Spice Cake

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This spice cake makes a perfect two layer cake or baked up in a 9×13 pan. Smother it in the best cream cheese icing you can find to make the absolute perfect dessert!

Why not make your own The BEST Cream Cheese Icing to top this with? Or learn to make a Classic Chiffon Cake instead?

Spice Cake

This recipe bakes up a spicy, tender, and rich cake that combines a bunch of different warm spices into a supple, moist, and delectable cake.

Feel free to play around with the precise spices used here or even sub in some other ones based on your preferences. A little dash of ground cardamom would add a surprising Swedish twist if you are into that kind of intense, spicy kick.

For even more spiciness, consider adding a tiny dash of something like cayenne pepper. You don’t want to be able to notice it is there, but that little kick of chili heat helps offset the sweetness beautifully.

Spice Cake Ingredients

Make sure you look at the recipe card at the very bottom for the exact amounts so that you know exactly what to buy for this recipe.

Dry Ingredients

• All-purpose flour

• Baking powder

• Baking soda

• Ground cinnamon

• Allspice

• Ground nutmeg

• Ground cloves

• Salt

Wet Ingredients

• Butter

• White sugar

• Brown sugar

• Eggs

• Molasses

• Vanilla extract

• Milk

How To Make Spice Cake

• Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans and set aside

• In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients

• In a separate large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and creamy

 • Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated

• Add in the molasses, vanilla extract, and milk, stirring gently to combine, so there are no big lumps

• Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined

• Pour equal amounts of batter into each of the 9-inch cake pans

• Bake at 350 Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean

• Let the cakes completely cool in the pans

• To build the cake, remove the cake from the cake pans first

• Place one round onto a serving plate, spoon the icing onto the cake round, and spread it evenly

• Add the second cake on top of the icing, and then from there cover the top and sides of the now-layered cake with the icing

How Best To Build Your Cake & Apply The Icing

Building a cake often seems like a lot harder of a task than it actually is. On baking shows, it almost seems impossible to make the types of cakes the contestants make!

However, it’s actually pretty easy to build a cake, so long as you are patient and you take your time.

If you cook your cake in two parts in two different cake pans, then it is as easy as just laying the first cake, icing it, and then topping it with the second cake.

Trying to ice it on a plate, however, isn’t as easy. The icing has a tendency to get stuck in little nooks and crevices if you aren’t careful, as well as getting stuck on the plate as well.

If you can get a hold of one, try to use an actual cake spinner. Alongside being really fun to spin around in circles, cake spinners are designed to keep the cake in motion as you apply the icing, essentially letting the cake take as much icing from the palette knife as you need, making it a lot easier to get a smooth layer of icing!

If you find that your layer of icing picks up too many cake crumbs, you can apply what’s called a crumb layer.

Just take a really small amount of icing and apply that in a super thin layer first. This will pick up all of the loose bits of cake crumbs, letting you then apply the top layer of thicker icing without the risk of it getting polluted by crumbs. 

Why Not Try Turning This Cake Into Cupcakes?

This recipe makes for a pretty traditional layered cake, with frosting all around the outside and in-between the two layers.

The problem with cakes, however, is that they can sometimes dry out if they aren’t eaten completely after baking. Leaving a few slices behind will inevitably end up with those slices turning a bit foul tasting and dry.

Instead, why not try turning them into cupcakes?

• Simply grease a muffin tray and fill all 12 wells with batter up to about ¾ full. Bake at around 350 for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out completely clean.
• Then, just put your icing on the top in a single, thick layer. You can even play with each individual cupcake’s decorations to make individualized patterns!
• Just make sure that you keep a careful eye on the cupcakes while in the oven, as they can turn from soft and delicious to dry and overcooking in less than a minute if you aren’t being cautious.

Looking for more delicious Cake recipes? Try these out:

• Sour Cream Coffee Cake

• Classic Banana Cake

• Churro Cheesecake

Happy Cooking

Love,

Karlynn

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