Recipe: Cinnamon Spice Cake Bites

Although sometimes intimidating to bake a cake at home, we couldn’t think of a better collection that highlights every form under the sun than Simple Cake by Odette Williams.

Odette Williams hails from Australia and is now a fellow New Yorker. Known for her apron line and baked goods, Simple Cake is her debut cookbook of quick and easy cakes, perfect for any level baker. We’ve adapted her Cinnamon Spice Cake Bites, which are great for entertaining a crowd (or a party of one). Swapping out the eggs for mayo ensures a moist crumb; perfect if you’re nervous about conquering cakes from scratch for the very first time!

Cinnamon Spice Cake Bites

Adapted from page 32 & page 172 / Makes one 13 x 9 inch rectangular cake

Ingredients

Cake:
2 ¼ cups whole-grain spelt flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
6 tbsp Sir Kensington’s Classic Mayo
½ cup mild-flavored extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
½ cup honey
¼ cup whole milk
1 tbsp finely grated orange zest
1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

Topping:
2/3 cup cane sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 9-inch pan with butter, line the bottom and sides of the pan with parchment paper, and grease the paper.
   
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a large bowl.
   
3. In another bowl, whisk the mayo, oil, vanilla, applesauce, honey, milk, zest, and brown sugar until smooth.
   
4. Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until there are no lumps and the batter is smooth.
   
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in the center of the oven for 28-30 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, and the cake bounces back when lightly pressed.
   
6. Remove the cake from the oven and let it stand for at least 10 minutes. Run a butter knife around the cake to gently release. Invert the cake, peel off the parchment paper, and cool on a wire rack.
   
7. When completely cooled, with a large, sharp knife, cut the edges off the cake. Use a ruler as a guide if you want the cake cut into perfect cubes; if not, do it by eye.
   
8. Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
   
9. Brush the melted butter on top of each cake square. Let it soak into the cake a little before sprinkling on the cinnamon-sugar mix.

Adapted from Simple Cake by Odette Williams (Ten Speed Press). Copyright © 2019

Purchase the cookbook here.