Apple Cinnamon Buttermilk Cake

I have a bottle of Kate's Buttermilk and apples in the fridge so I did a search for a recipe with both ingredients, and came upon one of my new favorite apple desserts. You may find it here at Pinch My Salt blog. There are a lot of wonderful things there so look around! 

Apple Cinnamon Buttermilk Cake


1 cup all-purpose flour (I used half whole wheat pastry and half unbleached all-purpose)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick), at room temperature (I used salted)
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 cup peeled and chopped baking apple (I used Honey Crisp)
heaping tablespoon of raw sugar -demerara, turbinado or Sugar in the Raw -(I just used regular sugar)
extra cinnamon for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, butter and flour an 8-inch round cake pan* (or spray with Baker’s Joy or equivalent).

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about two minutes. 

Add vanilla and egg and beat well. 

I just bought this new beater and used it for the first time today. It is great. You can see how it scrapes the sides as it mixes. 

With the mixer set to low speed, beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture.
Add half the buttermilk and continue beating on low speed until incorporated. 
Scraping down sides of bowl as necessary, beat in another 1/3 of flour mixture then remaining buttermilk.
Finally beat in the last 1/3 of the flour mixture until just combined.

Scrape batter into the cake pan, smoothing the top with a spatula.
Scatter apple pieces evenly over the top of the cake batter then sprinkle evenly with raw sugar.
Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon.

Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven until cake is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

Cool in the pan for ten minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool until warm.
Invert onto a plate.

Serve plain, or with whipped cream and salted caramel sauce. (I used whipped cream)

*You may use a 9-inch cake pan, if you don’t have an 8-inch one. 

The cake will be a bit thinner than it appears in my photos and will bake slightly faster. (I did use the 9-inch; cooked in about 20 minutes, but check occasionally as it bakes)

Yield: 8 servings

This is unbelievably good, and I thank Nicole for letting me post her recipe.