Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This delicious spice cake is super moist with the perfect combo of spices, brown sugar and vanilla.

Prep Time45

Cook Time40

Chilling1

Total Time2 30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Servings: large pieces

3 cups all-purpose flour (375 grams)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil (240 ml)
2 cups light brown sugar (420 grams) or 1 cup dark brown sugar and 1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 cup applesauce (240 ml)
¾ cup sour cream (180 ml) room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Spray the 9x13 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray, or grease and dust with flour.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla and applesauce. Keep whisking until there are no lumps of sugar - alternatively, you could use an electric mixer.
Whisk about 1/2 of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
Whisk the sour cream into the wet ingredients.
Lastly, whisk the rest of the dry ingredients into the bowl. Keep whisking until there are no lumps or streaks of flour. Stop mixing as soon as the batter is smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with a few damp crumbs. There should be no gooey cake batter.

Cut the butter into cubes and add to a light colored saucepan over medium heat. Melt the butter, while stirring occasionally.
After the butter has melted, leave the saucepan on the heat. The melted butter will start to crack and pop, and foam will form on the top. The butter will start to turn an amber color and small brown flecks will form on the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat.
Optionally, pour the melted butter through a metal sifter. If any of the flecks look black (as opposed to brown) then it should definitely be poured through a metal sifter. Cool fully, then transfer to an airtight container and place in the fridge.
Take the browned butter and cream cheese out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you plan to make the frosting. In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth (about 2-4 minutes). Occasionally, turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Beat in the cream cheese until smooth.
Add in 3 cups sifted powdered sugar, along with the salt and vanilla. Beat together, starting with the mixer on a low speed. Beat in more powdered sugar if needed (you want the frosting sweeter or thicker), or a little whipping cream (always add 1 tablespoon at a time) for slightly thinner frosting.

In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl a few times. Mix in the cream cheese.
Add in 3 cups powdered sugar, along with the salt and vanilla extract. Beat together, starting with the mixer on a low speed and gradually increasing until incorporated.
Beat in the rest of the powdered sugar a little at a time, alternating with a little whipping cream as needed.

Room Temperature Ingredients: The eggs and sour cream should be room temperature before making the cake batter. For the frosting, the butter and cream cheese should be at room temperature.
Applesauce: Use unsweetened for this recipe. If you have sweetened applesauce, I recommend reducing the sugar by 1/4 cup.
Sour Cream: Be sure to use full-fat sour cream. Plain Greek yogurt could substitute for sour cream.
Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days, or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Nutrition: Details are an estimate only, based on 1 slice, assuming the cake is sliced into 15 uniform pieces and all the frosting is used.