Not a big fan of chocolate... try this Apple-Cinnamon Cake.

I needed to make a cake for a friend's birthday... the problem(s)? Well, this friend doesn't like chocolate, and making a plain-Jane cake is a challenge to me. I much prefer making cheesecake or cupcakes, but I decided to rise to the challenge rather than deflate in defeat. Last year, my sister made a snickerdoodle cake... yea, snickerdoodle like the cookie (btw, I am not a big fan of the cookie). It was a really yummy cake, and I really am not a big fan of eating plain-Jane cake, anymore than I am of making it. I decided that I too, would make a Snickerdoodle cake. I went online and searched for recipes for Snickerdoodle cake. Most of the recipes were the same, except this one (http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,186,133188-245193,00.html). It caught my eye because its liquid ingredient was different than all the others-applesauce rather then milk. I like different, so I went with different.

My sister had said that the one thing she had not liked about her cake was that it was a little dry. I hadn't noticed, but I decided I was going to try and watch for that when making mine anyway. After I had mixed all the ingredients together, I decided the cake did need a little more moisture, so I added a little milk. I didn't measure it, but if I had to guesstimate, I'd say that it was about an 1/8 of a cup. I must also say that when I first looked at this recipe I was confused as to what I was supposed to do with the cinnamon. After looking at a couple of the other recipes, I decided that I was going to put some cinnamon in the batter and then sprinkle some of it over the greased pan. Armed with this decision and determination and delight and... ok, I'll stop there, I made the cake.


SNICKERDOODLE CAKE

1 cup applesauce
2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon soda
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cinnamon (divided)
approx. 1/8 cup of milk


Preheat oven to 400°F.

Per the recipe, I combined all the ingredients (1/2 of the cinnamon included) in the order they are listed, using my KitchenAid to mix them. I then sprinkled the rest of the cinnamon mixed with sugar over the greased 9x13 pan.

The recipe said to let it bake for 15 minutes and then bake it for 5 minute intervals afterwards if not done. I think that I ended up baking it for 25 minutes.


Buttercream Frosting:
http://www.food.com/recipe/Cinnamon-Buttercream-Frosting-77534

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3 -4 tablespoons milk (I used half and half instead)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Beat butter. The recipe itemizes when and how to put each ingredient in. I think that I just put all the ingredients in at one time and beat them them in to the right consistency. When finished, spread it on the cake.

The cake turned out pretty good. It didn't really taste very cinnamony until I put the frosting on. After that though, the main taste was cinnamon. (I loved the frosting, btw)