Friday, September 6, 2024
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Spice Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting


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This Spice Cake is stuffed with heat fall spices and coated in a beautiful cream cheese frosting! It’s extremely moist, scrumptious and the right option to take pleasure in fall!

Close up of a Spice Cake with slices cut away to show layers.

Why You’ll Love This Wonderful Spice Cake

Spice cake is a basic and there’s no scarcity of recipes on the market. Right here’s why you’ll love this one and are available again to it over and over.

  • Moist. The cake batter has oil, brown sugar, and even some applesauce to make the moistest cake crumb ever. It offers you a cake that’s a bit fluffy and a bit dense and so moist.
  • Excellent spices. The batter has the right mix of your favourite vacation spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice. The wealthy, caramel taste of brown sugar and vanilla actually enable the spices shine.
  • Cream cheese frosting. I’m a sucker for cream cheese frosting! I like the tang and delicate sweetness. And I like the way it completely compliments the candy and spicy cake layers.
  • Traditional Fall cake. This spice cake makes me really feel so nostalgic. Its quaint, easy flavors by no means exit of fashion. It’s an exquisite cake for the vacations – or anytime you get the craving!

What Spices are in Spice Cake?

Spice truffles sometimes consists of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. They’re conventional heat spices that you just have a tendency to search out round fall and winter. You may additionally discover some recipes that decision for cardamom, all spice or one other sudden spice.

This cake makes use of all the conventional ones, plus a bit all spice for a bit one thing further. It additionally provides a touch of apple. Not solely does apple assist incorporate much more Fall taste into this cake, nevertheless it additionally provides moisture. It doesn’t make the cake apple-flavored, nevertheless it does assist the flavour of the spices actually pop.

Spice Cake on a white and wood cake platter on a napkin.

What You’ll Must Make Spice Cake

Though this a comparatively simple cake to make, there are a variety of elements. Be certain to learn my ingredient suggestions. You’ll find the precise measurements within the recipe card under.

Ingredients for Spice Cake with labels.

For the Cake

  • All-purpose flour – You should definitely measure the flour accurately so that you don’t find yourself with a dry cake. I at all times advocate a meals scale for accuracy, however you should utilize the spoon and degree technique as nicely.
  • Leavening – Utilizing each baking powder and baking soda offers the cake the right rise and tender texture.
  • Spices – This truffles makes use of floor cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.
  • Salt and Vanilla extract – Each add taste to the cake. Be certain to not omit the salt otherwise you’ll find yourself with a bland cake.
  • Vegetable oil – I personally love the mix of oil and butter in a cake. The oil is nice for further moisture and tenderness within the cake layers.
  • Unsalted butter – Convey your butter to room temperature earlier than utilizing. You’ll understand it’s prepared to make use of when you may press gently on the surface and depart a slight indent along with your thumb. In the event you don’t have unsalted butter, simply be certain that to omit the extra salt within the recipe.
  • Gentle brown sugar – The sunshine brown sugar provides nice extra taste that compliments all of the spices. It has molasses in it which additionally helps to maintain the cake moist.
  • Eggs – Room temperature eggs combine extra simply and assist forestall lumps. You should definitely use massive eggs, not medium or further massive.
  • Milk – Any fats proportion will work, though larger percentages will provide you with a greater cake. I like to recommend 2% or entire milk.
  • Unsweetened applesauce – The applesauce works superbly with the spices within the cake and provides pretty moisture and texture.

For the Frosting

  • Cream cheese – You’ll additionally need to use room temperature elements for the frosting. Just like butter, you’ll know the cream cheese is able to use when you may depart an imprint after urgent gently along with your thumb. You don’t need it to be too heat, or you will have a frosting that’s too skinny and exhausting to work with.
  • Unsalted butter – Prepared to make use of when it reaches room temperature.
  • Powdered sugar – Powdered sugar helps to sweeten and thicken the frosting. This recipe makes use of a superb little bit of powdered sugar. You’ll be able to scale back it, if desired, however remember the fact that changes change the consistency of the frosting.
  • Vanilla extract – For taste.
  • Chopped pecans – I like the crunch and nutty taste of pecans with the spice cake, however they’re optionally available. Be happy to depart them off fully, or change them to a distinct nut.
A slice of Spice Cake on a white ruffled plate.

Methods to Make Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Right here’s a short overview of tips on how to make a layered spice cake. I’ve supplied step-by-step images for fast reference, however you will get the excellent instructions within the recipe card under.

To Make the Spice Cake

  • Put together to bake: Put together three 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper circles within the backside and grease the edges. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
  • Mix dry elements: Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a medium sized bowl and put aside.
  • Cream butter, oil, sugar, and vanilla: Add the butter, vegetable oil, brown sugar, and vanilla extract to a big mixer bowl, and beat collectively till gentle in coloration and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Don’t skimp on the creaming time – it provides air to the batter that offers the cake it’s fluffy texture.
  • Add eggs: Add the eggs one by one, mixing till largely mixed after every. Scrape down the edges of the bowl as wanted to make certain all elements are nicely integrated. 
  • Incorporate half of the dry elements: Add half of the dry elements to the batter and blend till largely mixed.
  • Pour in milk and applesauce: Slowly add the milk and applesauce and blend till nicely mixed.
  • Add remaining dry elements: Add the remaining dry elements and blend till nicely mixed and easy. Scrape down the edges of the bowl as wanted to make certain all elements are nicely integrated. Don’t over combine the batter.
  • Fill cake pans: Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans and bake for 20-25 minutes, or till a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs.
  • Take away from oven and funky: Take away the truffles from the oven and permit to chill for about 2-3 minutes, then take away to cooling racks to chill fully.

To Make the Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Mix the cream cheese and butter: Whereas the truffles are cooling, add the cream cheese and butter to a big mixer bowl and blend till nicely mixed and easy.
  • Add half of the powdered sugar: Add about half of the powdered sugar and blend till nicely mixed and easy.
  • Pour in vanilla: Add the vanilla extract and blend nicely.
  • Add remaining powdered sugar: Add the remaining powdered sugar and blend till nicely mixed and easy.

To Assemble the Cake

  • Take away cake domes: Use a big serrated knife to take away the domes from the tops of the truffles so they’re flat, if wanted.
  • Set first layer: Place the primary cake layer on a serving plate or on a cardboard cake circle. Unfold about 1 cup of frosting on high of the cake layer.
  • Set second layer: Add the second layer of cake and one other cup of frosting.
  • Set high layer: High the cake with the third layer and frost the highest and outdoors of the cake with the remaining cream cheese frosting. Use a spoon or offset spatula to create a design within the frosting on the edges of the cake. 
  • Embellish: Use the remaining frosting to pipe a border across the high fringe of the cake. I used Ateco tip 847. Embellish the cake with some chopped pecans, if desired.

Working with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream cheese frosting is tougher to work with than buttercream as a result of it tends to be softer. I desire to thicken mine up with powdered sugar to make it pipe-able and simpler to work with, however for those who aren’t a fan of utilizing that a lot sugar, you may scale back it. I like to recommend decreasing the quantity of all of the elements by the identical proportion. That approach you’ll nonetheless have a frosting that’s thick sufficient to remain on the cake and stop the layers from sliding round. Principally, you’ll make much less of the identical frosting.

Additionally remember the fact that the temperature of your cream cheese makes a distinction. In case your cream cheese is a bit too heat while you make your frosting, you’ll have a good softer, and probably even runny, cream cheese frosting. If that occurs, you may refrigerate it till it’s a bit firmer and simpler to work with.

For extra suggestions, try my submit on tips on how to make cream cheese frosting.

Ideas for Success

Preserve the following tips in thoughts as you put together this spice cake. A couple of easy ideas will provide help to keep away from widespread errors.

  • Don’t skimp on creaming. When creaming collectively the butter, oil, sugar, and vanilla, achieve this till the combination has lightened considerably in coloration and change into fluffy. This course of incorporates air into the batter, which helps be certain that your cake doesn’t prove overly dense.
  • Measure your flour accurately. I extremely advocate utilizing a meals scale. If not, try my submit on tips on how to correctly measure your flour, to make certain you don’t over measure and find yourself with a dry cake.
  • Don’t overmix. To forestall a tricky, dense cake, be certain that to not overmix the batter after including the dry elements. It may trigger the glutens within the flour to overdevelop and change into robust.
  • Scrape down the edges of the bowl. Be certain to get all of the elements integrated into the batter. Use a spatula to scrape down the edges of the bowl as you proceed including elements.
  • Divide batter evenly. If you add the cake batter to the pans, ensure to take action evenly in order that one cake doesn’t bake extra shortly than the opposite, or you would find yourself with some dry cake layers.
  • Let it cool. Enable the cake layers to chill fully earlier than stacking and frosting. If the cake continues to be heat, the frosting will get melty and slide off.
Close up of a spice cake on a white cake platter.

Methods to Retailer Leftovers

  • Fridge. Seal the spice cake in an hermetic cake service or wrap it in a few layers of plastic wrap (I like utilizing toothpicks to prop the plastic away from the frosting). You can even organize slices in a single layer in an hermetic container. Preserve it within the fridge for as much as 4-5 days.
  • Freezer. To freeze the total cake, place the cake within the freezer for a few hours to agency up, after which wrap it in just a few layers of plastic wrap. In the event you already sliced it, you may wrap and freeze every slice individually, or organize the slices in a single layer in an hermetic container. You’ll be able to hold it within the freezer for as much as 3 months. Enable it to thaw within the fridge earlier than having fun with.

Extra Spiced Cake Recipes

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Close up of a Spice Cake with slices cut away to show layers.