Soft, fluffy, and full of all the cozy spices, this cake is like a warm hug! This easy cake comes together quickly and is finished with a crunchy cinnamon sugar topping for the perfect throw together dessert.
Hi hi! I am just popping in to share this super easy Spice Cake Recipe with you! I was playing around with my butter cake recipe and realised that I don't have a good spice cake recipe on my website yet, so here we go!
This is a soft and fluffy single layer cake, which I make in an 8" (20cm) pan. It comes together quickly, and is full of the usual warming spices. It's perfect for an anytime cake but would also be amazing warmed up with custard or ice cream for dessert.
If you love the crunchy cinnamon sugar topping on this spice cake, give my Donut Cake a go - it has a full coating on all sides of the sugar!
Developing a recipe for spice cake
To kick start the recipe testing process for this spice cake recipe, I started with my butter cake recipe, which is a super easy, super versatile butter cake, with a bunch of sour cream for moisture and texture. Here are the changes that I made and why:
- Switched the white sugar for brown sugar. I wanted this cake to taste super toasty, and brown sugar pairs amazingly with the spices in the cake. For this recipe, it was a straight sub quantity wise.
- Added molasses. This is optional - if you don't have it it's not the end of the world, but I added a little molasses in just to amp up the brown sugar toasty flavour.
- Added spices. This is an obvious one but I added a bunch of spices in and chose the usual suspects - cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom. I didn't add cloves because I didn't want the spices to be too heavy and I feel like sometimes cloves does that. If you don't have cardamom, a wee bit extra of all the other spices in the recipe will make up for that!
- Changed the pan size. I wanted this to be a fairly substantial cake, so I scaled to an 8" (20cm) pan, whereas my butter cake is made in a 9" (23cm) pan. This worked perfectly and I love how thick and fluffy this spice cake is!
My favourite topping: A crunchy cinnamon sugar
I love topping cakes with sugar, particularly if they aren't getting iced. While you can frost this cake if you would like, it really doesn't need it thanks to the nice cinnamon sugar coating on the top.
I initially used a finer granulated sugar but there really is something so special about crunchy sugar - I especially love rolling cookies in it but it gives the most amazing sparkly, crackly finish. I mixed in a little cinnamon to mirror the flavour of the cake. It was an excellent move.
Setting you up for success: Tips for making a great spice cake
While this cake is super easy to make, there are a few tips and tricks that will definitely make your life easier - the main one is making sure that your ingredients are all very room temperature. If your house runs cold, I suggest putting your eggs in some warm water just to make sure they don't have a chill to them, as part of this recipe involves adding eggs and whipping well, and if the eggs are cold, they will chill the butter slightly which won't give you as fluffy of a cake batter.
I also like to make sure that my butter is nice and soft, I find that if I am having a hard time getting my butter and sugar to come together I put a little hot water in the sink and place the mixing bowl in there and keep creaming the mixture together.
When ingredients are the same temperature, they combine together well. Well combined ingredients = beautiful fluffy cake
❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️
I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!
Answers to your baking questions
Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:
- baking in grams
- adjusting oven temperatures
- what kind of salt to use
- and many more!
I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!
The Only Spice Cake Recipe You Need
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 9 servings 1x
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Soft, fluffy, and full of all the cozy spices, this cake is like a warm hug! This easy cake comes together quickly and is finished with a crunchy cinnamon sugar topping for the perfect throw together dessert.
Ingredients
Spice Cake
- 150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 320g brown sugar (light or dark is fine)
- 20g molasses
- 1 tsp (5g) vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs (about 110g without the shell)
- 165g sour cream, at room temperature
- 250g all-purpose flour
- ¾ tsp (3.75g) baking powder
- 3 tsp (9g) cinnamon
- 1 ½ tsp (3.75g) ginger
- ½ tsp (1.5g) nutmeg
- ½ tsp (1.5g) cardamom
- ½ tsp (1.5g) kosher salt (use less if you are using table salt or salted butter)
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- 30g raw / turbinado / demerara sugar (the coarse light brown sugar)
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 330°f / 165°c. Grease and line an 8" (20cm) square baking pan, extending the parchment paper over the edges of the pan so that you can use them as a sling later to remove the cake. I like to clip down the edges with little binder clips.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, molasses, and vanilla on medium to high speed until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing to combine between each, then beat the mix for a further 2-3 minutes on high speed until it has thickened up, and is very light.
- Measure out the sour cream into a small bowl. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, and salt.
- Alternately add the flour mixture and the sour cream, starting and ending with the flour - add the flour in two additions and the sour cream in one, and briefly mix between additions. Switch to a spatula and give the mixture a few turns to ensure that it is evenly mixed.
- Transfer the mix to the prepared pan and smooth down with a spatula or the back of a spoon, making sure that there are no large air bubbles in the mixture.
- Combine the turbinado sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle over the surface of the cake.
- Bake the cake for 45-50 minutes, until the middle springs back when lightly pressed with a finger, and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached.
- Remove the cake from the oven and leave to cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes, then use the parchment paper sling to remove it from the pan and allow it to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Store the cake at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 days. I like to reheat it in the microwave briefly to freshen it up if it is after the day it was made.
Notes
I made this recipe in an 8" (20cm) pan, whereas my butter cake recipe is made in a 9" pan. This gives a slightly thicker cake. If you want to do it in a 9" pan that is just fine, the baking time will be closer to 45 minutes.
I used blackstrap molasses as that is what I had on hand, but if unsulphured is your preference, use that. In NZ blackstrap molasses isn't super potent, so it is what I use for baking.
To make this like my Donut Cake, you can use sugar instead of a parchment paper lined pan. Double the cinnamon sugar quantity, then butter your pan generously, and dust the inside surface of the pan with the sugar, making sure you get good coverage. Put the excess sugar back in the bowl and put the pan into the fridge while you make the batter. Add the batter and spread out then sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Bake as directed in the recipe.
Comments
Caribou says
This is absolutely the best spice cake I’ve had!
Thank you so much for the recipe!
Liz says
I am so excited to try making this for a friend, who loves these types of spices and is going through a tough time. I don’t have a metal 8” pan though - I have a square glass pan, and round metal cake pans - which would you recommend? How would I adjust cooking time/temperature for a glass pan?
Erin Clarkson says
Hi! A metal pan will work just fine - for an 8" rectangle pan I would do it in a 9" cake pan, or a 10" will work too, it will just be a lot thinner. I haven't tried it in glass but it should be ok but just know that it will take a little longer to bake I think!
Alecia says
If making this as cupcakes, how many should it make, how full should each cupcake liner be filled, how long time to bake them, and at what temperature?
Erin Clarkson says
Hi there, I haven't tested it sorry so I'm not too sure!
Frederique says
Absolutely delicious and pretty much foolproof. And by foolproof I mean I did a double recipe, only had 3 eggs instead of the 4 called for, and forgot to add the eggs at the right time… only realised I’d left them out just before pouring the batter in the pans! I added all 3 eggs at the same time to minimise the risk of over mixing the batter with the flour already in, used the mixer until just combined and finished with a spatula (same as instructions for the last of the flour). With 2 pans in a fan-forced oven at 165C it needed 1h05 to bake through.
Only substitution was using treacle instead of molasses - for me it’s the closest NZ ingredient taste-wise for the ‘fancy molasses’ I grew up with in Canada.
Ate the cake still a bit warm with dinner tonight and it was a hit with the whole family. Will definitely make it again.
Glenda says
This was really delicious, Erin! So easy, so fluffy.
I had never had spice cake before and I could have eaten the whole thing if left alone with it 😅
Next time I might experiment maaaybe decreasing the sugar a bit, just for science.
Ange says
Knew i had to make this,had no sour cream so drained some plain unsweetened yoghurt, and used that. Turned out delicious,smelt amazing. Was just about tempted to put some thin slices of over ripe banana on top,under the sugar mix,but didnt,maybe next time. Thanks for the recipe. (Picture isn't the prettiest)
Ann says
Mmmmm! This sounds delicious--and it's just right for the northern hemisphere Autumnal Equinox (September 22) that is just about to arrive. Thanks, Erin, for another great recipe — yours are always so dependable!
Claudia says
Really good recipe! My whole house smelled amazing after this!
I tried using a bundt cake pan and hoped it would not stick thanks to the butter and flour I put on the bottom (and it worked for the 80% of the cake 😅). Next time I’ll try using the sugar and cinnamon mix to make it not stick to the pan.
The pan I used has a height of 8cm and a diameter of 23cm with a hole of 5cm. It fits easily one portion and a half of this recipe.
Ann DT says
Our weather is just changing--from scorching hot summer to cool and overcast fall. Today was the perfect day for making your Spice Cake! It was a breeze to make with a lovely satiny batter and that crunchy top. It smells wonderful.
It is still too hot to eat the cake--I just took it out of the oven. While unpanning it, I pulled little chunks off the sides, and it is delicious! Thank you for another great recipe--and I love the metric units even though I'm in the USA! I've got a scale just like yours.
Jillian says
A plush and tender cake that’s just perfect for fall baking! I’ve already made it three times and it turns out perfect - doesn’t last long in our house 🙂
Nikki says
This was sooo good! I didn’t have sour cream so substituted for Greek yogurt with a dash of cream and it was great. Positive comments from work and home. Have just sent recipe to my mum.
Elaina says
DELICIOUS cake and comes together so quickly - I made it on a weeknight after work and enjoyed a slice with a cup of coffee after dinner. The warm spices are very Christmas-y and the cake itself is fluffy and moist with the crunchy and delicious sugar topping. I will definitely make again (and again, and again).