Norwegian Apple Cake With Brown Cheese Frosting

Silvia

As apple season continues here in Norway, my friends keep bringing me apples that their families have brought them from Sognefjord. Last week I made Norwegian cinnamon buns with apple sauce filling, and this week I decided to make one of the most delicious cakes I know: Norwegian apple cinnamon cake with brown cheese frosting.

Norwegian Apple Cake with brown cheese frosting

I love using Norwegian brown cheese in desserts because it’s already quite sweet and has such a distinct taste that it adds an immediately recognizable Norwegian twist to anything I use it in.

While not technically a cheese, brunost is made from leftover whey from the cheesemaking process. The whey is boiled down until it caramelizes. In Norway you can buy brown cheese made both from cow’s milk and from goat’s milk, with slightly varying flavors.

Some supermarkets abroad carry brown cheese as well, otherwise you can order it online. You can order Norwegian brown cheese on Amazon here.

Brown cheese tastes wonderful with this dark, cinnamon spiced apple cake. I love this cake so much, and it making it instantly put me in an autumn mood. Making a fire in my fireplace for the first time this season also helped with the autumn vibes!

You can also use this brown cheese frosting on other cakes or cupcakes. And of course you can make the apple cake without the frosting, if you prefer (or if you don’t have brown cheese available).

Norwegian apple cinnamon cake with brown cheese frosting

Tips

This apple cake is quite simple, but it really pack flavor, thanks to the cinnamon and apples.

I use two medium apples in this recipe. Here I’m using local red Discovery apples that my friend gave me from her family’s orchard, but green apples would also be great in this recipe.

You can choose how big or small you want to chop your apples. I like medium sized pieces in this cake, but if you prefer a smoother cake you could even grate the apples instead of chopping them into pieces.

Be sure to let the butter soften before mixing it together with the sugars and eggs. I use an electric hand mixer to make both the cake batter and the brown cheese cream frosting.

Then after sifting in the dry ingredients I stir the batter with a wooden spoon until it’s smooth.

sifting flour into apple cake batter

Once the cake batter is smooth, add the apples.

mixing Norwgian apple cinnamon cake batter

I bake this cake in a round 9 inch (23 cm) springform. If you’re using a larger cake form, keep a close eye on the cake in the oven as it will be thinner and bake more quickly. The cake is finished when a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

This cake is also delicious without the brown cheese frosting, but the frosting really makes it special!

cutting Norwegian brown cheese into small pieces

Cut the brown cheese into quite small pieces so that it melts easily into your heated butter.

Then heat up your butter in a bowl (I use a microwave, but you could also heat it in a saucepan on the stove). Remove the melted butter from the heat and immediately stir in the brown cheese.

Keep stirring until the brown cheese is fully melted. If there are pieces that don’t melt or if the brown cheese separates (this can happen, don’t worry!) then you can use an electric mixer to make the mixture smooth.

You’ll also use an electric mixer to beat the frosting together, so it will be smooth in the end!

melting brown cheese into butter

Then add the brown cheese mixture to the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a large bowl and beat with the electric mixer until smooth.

apple cinnamon cake with Norwegian brown cheese frosting

Once the cake has cooled you can add the frosting and enjoy!

Norwegian apple cinnamon cake with brown cheese frosting

The cake tastes best the first day, but it will last for a few days in the fridge if you cover it in plastic wrap. You can add a few toothpicks to the top of the cake so the plastic wrap doesn’t stick to the top.

Norwegian apple cinnamon cake with brown cheese frosting

You can switch the recipe from US measurements to metric by clicking from “US Customary” to “Metric” under Ingredients.

Norwegian apple cinnamon cake with brown cheese frosting

Norwegian Apple Cake With Brown Cheese Frosting

This is a dark, cinnamon Norwegian apple cake topped with a Norwegian brown cheese frosting.
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Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Norwegian
Keyword: apple, brown cheese, cinnamon
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 10
Author: Silvia

Equipment

  • 9 inch (23 cm) spring form

Ingredients

Cinnamon Apple Cake

  • 1/2 cup butter (softened)
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 and 1/2 cups chopped and peeled apples (about 2 medium apples)

Brown Cheese Frosting

Instructions

Apple Cinnamon Cake

  • Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line the bottom of your springform with baking paper and grease the sides.
  • In large bowl, beat the softened butter and sugars with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Then beat in the eggs, one at a time.
  • Stir in the vanilla, flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt until smooth. Stir in the apples. Spoon the cake batter into your springform.
  • Bake for about 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean (start checking around 35 minutes). Let the cake cool before frosting.

Brown Cheese Frosting

  • Cut the brown cheese into small pieces. Melt the butter and mix it together with the brown cheese in a small bowl. The heat from the butter should be enough to melt the cheese. If the brown cheese separates or doesn't fully melt you can make it smooth with an electric mixer.
  • In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and brown cheese mixture until smooth.
  • Once the cake has cooled, add the brown cheese frosting to the top and sides of the cake.

Video

1 Comments

  • Elle

    October 8, 2024 at 3:52 pm

    I Silvia! I sent you an email about a possible interview :). Just checking in here since I figured you might see this first! Love your work!

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