Description
This rich and moist Spice Cake features a blend of warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves baked into a tender cake, layered with luscious cream cheese frosting, and accented with a homemade salted caramel sauce. Perfect for celebrations or cozy gatherings, this cake delivers a harmonious balance of spice, sweetness, and creamy texture that will delight your taste buds.
Ingredients
Scale
Salted Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 5 tbsp (70 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
Spice Cake
- 2 1/4 cups (281 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 10 tbsp (140 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (110 g) light brown sugar, packed
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (82 g) sour cream, at room temperature
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup (224 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 8 oz (226 g) cream cheese, cold
- 3 1/2 cups (455 g) powdered sugar
Instructions
- Prepare Salted Caramel Sauce: Add the sugar to a saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally as it melts slowly; wait until it mostly melts but some crystals remain, then reduce heat to low to avoid burning. Once fully melted, stir in the butter quickly until incorporated. Add heavy whipping cream, vanilla, and salt, stirring to combine. Let simmer for 2-3 minutes until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, then remove from heat and let cool completely while it continues to thicken.
- Preheat Oven and Prep Pans: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease two 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray and line the bottom with parchment paper rounds.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves until well combined.
- Cream Butter and Sugars: In a large bowl, beat the softened butter with granulated and brown sugar on high speed until fluffy and light, about 2 minutes.
- Add Eggs and Vanilla: Mix in eggs one at a time along with vanilla extract on medium speed until the batter is pale and smooth.
- Combine Wet Ingredients: Stir in buttermilk and sour cream on medium-low speed until just combined. Batter might look curdled but this is normal.
- Add Dry Ingredients: Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed just until blended. Scrape down bowl sides as needed to ensure everything is mixed evenly.
- Bake the Cakes: Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and bake for 23-26 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool Cakes: Let cakes cool in pans on a rack for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack until completely cool.
- Prepare Cream Cheese Frosting: Beat softened butter on high speed with an electric mixer for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add cold cream cheese and continue mixing on medium speed for 1-2 minutes until combined and fluffy.
- Add Powdered Sugar: Sift powdered sugar gradually into the bowl, mixing on low speed until incorporated, then increase to high speed for 1 minute to achieve fluffy frosting.
- Assemble Cake – Layer One: Place serving plate on a cake turntable. Put a dollop of frosting on the plate to secure the first cake layer. Place first layer on top, spread a generous layer of cream cheese frosting evenly, piping a half-inch thick and one-inch high border around the edge with about 1/4 of the frosting. Spoon 1/3 cup (80 ml) of the caramel sauce onto the center inside the border.
- Assemble Cake – Crumb Coat: Add second cake layer on top. Apply dollops of frosting on sides and top, smooth with an offset spatula, then scrape the frosting thinly with a cake scraper all around to seal in crumbs. Chill cake in fridge for 20 minutes.
- Apply Final Frosting Layer: After chilling, apply the final generous coating of frosting all over the cake. Smooth it with an offset spatula and cake scraper for a clean finish. Chill again for 20 minutes.
- Decorate with Caramel Drip: Fill a piping bag with caramel sauce and cut a small tip. Pipe caramel drips around the top edges and spread some caramel smoothly on top. It’s best to do this step just before serving to prevent excessive dripping.
- Final Decoration: Rewhip leftover cream cheese frosting if needed. Pipe decorative swirls on top of the cake using a piping bag with a decorative tip. Garnish with cinnamon sticks and star anise, then serve.
Notes
- The batter may appear curdled after adding buttermilk and sour cream; this is normal and it will come together after adding dry ingredients.
- Using room temperature eggs and dairy ensures better batter consistency.
- Chilling the cake after crumb coating makes the final frosting application smoother and crumb-free.
- Apply the caramel drip right before serving to maintain the best look and texture.
- Line cake pans with parchment paper rounds for easier removal and cleaner edges.
- Use an offset spatula and cake scraper for professional-looking smooth frosting.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: spice cake, cream cheese frosting, salted caramel, cinnamon cake, holiday cake, layered cake, homemade cake
