Rec: Odette Williams’ cinnamon spice cake

[mariadnoca]

Is it fall yet? Not here that’s for sure. It was in the 90s yesterday. However, this sounds so good and I’m currently off sweets. Hopefully, one of you will be as interested in it as me and will make it so I can live vicariously through you.

odette williams' cinnamon spice donut cake — THE BUTTER LAB

I’ve been on the hunt for a good, simple spice cake for years. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve been disappointed by too many that are dry and bland. That changed last fall when I tried Odette Williams ’ cinnamon spice cake from her 2019 cookbook Simple Cake and immediately knew it was the one I’d

www.thebutterlab.com

ODETTE WILLIAMS’ CINNAMON SPICE DONUT CAKE​

Adapted from Simple Cake by Odette Williams.

As above, my change to the original recipe is to bake this in a bundt pan, although I’ve also kept instructions for baking this in a 9x13-inch pan. Additionally, I’ve browned the butter in the topping and think the extra step is worth it. I’ve also doubled the vanilla. Use white spelt flour (without the bran and germ; resembles all-purpose) which yields a more tender cake. If not, use all-purpose flour in equal proportion or a combination of both flours.

Makes one 10-inch bundt cake (or one 9x13-inch cake).

INGREDIENTS
2 1/4 cups (270g) white spelt flour or all-purpose flour (see above)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
3 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup (120ml) mild-flavored extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (240g) unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup (85g) honey
1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
1 cup (190g) light brown sugar, lightly packed

TOPPING
1/3 cup cane sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

METHOD

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 10-inch bundt pan and dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour and set the pan aside. (If using a 9x13-inch pan, butter the pan, line with parchment paper, and butter the parchment paper).
• In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In another large bowl, whisk the eggs, oil, vanilla, applesauce, honey, milk, zest, and brown sugar until smooth. Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until there are no lumps and the batter is smooth.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in the center of the oven for 35 to 38 minutes (28 to 30 minutes for a 9x13-inch pan) or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let it stand for 10 minutes before inverting it on a wire rack or plate.
• MAKE THE TOPPING: Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Brown the butter by melting it in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook, stirring the pan every few seconds, until it turns a deep gold color and starts to smell fragrant, about 5 minutes; remove from heat and transfer to a heat-proof container (to prevent continued cooking).
• Brush the cake all over with browned butter. Let it soak into the cake a little before sprinkling on the cinnamon-sugar mix; do your best to coat it completely! (If the cake is still warm, the sugar will dissolve.) Serve and store any leftover cake covered at room temperature for up to four days.

 

[Marg CDN]

So she says cane sugar. Is that white sugar from cane, or brown sugar from cane? I'm thinking it's white since she browns it. But

If it's white, why cane? Is she differentiating with castor? Or beet?

I'd like to try this as well, but we are still getting peaches, and raspberries, pears and there are apples to start yet...............I do love winter for the difference in what the kitchen produces (and maybe the extra frig space via the balcony), but that's about it.

 

[mariadnoca]

I take cane sugar to be white, and cane sugar vs beet sugar, which most white sugar is if unnamed on the package. I know some bakers swear there is a difference in the final product. I can’t even recall the difference now, but I always buy the “pure cane sugar” brand vs say a store unlabeled brand because of it.

 

[marilynfl]

Gonna jump in with my personal take on this. Baking sugars (like Domino & C&W) were always known to be sugar cane (best baking product). Then when beet and other sugars came along, these sugar companies started to add "pure sugar cane" to their label, as opposed to just "pure sugar."

However, I recently ran into packages of "pure sugar cane" that were REALLY cheap (4 lbs for $1). When I went to the company's website (because it just seemed too good to be true) it turns out that some parts of the industry are now defining "beet sugar" as "cane sugar" so they are not lying per se when their label say "pure cane sugar." According to them, the chemical breakdown between beet and cane sugar is identical--and the baking results are the same.

Per an Healthline link, "Beet and cane sugar differ slightly in taste and may work differently in cooking and baking. Unlike cane sugar, beet sugar is produced without bone char, which may be important for vegans or vegetarians. Still, some may prefer cane sugar as it's less likely to contain GMO ingredients."

So there you have it. From the packaging, it is now REALLY difficult to tell if a sugar is from the sugar cane or from the "beet" cane (which is just a tap root). I haven't been baking enough to notice a difference, but I saved off the el cheapo stuff to use for GBH dough since I'm still unsure of the results.

As far as the cane sugar comment for the recipe: this image of the cake shows a granular texture, so basically any sugar (granulated, turbinado (raw) demerara, etc would work, although some would be larger in texture. I think she's defining it so bakers don't use "powdered" or confectioners" sugar since it's a finishing step. Castor might not work, because it's superfine.

 

[deb-in-mi]

So she says cane sugar. Is that white sugar from cane, or brown sugar from cane? I'm thinking it's white since she browns it. But

If it's white, why cane? Is she differentiating with castor? Or beet?

I'd like to try this as well, but we are still getting peaches, and raspberries, pears and there are apples to start yet...............I do love winter for the difference in what the kitchen produces (and maybe the extra frig space via the balcony), but that's about it.

When a recipe calls for sugar I only use cane (not beet). IMHO I feel it's better

 

[deb-in-mi]

Is it fall yet? Not here that’s for sure. It was in the 90s yesterday. However, this sounds so good and I’m currently off sweets. Hopefully, one of you will be as interested in it as me and will make it so I can live vicariously through you.

odette williams' cinnamon spice donut cake — THE BUTTER LAB

I’ve been on the hunt for a good, simple spice cake for years. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve been disappointed by too many that are dry and bland. That changed last fall when I tried Odette Williams ’ cinnamon spice cake from her 2019 cookbook Simple Cake and immediately knew it was the one I’d

www.thebutterlab.com

ODETTE WILLIAMS’ CINNAMON SPICE DONUT CAKE​

Adapted from Simple Cake by Odette Williams.

As above, my change to the original recipe is to bake this in a bundt pan, although I’ve also kept instructions for baking this in a 9x13-inch pan. Additionally, I’ve browned the butter in the topping and think the extra step is worth it. I’ve also doubled the vanilla. Use white spelt flour (without the bran and germ; resembles all-purpose) which yields a more tender cake. If not, use all-purpose flour in equal proportion or a combination of both flours.

Makes one 10-inch bundt cake (or one 9x13-inch cake).

INGREDIENTS
2 1/4 cups (270g) white spelt flour or all-purpose flour (see above)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
3 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup (120ml) mild-flavored extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (240g) unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup (85g) honey
1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
1 cup (190g) light brown sugar, lightly packed

TOPPING
1/3 cup cane sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

METHOD

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 10-inch bundt pan and dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour and set the pan aside. (If using a 9x13-inch pan, butter the pan, line with parchment paper, and butter the parchment paper).
• In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In another large bowl, whisk the eggs, oil, vanilla, applesauce, honey, milk, zest, and brown sugar until smooth. Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until there are no lumps and the batter is smooth.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in the center of the oven for 35 to 38 minutes (28 to 30 minutes for a 9x13-inch pan) or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let it stand for 10 minutes before inverting it on a wire rack or plate.
• MAKE THE TOPPING: Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Brown the butter by melting it in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook, stirring the pan every few seconds, until it turns a deep gold color and starts to smell fragrant, about 5 minutes; remove from heat and transfer to a heat-proof container (to prevent continued cooking).
• Brush the cake all over with browned butter. Let it soak into the cake a little before sprinkling on the cinnamon-sugar mix; do your best to coat it completely! (If the cake is still warm, the sugar will dissolve.) Serve and store any leftover cake covered at room temperature for up to four days.

OMGoodness does this sound delicious!

 

[Marg CDN]

When a recipe calls for sugar I only use cane (not beet). IMHO I feel it's better

Really?? I have used both almost simultaneously; I have never noticed any difference. What do you see?

I still hunt down beet sugar as I believe (a doc said so, and another denied the possibility) that I am allergic to cane. The only way I can tell here, is a stamped number on the front of the package and/or the stated factory that made it. There are few beet sugar factories left anymore. Friends search out these packages for me when they are touring the country.

I don't think that being the daughter of a beet sugar maker had anything to do with it. Maybe..................

 

[mariadnoca]

I still remember the song…”pure cane sugar from Hawaii“ Not from Hawaii anymore though.