October 24: Sweet Autumn Cake

I got double the cake duty last weekend.

Saturday was our Autumn's 18th birthday.  In honor of the big occasion, I chose the possibly-eponymous Sweet Autumn Cake from The B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbook by Alexe Van Beuren.  B.T.C. is a grocery on the town square in Water Valley, Mississippi.  It was started by Van Beuren (a Virginia native) to bring back the old-school general store; they serve breakfast and lunch and fresh baked goods in addition to selling grocery staples and produce.  B.T.C. stands for "Be The Change" after a quote from Ghandi that says "you must be the change you wish to see in the world." The cookbook was a gift from Keith because he liked the concept of re-creating a small-town general store and serving creative classic foods.  But, he also likes to joke that B.T.C. stands for Bind-Torture-Cook, like the B.T.K. serial killer claimed to Bind-Torture-Kill.

This cake seemed like an inspired match for Autumn's birthday because she loves sweet potatoes, plus, cream cheese frosting is a favorite.  Autumn also requested that I make my Lemon Buttercream Cupcakes for her to take to school on Friday.  As a high school senior it wasn't important to take cupcakes to her class.  But, Autumn has an internship at a preschool near her high school.  All of her pre-K students bring cupcakes for the class on their birthdays and she didn't want to let them down.

I went ahead and made extras for her to take to her classmates in the International Baccalaureate program, too.  Some of the pre-K kids didn't care for the lemon cake and brightly-tangy lemon buttercream, but the teachers and high-schoolers loved them.  Each cupcake was decorated with "Autumn Sprinkles" hand-applied by Autumn, herself.

Graham-Pecan Crust

The Sweet Autumn Cake didn't need any decorations.  it was quite complex, elaborate and rich with sweet potato and spices in the cake and pecans and caramel drizzles to decorate the top.  There was an added layer of texture and flavor because the recipe calls for pressing a graham cracker crumb/pecan crust into the bottom of each cake pan before adding the cake batter.  This crumbly mixture made it difficult to handle the layers without crumbs flying all over the kitchen.  The crumbs also made for trouble when trying to frost the cake.

Overall, we judged the sweet potato and spice cake layers to be winners.  However, the effect of the cake layers, cracker crust, frosting, caramel and nuts was too, too rich.  The cake is a killer!  I love the idea of making the sweet potato batter, adding pecans (pineapple too?) and then spreading-on cream cheese frosting.

Excited about Furman, and not just the sassy shirt, either!

After a dinner at Fogo de Chao, Brazilian Steakhouse, the family returned home for Sweet Autumn Cake and watched our sweet Autumn open her presents.

This weekend will be another big one for Autumn.  Saturday is Halloween (a favorite), and Sunday is the deadline for her Early-Decision application to Furman University.  Furman has great opportunities for undergraduate scientific research and Autumn wants to go to medical school to eventually become a Medical Examiner.
Perhaps she will help catch the B.T.C. killer?

Next Saturday:  Caramel Cake IV