Welcome to February! February is for lovers, and I'm so happy it's finally here!
Valentine's Day is a big deal around these parts, and I've got loads of cute desserts for two to share with you this year. First up: this spicy cinnamon apple cake. I made a cinnamon cake in a 6" round cake pan, sliced it in half, and spread it with cinnamon buttercream. I left the edges of the cake bare, but you can frost the edges if you wish. Then, I cooked apple slices in a mixture of cinnamon red hots and sugar. (Here's a link to the exact candy I used for my overseas friends: Cinnamon Imperials). The apple slices that I did not eat straight out of the skillet, made it on the cake. They were the lucky ones.
I can't resist these bright red candied apple slices.
Over the holidays, my husband's Grandma served us a ham casserole with a big bowl of these apples. Since dessert on the dinner table is my favorite thing ever, I had no fewer than 3 servings. I can't remember the last time I've had a meal that reminded me so much of being a kid. Doesn't Grandma always cook slightly naughty recipes? Only Grandmas serve candy as a side dish at dinnertime. Moms serve steamed broccoli. And I think we all feel the same way about that.
Candy for dinner + dessert = the good life.
If you're a veteran dessert for two baker, all we're doing here is making my recipe for mini lemon layer cake minus the lemon. I substituted cinnamon (obviously). The buttercream recipe is brand spankin' new (because I love you).
If you're a new mini dessert baker, look for a 6" round cake pan at a hobby store, a specialty cookware store, or Amazon (I linked to mine). I bought mine at Hobby Lobby, but I just saw a similar pan at Sur La Table. My pan is only 2" deep; I do not recommend the super deep ones. Those are meant for the top layer of wedding cakes. I'm sure it would bake up fine in it, but I just haven't tested it.
Will you be my Valentine?
A mini layered apple cinnamon cake topped with red hot apples.Red Hot Cinnamon Apple Cake
Ingredients
For the cinnamon cake:
For the apples:
For the cinnamon buttercream:
Instructions
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2
Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 1960Total Fat: 73gSaturated Fat: 43gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 26gCholesterol: 266mgSodium: 418mgCarbohydrates: 325gFiber: 5gSugar: 260gProtein: 10g
thelittleloaf says
Hooray for Valentine's Day! I love the look of this - those candied apples are such an amazing colour.
Laura@Baking In Pyjamas says
Your cake looks fantastic, I love 6 inch cakes. I'm a co-host for Sweet ad Savoury Sundays and would love for you to stop by my blog and link up some of your recipes. I found your blog via pinterest and I'm now following you!
Cookbook Queen says
Yay February!! I love this SO much!!
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
This cake is so, so gorgeous - the topping is swoon-worthy!
Paula - bell'alimento says
Lurve! Lurve! Lurve!
Karly Campbell says
Oh my gosh...you cooked apples in red hot candies?! I love you.
Christine @ Cooking with Cakes says
am I right in thinking this is like turning big red into a cake?! because if I am then good lord girrrl, this is genius!
Christina says
Hi Christine--you mean like Big Red the soda? While that sounds absolutely delicious, I can tell you it doesn't taste like Big Red. Big Red has a bubblegum flavor to me, not cinnamon. I could be wrong, though, it's been ages since I've had it. You should definitely make a Big Red cake and blog about it :)
Jude says
Big red is cinnamon heart candies. Not soda.
jes058 says
Big Red IS soda!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Those apple slices look so red and luscious. This looks like a killer recipe. Yum!
dishing up the dirt says
This cake is for lovers! Cheers to love and this amazing cake. Yum!!! XOXO
Christin@SpicySouthernKitchen says
Those apples are gorgeous on top! I totally got cheated because my grandmother hardly ever let us eat sweets at her house. But making up for it now :)