Apple Cake with Brown Butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Makes 1three-layer 6-inch cake
Ingredients
Brown Butter Apple Cake
1 1/4cupbrown, (unsalted) butter
1teaspoonvanilla extract
1 1/2cupgranulated sugar
4large eggs
2 1/2cupsall purpose flour
4tspbaking powder
1/4teaspoonsalt
1cupmilk
2medium apples, peeled and diced
Brown Butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream
4egg whites
1cupgranulated sugar
1cupbrown, (unsalted) butter, cubed, at room temperature
Instructions
Brown Butter Apple Cake
Browning the butter (*make ahead):
Start melting butter over medium heat. Use a pan with a light-coloured bottom so you can keep track of the colour. Swirl the pan occasionally to be sure the butter is cooking evenly. As the butter melts, it will begin to foam (~5 minutes). You can tell the butter is browning because dark golden flecks (browned milk solids) will appear in the melted butter, which will start to smell nutty and toasty.
Once you're happy with the level of browning, pour the butter (scrape every bit of browned milk solids and all) into a bowl. If you were to leave the butter in the pan, the residual heat would continue to cook/burn it.
Preheat oven to 350F and grease three cake pans.
In a medium sized bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the brown butter and sugar. Once fluffy, add vanilla and eggs, one at a time until well incorporated. Add in half the milk and half the dry ingredients. Gently mix together before adding the remaining halves of both.
Very gently fold in the diced apples.
Evenly divide batter into cake pans and bake for 30 - 35 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the tins for 15 minutes, then carefully turn them out on to a wire rack to cool completely.
Brown Butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Place egg whites and sugar into a stainless steel or glass bowl, and place the bowl over a sauce pan of simmering water. The bottom of the bowl should not be touching the water. Continuously whisk the egg whites and sugar together until sugar has melted.
Remove bowl from heat and beat mixture on high until the egg white and sugar mixture is white and fluffy.
Once the mixture has cooled a bit, start adding brown butter gradually. This is the part where you have to trust that the buttercream will turn out. It might look kind of lumpy and not buttercream-esque, but just keep on mixing.