Spice Girl…
No doubt you’ve often asked yourself, if I were a Spice Girl, who would I be? I’m sure not a day goes by without you thinking about that. 
I’d like to be Sporty Spice but that one has been taken. I can be Scary but usually just in the morning. I can be a Baby if I don’t get my way. Posh, um…no. I think the last one was Sexy spice…can I be sexy in those green sweat pants? I am thinking no.
So that leaves me with Sarcastic Spice. Yes, I think that is the Spice Girl that best describes me. Of course then there is the problem with the whole I can’t actually sing thing. I mean, I can sing. I just sound like I am beating a cat to death when I open my mouth to sing. I can actually make my dog leave the room when I sing (note to you…don’t ever take me to karaoke).
And dance moves. Let’s just say that until they make the bobbing slug a pop star dance move, I am screwed in this area. Not familiar with the bobbing slug? I bet you are. You know, your feet are planted firmly on the ground. Those don’t move. You bob your upper body back and forth and move your head from side to side. That is it, the whole dance. Works well with the 80’s music I grew up listening to.
The more I think of it perhaps I should just stick to Spice Cake instead of Spice Girls. The rest of this half of the world is all giddy with the hopes that Spring will soon be here. Me? I am mourning the loss of Fall and Winter. Gone will be my crisp and chilly days. Others will be enjoying the weather outside while I will be cowering inside to stay away from tree, grass and weed pollen (my worst allergies). All I will have left are some of the flavors of Fall. Spice. Spice you can have year round but really, most of the spices in spice cake are what we use in Fall and Winter foods.
Our five year wedding anniversary is coming up. Our cake had a caramel mousse in it and so I was trying to find a recipe to help recreate that cake. That got me thinking…spice cake with caramel mousse. And then of course I needed apples.
It’s pretty much caramel overload and I love it! For those still bothering to count those WW points, I am pretty sure you don’t enough points in a week just to take a bite out of this. 
Spice Cake with Caramel Mousse and Caramel Apple Topping
Spice Cake (recipe follows)
Caramel Mousse (recipe follows)
Caramel Sauce (recipe found here)
Sauteed Caramel Apples (recipe follows)
Spice Cake
2 ½ cups sifted cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups buttermilk
Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.
Cream butter in a mixing bowl; add brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. Beat at high speed of an electric mixer for 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Scrape bowl often.
Add sifted dry ingredients, alternating with buttermilk, mixing at lowest speed just until smooth.
Pour batter into two greased and floured 8-inch round layer cake pans.
Bake at 350° for 30 minutes, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on rack for 5 minutes, turn out of pans onto racks to cool completely.
Source: About.com
Caramel Mousse
3 TBSP plus 3/4 cup water
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
2 ¾ cups sugar
2 TBSP light corn syrup
pinch of salt
1 ¾ cups whipping cream, room temperature
2 ounces unsalted butter (the original recipe called for 4 ounces, which I made but found it made it a little too greasy…so this is how I will make it next time)
1 ½ cups chilled whipping cream
Pour 3 TBSP water into ramekin or custard cup. Sprinkle with gelatin; let soften while preparing caramel sauce.
Combine sugar, corn syrup and ¾ cup water in heavy large saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves, frequently brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush. Increase heat; boil without stirring until syrup turns deep golden brown, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add 1 ¾ cups cream and butter (caramel will bubble up vigorously). Return to low heat; stir until any bits of caramel dissolve.
Pour 1 ½ cups caramel sauce into glass measuring cup; set aside pan of caramel sauce. Place ramekin with gelatin mixture in small skillet of simmering water. Stir until gelatin dissolves and mixture is clear, about 1 minute. Mix gelatin into measured 1 1/2 cups hot caramel; cool just to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Add salt and stir.
Beat chilled whipping cream in large bowl to medium-firm peaks (do not overbeat). Gradually pour cooled caramel-gelatin mixture over cream, folding constantly but gently. Chill mousse 15 minutes (mine took way longer than 15 minutes, more like an hour to get it the constancy I wanted for the cake).
Adapted from Bon Appetit, September 2000
Sauteed Caramel Apples
3 apples (your choice, I used Pink Ladies because that was what was in the fridge), peeled, cored, and diced
1 TBSP unsalted butter
1 TBSP granulated sugar
¼ cup caramel sauce
In a saute pan add the apples, butter, and sugar, Cook over medium-low heat until the apples start to become soft. Turn to low. Add caramel sauce, making sure to coat every apple piece with the sauce.
Assemble the cake. Cut each cake round horizontally in half. You will end up with 4 rounds of cake, but I always mess up so a spare is nice. If you don’t want to cut the cakes, you can just make a two layer cake.
Place one layer on a plate. Pipe or spoon desired amount (that is up to you) of caramel mousse onto that layer. Add another cake layer. Repeat again with the mousse. You will have a lot of mousse left over, I suggest putting it into dishes and topping with caramel apples (as pictured above in the post). Top with third layer. Pour caramel sauce over cake and top with caramel apples.
64 Responses
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February 25th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
wow, impressive! This looks so delicious!
February 25th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
Stunning photos! I love the idea of caramel mousse. We recently made a pineapple caramel cake with five spice that was great. I bet a caramel mousse would take it over the top!
Phoo-D
P.S. Your WW comment cracked me up!
February 25th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
I’ve be Posh Spice
February 25th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
good grief lady, I think I gained weight just looking at it. looking at it longingly. looking at it, like id like to have some of that there cake.
happy anniversary! hope you do something special!
February 25th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Holy cow, that’s a truly beautiful cake. And your photos are amazing.
Sarcastic Spice? I love it.
February 25th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Absolutely awesome cake – and Happy anniversary
February 25th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Sadly, I’d be frumpy spice since I’d eat cakes like that one whenever I could. I’d make Victoria jealous as I ate it though.
February 25th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
this looks so delicious! my husband would love it, i’m saving this one for his birthday cake, he’ll be in heaven!!!
February 25th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
i like how you do your sauces in your pictures. haha, i know the bobbing slug dance move all too well. unfortunately!
February 25th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Happy almost anniversary!! This cake looks amazing. And can I tell you: the bobbing slug is my favorite dance move!
February 25th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
This looks fabulous! I love caramel and apples together. I am a huge fan of hot weather, but I do enjoy the traditional fall baked goods all year long.
February 25th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
This cake looks luscious! I want to catch those carame drips with my tongue. My 4th anniversary is coming up next week. My husband would love this, although he’s a huge fan of that dark ingredient called chocolate.
February 25th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
I don’t really care about the WW points, Let’s just serve this up with a good pot of tea and be on it. I really love spice cakes.
February 25th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Screw WW, I gave up dessert for Lent. Well, I made it through today, but after one day of no dessert, I really want this cake. Into the bookmarked pile it goes!
And yes, I would much rather have fall and winter than spring and summer too!
February 25th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
No, see, it works because the missing Spice Girl is Ginger, and there’s ginger in the cake! Easiest Spice Girl to be.
February 25th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
Honestly, if you could have seen my face when I looked at that first gorgeous picture…I was so stoked. Caramel+apples+spice cake=more amazingness than I can comprehend.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
Ooooohhhh, that beautiful cake with all that ooey gooey caramel is so tempting! A droolworthy treat!
Cheers,
Rosa
February 25th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
Oh my goodness, this looks amazing! This is definitely my type of cake, I put cinnamon and warm spices on practically everything and we go through jars and jars of cinnamon. I can’t wait to try this any time of the year!
-kristen
February 25th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
Your pictures say more than a thousand words that is for sure!
I think sarcastic spice would be much more fun to hang out with than baby or posh.
February 26th, 2009 at 12:35 am
both of us are on a mousse trip in our latest posts LOL! and a cake trip and a fruit trip. but yours looks different to mine! This one sounds fantastically decadent!
February 26th, 2009 at 1:59 am
Oh my! That looks seriously indulgant!! I want a piece so badly – yum.
February 26th, 2009 at 4:38 am
You could be baking spice – I would pay to see that show!
February 26th, 2009 at 5:32 am
Posh Spice can’t sing either. I think they used to turn her mike off. And she does the bobbing stick insect! I’m sure she would never, ever make or eat a cake like this!
February 26th, 2009 at 5:33 am
Yum! That looks so good! I think a banana mousse would probably be good too. So many options =)
February 26th, 2009 at 6:19 am
Wow, gorgeous!! Great job. Caramel and apple together is a wonderful combination.
February 26th, 2009 at 7:39 am
Outrageous… I’d take baking over singing any day!
February 26th, 2009 at 8:00 am
Now you’ve really gone & done it! Looks absolutely amazingly delish. Incredible photo too!
February 26th, 2009 at 8:22 am
Happy 5 years! What a great way to celebrate! The cake looks outrageously good!
February 26th, 2009 at 9:15 am
This looks amazing! I’m a caramel fan and I’m dying to stick my finger in and lick the caramel off the plate!
February 26th, 2009 at 9:35 am
Gorgeous beyond words…& LOL about the Spice Girls! I’m totally with the sarky one too!
February 26th, 2009 at 9:58 am
This looks amazing. I myself have been scowling at sunny days and feel of spring in the air. Soon I’ll have puffy red eyes and I’ll talk funny from sneezing so much, and I won’t be able to wear my cozy warm clothes. Oh well, I have next fall to look forward to.
I think spice cake is better than a spice girl any day
February 26th, 2009 at 10:04 am
So incredibly beautiful. Wow.
February 26th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Well, I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want, what I really, really want is that spice cake.
February 26th, 2009 at 10:34 am
No such thing as too much caramel
Happy upcoming anniversary!
February 26th, 2009 at 11:36 am
That looks SO good!
February 26th, 2009 at 11:45 am
I would be Moody Spice or anything like that if I did not get a piece of this beautiful cake, Pea.
February 26th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
LOL! sarcastic spice! I would have to be Phat Spice. oh yeah
February 26th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
I’m thinking about re-creating my wedding cake, too. Does that make me Romantic Spice??
February 26th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
OMG this looks amazing!
February 26th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Wow. That is one beautiful cake. To hell with weight watchers, let’s eat cake!
February 26th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Speechless. I am drooling. That is an amazing masterpiece!!
February 26th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
That just looks divine! Happy upcoming anniversary!!!
February 26th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
It look so yummy! I love the excess of caramel all over.
February 26th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
The cake is impressive, of course, but I love that little jar of mousse. To me it looks just perfect!
February 27th, 2009 at 5:12 am
your cascading caramel looks like the fountain of slobber coming down my chin…
February 27th, 2009 at 7:57 am
I am just Old Spice now. Your cake looks posh to me.
February 27th, 2009 at 8:37 am
Surely you are Ice, Ice Spicy to go?
February 27th, 2009 at 10:43 am
Love those drips in the top photo. Must have been a tense photographic moment to get it just right! What a lovely cake.
February 27th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
happy almost anniversary!! and can there really be such a thing as “caramel overload”?? this deliciousness looks perfect!
February 27th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
Wow- something about the way the caramel is dripping is just calling me to take a bite! If only…
February 27th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
Oh yum! I was just thinking how great a spice cake with apple topping would taste and looky here! You have it all figured out for me!!!
February 27th, 2009 at 11:59 pm
that’s one gorgeous dessert! I love the height and the multiple layers drenched in caramelly goodness! The flavours sound fantastic!
February 28th, 2009 at 6:28 am
You had something like that as your wedding cake? Wish I’d have been at your wedding!
Happy Anniversary, btw.
February 28th, 2009 at 6:40 am
I must say that this looks TOTALLY amazing. It is so drool worthy!
February 28th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Thank heavens there are no points or calories in looking at that first photo…although the pool of drool around my keyboard is disgusting. What a stunning photo. Caramel overload never looked so good.
February 28th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
wow that is a seriously tempting cake!! i love caramel and apples – great celebration cake
March 1st, 2009 at 1:49 pm
hat a nice cake. flavour must be unique
March 1st, 2009 at 2:50 pm
wow, you should win an oscar, or blogoscar for this post. The pictures are devine, Looks like something you would want to wallow in. What do you do with all of your culinary concoction left overs? I’ll bet your neighbors are dropping by all day long just to check on you and say hello. I know I would be visiting if I lived close to you, probably best that I don’t. It would be a sweet way to die though, you devil!
March 1st, 2009 at 7:18 pm
That looks fabulous! No counting WW points for me
Come karaoke with me and we’ll see whose tortured cat voice reigns supreme
March 1st, 2009 at 7:30 pm
Girlie, you are talking my kinda flavors – loooove caramel and spice cake. But a mousse? Mmmmm. Brilliant. So honestly, I never paid any attention to the Spice Girls and the only reason I know about Posh is b/c of Sam’s blog
March 1st, 2009 at 11:46 pm
Yummy yummy yummy. Anything that mixes caramel and apple gets an A in my book!
March 2nd, 2009 at 9:33 pm
Happy 5 year anniversary!
This cake looks amazing… would certainly keep my husband hanging around for at least another five years.
March 3rd, 2009 at 5:26 pm
This sounds like the most wonderful cake ever. I love the abundance of sauce
Happy upcoming wedding anniversary!
March 16th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
I’m impressed with all the pictures…yummy looking desserts. Gotta try the Key Lime pie. Thanks for sharing your creations!