minutes until the bowl is no longer warm to the touch and the meringue is fluffy, glossy and holds a stiff peak.
• Switch to the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low, slowly add cubed butter and mix until incorporated.
• Add vanilla and whip on medium-high until silky and smooth, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Make the Pie Crust Inside the Cake, Accents, & Braid:

• Preheat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
• Roll out each crust and cut out two 7” circles. They will shrink a bit, so it’s important that they are larger than the 6” cake. I placed a 6” cake pan on top of the crust and used my knife to cut out a slightly larger circle.
• Re-roll the dough and cut 3 long ¼” wide strips for the braid. Trace a 6” circle onto parchment. Braid the dough and place it on the outside of the circle (again, it will shrink a bit so make it a tad bigger). Cut more strips and braid as needed until the braid goes all the way around the circle.
• Use remaining pie dough to cut out leaves and flowers if desired. Re-roll pie dough as needed.
• Transfer pie discs, leaves, braid, and flowers onto baking sheet. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush with egg wash.
• Bake for 15-17 minutes or until golden. Cool completely on pan. 

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Make the Pie Crust Lattice:

• Preheat oven to 400F. Place oven rack in lowest position. Place a 6” cake ring on its side on a sheet pan. Anchor it as best as possible to prevent it from rolling. I used two folded silicone baking mats around the sides. Lightly spray outside of cake ring with cooking spray.
• Roll out pie dough and cut into ½” strips. Take 4 of the longest strips and place them together. Use the other strips to create a lattice effect. I used a small brush dipped in water to help adhere the pie dough pieces to each other.
• Trim edges and cut lattice into 6” sections.
• Repeat until you have enough to go around the cake. Apply leaf and flower cutouts using the egg wash as glue if desired.
• Place a 6” lattice section on top of the cake ring. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush with egg wash.
• Bake for 15-17 minutes or until golden. Cool completely on cake round.
• Very carefully, transfer to parchment lined baking sheet.
• Repeat with remaining sections.

 

Assemble the Cake:

• Place one layer of cake onto a cake stand or serving plate. Spread a thin layer of frosting on top and place a disc of pie crust on top. Using a large round tip, pipe a dam of frosting along the top of the pie crust to hold the filling.
• Top with approximately 1/2 cup of apple pie filling and spread evenly.
• Repeat with next layer and place final cake layer on top. Crumb coat the cake and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Frost the cake and smooth the sides and top. Apply lattice or pie crust cutouts to decorate as desired.

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Notes 

• If filling appears too thick while cooking, add a bit of water. I let mine sit in the fridge overnight, so it thickened up quite a bit. You can microwave it in 30 second intervals to thin it out and bring to room temperature.
• Ensure there is NO trace of egg yolks in your whites and that your mixer bowl and whisk is completely grease free or your meringue may not stiffen.
• The buttercream may look like it’s curdled at some point. Keep mixing until it is completely smooth.
• The lattice will be very fragile so be careful when removing from cake ring and transferring to cake. I had many, many pieces break, even the ones on the final cake (you can hide some of the broken ones in the back). 

 

 See More At: The Cake Blog