Click here for previous recipes

SNICKERDOODLE CAKE -- (Serves 16)

 This cake is a take-off on the classic snickerdoodle cookie, which, according to the Dictionary of American Food & Drink, is a 19th century New England creation seasoned with cinnamon but also containing nuts and dried fruit.  The name comes from a nonsense word meaning “quickly made,” implying the cookies are whipped up with ingredients at hand.  This cake is a snap to pull together too – it relies on a cinnamon-scented, basic butter cake recipe and a buttercream frosting that you enliven with more aromatic cinnamon.

Solid vegetable shortening for greasing the pans

Flour for dusting the pans

1 package (18.25 ounces) plain white cake mix

1 cup whole milk

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Cinnamon buttercream frosting

  1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.  Generously grease two 9” round cake pans with solid vegetable shortening, then dust with flour.  Shake out the excess flour and set pans aside.
  2. Place the cake mix, milk, melted butter, eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl.  Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute.  Stop the mixer and scrape down the sids of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed.  The batter should look well combined.  Divide the batter between the prepared pans, smoothing it out with the spatula.  Place the pans in the oven side by side.
  3. Bake the cakes until they are golden brown and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger – 27 to 29 minutes.  Remove the pans from the oven and cool them on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.  Run a dinner knife around the edge of each layer and invent each onto a rack, then invert them again onto another rack so the cakes are right side up.  Cool for another 30 minutes. 
  4. Meanwhile, prepare the cinnamon buttercream frosting.
  5. Place one cake layer, right side up, on a serving platter.  Spread the top with frosting.  Place the second layer, right side up, on top of the first layer and frost the top and sides of the cake with clean, smooth strokes. 
  6. Place the cake, uncovered, in the refrigerator until the frosting sets – about 20 minutes. 

CINNAMON BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Makes 3 ½ cups, enough to frost a 2- or 3-layer cake

This is a basic and necessary frosting that will take you places and open doors!  It goes with just about any cake flavor and lends itself easily to doctoring up.  For example, add freshly grated lemon zest and juice and you have a lemon buttercream.  Add peppermint candy and you have peppermint buttercream (delicious on a chocolate cake).  And, of course, there’s cinnamon!

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature

3¾ cups confectioners’ sugar – sifted

3-4 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  1. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl.  Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until fluffy – about 30 seconds.  Stop the mixer and add the confectioners’ sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, vanilla, and cinnamon.  Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is incorporated – about 1 minute.  Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy – about 1 minute more.  Blend in up to 1 tablespoon of milk if the frosting seems too stiff.
  2. Use to frost the top and sides of the cake of your choice.