Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

A deliciously moist cake made with a tender crumb with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves topped with an easy four-ingredient brown sugar cream cheese frosting.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword how to make spice cake, spice cake recipe, what is spice cake

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 35

Total Time 55

Servings servings

Calories 715kcal

Author Beth Pierce

Ingredients

Spice Cake

2 ½ cups cake flour or all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup vegetable oil or canola oil
¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature
½ cup milk 2% or whole
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting

½ cup unsalted butter
8 ounces cream cheese softened
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9-inch baking dish or pan.
First, in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and ground cloves.
In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, applesauce, brown sugar, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix just until combined.
Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for several hours on a wire rack.
Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or hand mixer on high speed, beat the cream cheese and butter until it is smooth and creamy with no lumps. Turn the mixer to medium and add the vanilla extract and salt. Turn the mixer to low and gradually add the powdered sugar, beating until well combined. Scrape down the bowl and beater several times as needed.
Spread the frosting over the fully-cooled cake.

Notes

Preheat your oven and load the cake on the center rack in the middle of the oven.
Bring your eggs to room temperature before starting the cake.
Stir the flour mixture into the wet mixture just until incorporated. Over-mixing the batter can result in a tough, dense, and chewy texture.
Grease your baking dish well.
Do not over-bake, as this can lead to a dry cake. Cook just until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Check after 30 minutes and every 3 minutes after that.
Soften your butter and cream cheese before preparing the frosting.
Let the cake cool completely before frosting. This can take several hours. so plan accordingly.
Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve. Refrigerate leftovers covered well or in an airtight container, as this cake has a cream cheese frosting.
To freeze, cover with two layers of plastic wrap followed by a layer of aluminum foil for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight.

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