This cake was a special request from my dear friend, Justina. She wanted an apple pie-inspired Milkbar naked cake for her birthday, and I just wanted to make sure it was 100% to her liking. She wanted there to be doughy, buttery bits, caramelized chunks of apples, and some sort of creamy component, all of which are great things to include in almost any dessert! I personally love textural contrast, and what I love about the Milkbar cakes is that they contain so many different components, which lend themselves to adding creamy and crunchy to your layer cake-eating experience! I used both fresh apples and apple cider in the components throughout the cake, namely because I find that apple cider just has a more subtle apple flavor, which can play off of spices and sugar without being overwhelmingly apple-forward. That and apple cider just makes for a nice soak. With that, I wanted to also use caramel, brown butter, and cinnamon, all things that naturally will pair with the apple nicely, while also embracing the flavors of fall! And the last thing, which is very unorthodox in fall baking, is injeolmi. Injeolmi is a Korean grain blend, similar to misugaru(toasted multi-grain blend), but more warming and subtle, that is very popular in Korean desserts. I went with the injeolmi instead of misugaru in this case because I was using it as a thickening agent for my pastry cream, and the golden color of the injeolmi highlights the pleasant yellow color in the pastry cream itself! All in all, this was everything Justina wanted it to be, and it was a towering cake of comfort, toasty, warming flavors, and apple pie-inspired goodness!

For the components, we have a brown butter-cider cake, brown butter-injeolmi crumble, injeolmi pastry cream, caramelized apple cubes, caramelized apple slices, and a cider soak. The cake itself is made with heavily whipped egg whites just to add a soft, airy texture to the crumb of the cake. So long as you have a stand mixer, the cake is relatively easy to assemble. My advice with handling the brown butter, and this applies to both the cake and the crumb, is to let it cool down to room temperature after you brown it, just so that you don’t risk burning yourself. The crumble has a little injeolmi, which will inhibit the gluten formation in the dough, to give it a warming flavor that ties back in with the pastry cream, a crunchier finish, and it plays off the brown butter in the dough and cake nicely! Out of all of the components, I would say that the pastry cream probably takes the most attention. Anything that involves cooking eggs usually requires a delicate touch and thorough attention, and pastry cream is no exception. Whisking vigorously, and maintaining a medium to medium-low temperature on your heat is the easiest way to avoid scrambling your pastry cream. Since this pastry cream uses milk powder and cider, there is a chance your pastry cream will curdle, and the milk solids will separate from the liquid, but in case that happens, throw it in the blender and go to town. That will help salvage the texture of the custard. I did use apple cubes for the caramelized apple filling, and then apple slices on top for the garnish. The recipes are almost identical, and the methods of making each component are the same, so if you want to save time, you are absolutely more than welcome to just do apple slices for both the filling and the top garnish – the apple slices were an afterthought when I had already assembled the cake with cubed apples as the filling, so that was why I had both the cubes inside of the cake, and the slices on top. I will say though, that the contrasting appearances between the two made a very appealing presentation, because there is something welcoming about seeing caramelized cubes of apple between the layers, and the scale-like pattern of caramelized apples on top!

For the brown butter-cider cake:
3 egg whites
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
a pinch of salt
a pinch of cinnamon
4oz brown butter
1 1/2 cups apple cider
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a bowl, whisk the egg whites and sugar together until stiff peaks form. Fold all of your ingredients together to form your cake batter. Spread the cake onto a lined quarter sheet tray and bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes. Allow the cake to fully cool before cutting out three 6-inch rounds, making any of the rounds using the cake scraps as necessary.

For the brown butter crumble:
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup injeolmi powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2oz brown butter
1/2 tsp baking powder
1oz cold water
a pinch of salt
a pinch of cinnamon

In a bowl, mix all of your ingredients together to form a dough. Break the dough apart into fingernail-sized pieces and spread on a lined sheet tray. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Allow the crumble to cool down before using in the assembly of your cake.

For the injeolmi pastry cream:
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup apple cider
2 tbsp injeolmi powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a pot, heat up the milk, apple cider, injeolmi, and sugar, whisking on low heat until the liquid comes up to a simmer. There is a chance, depending on how acidic the cider is, that the liquid will begin to split. However, the next step will completely negate any curdling in the end product. In a blender, add the remaining ingredients, sans vanilla. Pour the heated milk-cider liquid into the blender and puree everything together. Pass the liquid through a sieve and pour the strained liquid back into a pot. Return the pot to medium heat, whisking constantly for 5 minutes, or until the mixture thickens enough to cling to the sides of your whisk. Take the pot off heat, whisk in the vanilla, and transfer the contents to a clean bowl. Press cling wrap to the surface of the freshly made pastry cream, and refrigerate it until time to assemble.

For the soak:
3/4 cups apple cider
a pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix ingredients together. Keep refrigerated until time to assemble.

For the caramelized apple filling:
1/3 cup granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
a pinch of cinnamon
1 tbsp unsalted butter
3 apples, peeled, cored, and cut into medium dice
1/4 cup apple cider

In a pan, heat up the sugar, salt, cinnamon, and butter. Once the sugar turns an amber brown color, add the apples and then the cider to the pan. Gently stir the pan on low heat until the sugar is dissolved into the cider, and then bring to a simmer, allowing 3/4 of the liquid to cook off. Allow the apples to cool down in a separate bowl before using in the assembly.

For initial assembly:
Start by lining a 6-inch ring mold with acetate, then placing the mold onto a lined sheet tray that can fit into your freezer. Place down the scrap layer of the cake first, then pour on 1/3 of the soak. Then spread on 1/3 of the pastry cream, 1/3 of the crumble, and then half of the caramelized apples. Repeat these steps for your second layer. For the third, place down your cake round and soak it. Transfer the cake to the freezer for 3-4 hours.

For the caramelized apple slices:
3 tbsp granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
a pinch of cinnamon
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 apple, peeled, cored, and sliced into thin wedges
3 tbsp apple cider

In a pan, heat up the sugar, salt, cinnamon, and butter. Once the sugar turns an amber brown color, add the apples and then the cider to the pan. Gently stir the pan on low heat until the sugar is dissolved into the cider, and then bring to a simmer, allowing 3/4 of the liquid to cook off. Allow the apples to cool down in a separate bowl before using in the final assembly.

For final assembly:
Start by arranging your caramelized apple slices on top of the cake in whatever pattern you want. Arrange a border around the edges of the cake using your remaining crumble and caramelized apple slices to finish. Unmold before serving.