Made with a combination of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg, this spice cake recipe is a rich and flavorful dessert you won’t be able to get enough of. This cake is so rich, soft, and moist thanks to the combination of oil, applesauce, and buttermilk, and it’ll melt in your mouth.
While the list of ingredients may seem long, this cake is also very easy to throw together. The batter itself doesn’t even require a mixer! It’s practically a foolproof recipe as it comes out tender and rich every time. It’s way better than a box mix. Want another easy cake recipe? Try my applesauce cake recipe, olive oil cake recipe, or banana cake recipe.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Baking powder — make sure the baking powder is not expired to ensure the cake gets a nice lift.
Spices — you can’t make a spice cake without spices. I use a combination of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Combined, these spices give you the most wonderfully warm and cozy flavor.
Sugar — for the best flavor, I suggest using brown sugar. Brown sugar helps the cake taste rich due to the molasses. Using brown sugar also makes the cake softer and more moist than granulated sugar. I use light brown sugar, but you can also swap for dark brown sugar if that’s all you have on hand.
Oil — use a flavorless oil such as vegetable oil. The oil helps keep the spice cake’s crumb soft and moist.
Applesauce — make sure you use unsweetened applesauce. Similar to the oil, the applesauce provides moisture and flavor to the cake. You can use store-bought or my homemade applesauce recipe. Both work great in this cake recipe.
Buttermilk — buttermilk is another ingredient to add moisture to the cake. It also keeps the crumb soft and tender. If you do not have any buttermilk, see my post on how to make buttermilk with only two ingredients.
Butter — you’ll need unsalted butter for the frosting. You don’t want to end up with a salty frosting!
Cream cheese — make sure you use full-fat blocks of cream cheese to make this frosting. You do not want to use the cream cheese sold in a tub. I suggest using good quality cream cheese, as some generic brands of cream cheese may not be as thick, leading to a runny frosting.
Powdered sugar — powdered sugar is very fine, so it’ll quickly dissolve into the cream cheese frosting, making it creamy and sweet. If you only have granulated sugar, see my post on how to make powdered sugar with it!
How to Make Spice Cake
1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, oil, applesauce, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla until well combined.
3. Add the sugar mixture to the flour mixture and whisk together just until combined.
4. Divide the batter among the two greased and sprayed cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until the center springs back when gently pressed. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pans, then invert on a wire cooling rack and cool completely.
5. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese together on medium speed until smooth and fluffy before adding the powdered sugar and vanilla.
6. Place a cake layer on a cake stand or serving plate. Spread 1 cup of frosting over the top. Place the other cake layer on top and spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides of the cake. Decorate as desired. Refrigerate the spice cake for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- I highly recommend using a scale to measure your flour as it’s the most accurate method and will prevent you from ending up with dense cake layers. If you don’t have a scale, fluff your flour with a spoon and spoon it into your cups before leveling it off with a knife. This method prevents you from overpacking the measuring cup.
- Do not overmix the batter, or you’ll have a tough cake. Mix everything until just combined.
- Always bring your ingredients to room temperature to help everything combine better. Bringing butter and cream cheese to room temperature helps prevent a lumpy frosting. Eggs at room temperature also make it easier to mix into the batter without overmixing.
- The best way to let your butter come to room temperature is to bring it out of the fridge 1 to 2 hours beforehand and allow it to sit on your kitchen counter. If you soften the butter in the microwave, you risk it melting and making the cream cheese frosting runny. To speed up the process of the butter coming to room temperature, you can cube it.
- Tap the cake pan on the counter a few times to pop any air bubbles and level out the batter in the pan for an even bake.
- If the tops of the spice cake layers are domed, use a serrated knife to cut the top of the domes so you can stack them. You can use cake strips to help the cakes rise evenly in the oven. Cake strips work by keeping the outside edge of the pan cooler to ensure that the entire cake rises at the same rate, preventing a dome from forming in the middle. If you don’t want to purchase cake strips, see my guide on how to DIY cake strips.
- Don’t rush the assembly of the spice cake. Make sure you allow the cake to cool fully before you frost it. If it is still warm, the frosting may melt off. The cake is also quite tender and moist, so be gentle when moving the cake layers to stack.
- You could add ½ cup of finely chopped pecans or walnuts to the batter if desired or decorate by pressing them onto the sides of the frosted cake.
Frequently Asked Questions
Due to the cream cheese frosting, I recommend storing the cake in the fridge. Loosely cover the cake in plastic or place it in a cake dome before storing it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
You can make and store the components of the spice cake separately a couple of days ahead of time. Store in the fridge and assemble when ready. You can also freeze the cake layers as well.
This spice cake is freezer-friendly! You can freeze this cake frosted or unfrosted, whole or sliced. To freeze, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and then a layer of tin foil or transfer it to a freezer-safe container. Store the cake for up to 3 months in the freezer. When ready to eat, thaw the cake to room temperature. Frost if needed.
While the two cakes have a similar spice profile and a cream cheese frosting, they are not the same. Carrot cake has shredded carrots and nuts inside the cake batter.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this Spice Cake recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Spice Cake
Equipment
- 9″ round cake pans
- Mixing Bowls
- Wire cooling rack
- Electric hand or stand mixer
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (360g)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 cups packed light brown sugar (440g)
- 1 cup vegetable oil (240ml)
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce (240ml)
- ½ cup buttermilk (120ml)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened (227g)
- 1 (8-ounce/113g) block cream cheese room temperature
- 6 cups powdered sugar (720g)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease two 9-inch baking pans with baking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, oil, applesauce, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla until well combined. Add the sugar mixture to the flour mixture and whisk together just until combined. Divide the batter among the prepared cake pans.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until the center springs back when gently pressed. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pans then invert on a wire cooling rack and cool completely.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese together on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- With the mixer on low, gradually add in the powdered sugar stopping occasionally to scrape down the bowl. Once combined, add the vanilla, and beat on medium-low speed until fluffy, about 1 minute.
For the Assembly:
- Place a cake layer on a cake stand or serving plate. Spread 1 cup of frosting over the top. Place the other cake layer on top and spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides of the cake. Decorate as desired.
- Refrigerate the cake for at least 30 minutes before slicing. The cake can be refrigerated, then loosely covered, and stored for up to 3 days before serving.
Video
Notes
- I highly recommend using a scale to measure your flour as it’s the most accurate method and will prevent you from ending up with dense cake layers. If you don’t have a scale, fluff your flour with a spoon and spoon it into your cups before leveling it off with a knife. This method prevents you from overpacking the measuring cup.
- Do not overmix the batter, or you’ll have a tough cake. Mix everything until just combined.
- Always bring your ingredients to room temperature to help everything combine better. Bringing butter and cream cheese to room temperature helps prevent a lumpy frosting. Eggs at room temperature also make it easier to mix into the batter without overmixing.
- The best way to let your butter come to room temperature is to bring it out of the fridge 1 to 2 hours beforehand and allow it to sit on your kitchen counter. If you soften the butter in the microwave, you risk it melting and making the cream cheese frosting runny. To speed up the process of the butter coming to room temperature, you can cube it.
- Tap the cake pan on the counter a few times to pop any air bubbles and level out the batter in the pan for an even bake.
- If the tops of the layers are domed, use a serrated knife to cut the top of the domes so you can stack them. You can use cake strips to help the cakes rise evenly in the oven. Cake strips work by keeping the outside edge of the pan cooler to ensure that the entire cake rises at the same rate, preventing a dome from forming in the middle. If you don’t want to purchase cake strips, see my guide on how to DIY cake strips.
- Don’t rush the assembly of the cake. Make sure you allow the cake to cool fully before you frost it. If it is still warm, the frosting may melt off. The cake is also quite tender and moist, so be gentle when moving the cake layers to stack.
- You could add ½ cup of finely chopped pecans or walnuts to the batter if desired or decorate by pressing them onto the sides of the frosted cake.
