I really think you’re going to love this Spice Cake Recipe! Super simple to make and full of Fall spices (without being over-whelming on the tastebuds) and covered with a silky-smooth cream cheese frosting!
This is one recipe you’re going to want to make every Fall. It reminds me of a cross between my carrot cake (minus the carrots, of course) and my gingerbread. I love the simplicity of tossing everything in a 9×13 pan and then frosting it right in the pan once it’s baked and cooled. Easy and delicious!
Spice Cake
This super soft, exquisitely spiced cake recipe is quickly climbing the ranks to be one of my favorite cakes ever. Ok, admittedly my cake loyalties shift frequently, but right now it’s definitely at the top of the list.
During the summer, my similarly moist, flavorful, and simple banana cake usually ranks supreme, but this summer it had some tough competition. As many of you know, I’ve been working super hard to get ahead on recipes in anticipation of Baby Boy’s arrival this month (it could be any day now!), and so I started working on my Fall recipes months ago.
The amount of pumpkin and pumpkin spice I went through in June was unusual and a little strange, sure, but I loved the jump start I got on Fall baking (/my favorite kind of baking). This Spice Cake recipe was perfected during the hot summer, and despite its cozy Fall flavors it provided some tough competition to my favorite summer recipes.
How to Make Spice Cake
Made in just one bowl (not counting the frosting, of course, which needs its own bowl) the base of this spice cake is super simple to make. The steps listed below correspond to the numbered steps in the collage above.
- Combine your sugars and your dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Whisk really well, until completely combined.
- Add melted butter, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract and mix well. I like to use an electric mixer or my stand mixer as the batter can get pretty thick when you first add your butter and oil.
- Pour into a lightly greased 9×13 pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. The center will settle and sink a bit as it cools, this is OK! I was really worried about this at first and was actually able to tweak the recipe to a point where it didn’t sink at all, but none of my taste testers liked the flavor/texture as much as when it settled a bit after baking. We’re just going to cover this with our cream cheese frosting anyway, so don’t worry about it!
- Make your frosting! I highly recommend cream cheese frosting and include that in the recipe below, but my vanilla frosting would work well here, too. Whipped cream would also be another good topping!
- Frost the (cooled) spice cake right in the pan, slice, and serve!
What Spices Go Into Spice Cake?
We’re using a blend of ground cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg. These will be stirred in with your dry ingredients in steps ½ above.
Enjoy!
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Spice Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (315g)
- 1 ½ cups dark brown sugar, firmly packed (300g)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
- ¾ teaspoons ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup canola or vegetable oil (235ml)
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted (113g)
- 4 large eggs room temperature preferred
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup buttermilk ¹ (60ml)
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- 8 oz cream cheese softened (225g)
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened (113g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar (440g)
Instructions
SPICE CAKE
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and grease and flour a 9x13 baking dish (or spray with baking spray). Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugars (granulated and brown), baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices (cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg).
- Add canola oil and melted butter and stir well. The batter will be pretty thick at this point, that is OK, but using an electric or stand mixer will make it easier to combine everything.
- Add eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.
- Add vanilla extract and buttermilk and stir until ingredients are well-combined.
- Pour batter into prepared baking dish and bake on 350F (175C) for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Allow to cool completely before topping with cream cheese frosting.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- Combine cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until creamy and well-combined. Stir in salt and vanilla extract.
- Gradually, with mixer on low-speed, stir in powdered sugar until completely combined.
- Spread evenly over cooled spice cake.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Wanda Strowd
Flavor is great however, cake sank and I watched video and followed directions?
karen zaborowski
If I don’t have unsalted butter can I substitute salted butter?
Sam
Hi Karen! That will work just fine. You’ll want to reduce the salt to 1/4 teaspoon. 🙂
Gillian
Although the flavor was good this cake was almost too dry, very dense (probably due to the sinking) and full of sugar crystals. I suspect that the problem so many of us experienced with this cake is due to the method of mixing. Next time I will use slightly less sugar and mix the oil, butter and sugar first, then add the eggs one at a time, then add the rest of the blended dry ingredients and buttermilk (might increase this slightly).