This cake is the love child of a sticky toffee pudding and a cider doughnut. I wanted to do something festive with spices and caramel-y notes for this recipe, just because during colder months(yeah I know, I’m a Californian who doesn’t technically get those, but I DID live in Boston, so I know what a real winter is like), seasonal depression can be a real thing. And what we as humanity learned to do is make heartier, richer meals during the winter. Namely because it helps sustain ourselves during harsher climates, but also because if you’re too busy being food coma’d, you’re not thinking about how depressing and inconvenient living in a refrigerator is like. At least that’s my take on it. Anyways, this recipe came about because I was thinking about comforting foods, namely desserts, that I could make during the winter. Sticky toffee pudding is a holiday treat we partake in on occasion, but cider doughnuts is another one(granted more for the fall during apple picking). So it just felt like a good fit to take references to both of those, and mash them into one delicious cake.

For the recipe, we have a brown butter spice cake – yes, I know that sticky toffee pudding uses dates, but I opted against that because I was soaking the cake with apple cider, and if I did that with a date cake, the entire layer cake loses its structural integrity from being way too wet and just falls apart. I’m layering up the soaked sponge with an apple cider caramel, crunchy dulcey(blonde chocolate) pearls, and a Biscoff bavarian cream. The caramel, I made in a similar fashion to Christina Tosi’s T5 caramel – back when I worked at Milkbar Lab, I had fun making that. It is pretty close to your standard caramel, but uses some gelatin to set it as it cools, giving it a fudgier texture compared to your usual saucy consistency. Biscoff, for those unfamiliar with it, is a spiced cookie butter, similar to peanut butter in consistency, but it tastes a lot like gingerbread. Bavarian cream, which is a standard in a ton of my recipes, is made from lightening an egg-based custard with cream to form this mousse-like consistency. This recipe makes a pretty tall cake, so I would make sure that when I’m lining my 6-inch ring mold with an acetate collar that the acetate is at least 5 inches tall. Or you can just make shorter cakes, because it does yield at least enough cake for up to 10 people!

Makes one 4-layer, 6-inch cake, or roughly 8-10 servings:
For the brown butter spice cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
a pinch of cinnamon
a pinch of clove
a pinch of nutmeg
a pinch of allspice
a pinch of salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, browned
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a bowl, sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and add to that the spices and salt. In a separate bowl, mix all of the other ingredients together, and mix the with the flour to form your batter. Pour the batter into a lined full sheet tray, spreading into an even layer, and bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes. Allow the cake to cool before cutting out four 6-inch rounds, using scraps as necessary.

For the cider caramel:
3/4 cups heavy cream
2 tsp gelatin powder + 2 tbsp cold water
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup apple cider
a pinch of salt
3 tbsp unsalted butter

In a pot, melt the gelatin into the heavy cream on low heat. In a pan, heat up sugar, cider, and salt until the sugar begins to brown. Once the mixture registers 300 degrees F, take off heat and stir in the still-warm cream, and finish with the butter. Keep the caramel at room temperature, allowing it to cool before attempting to use in assembly.

For the Biscoff bavarois:
1/4 cup whole milk
2 tsp gelatin powder + 2 tbsp cold water
4oz Biscoff
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1 cup heavy cream, whipped stiff

In a pot, start by melting the gelatin into the milk. In a bowl, whisk the Biscoff, egg yolks, sugar, and salt until combined. Pour half of the warmed cream into that and whisk together. Then add back into a pot and whisk on medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes. Pass the mixture through a sieve to remove any lumps and allow it to cool down to just above room temperature. At that point, fold in the cream to form your bavarois base.

For the soak:
1 cup apple cider
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix together.

For assembly:
Crunchy dulcey pearls

Line a 6-inch ring mold with acetate and place onto a lined sheet tray. Place down the scrap layer of cake first, then add in 1/4th of the soak. Spread over that 1/4th of the caramel, roughly 2 tbsp of the dulcey pearls, and then 1/3rd of the bavarois. Repeat these steps for the next two layers. For the final layer, apply on the rest of the caramel and sprinkle over that more of the dulcey pearls. Freeze the cake for at least 2 hours before attempting to unmold.