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Fall cakes

Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting

by 6 Comments

My choice for March’s Cake Slice Baker’s cake is Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting.  Different and delicious!

Small spice cake cut in half on a green marble stand.
At first I thought this may be more of a Fall choice, but why should we have to wait till then for such a tasty little cake?  A reminder – this is a 6″ cake, just as all of the cakes in Little Everyday Cakes are smaller portion desserts.

I couldn’t quite put my finger on the flavor and texture.  Then Bret had a piece and mentioned it tastes like a carrot cake without all the extra stuff (carrots, pineapple, coconut, nut).  He’s right.  That’s exactly what it tastes like.

The cake is barely sweet, but the brown sugar buttercream is fairly sweet, so the two together make a wonderful combination.  Be sure and try to get frosting with every bite!

Slice of Spice Cake on a small white plate.

The buttercream has brown sugar in it and the photo in the book looks really smooth and creamy.  Mine had a little brown sugar crunch.  I kept beating it, but it never achieved the smooth consistency called for.

I’m not complaining though.  I loved the little bit of brown sugar crunch.  It goes amazingly well with the light fluffy cake.

I baked the cake part of this recipe, then refrigerated the two layers for a couple of days until time to frost them.  They came out fine and the texture was nice.

Tips for a Successful Cake:

  • Make sure, as always, that your ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg are fresh.  Toss away those five-year-old spices, please.  It makes quite a difference in flavor.
  • The eggs and buttermilk need to be at room temperature.  This prevents curdling when you add them to the batter.
  • Use a hand mixer for the best result.  Since these are small cakes, the butter and batter will just smush up against the sides of a big stand mixer bowl and not be blended as well.

Full 6-inch cake, frosted on a green marble surface.

We have enjoyed the heck out of this miniature Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting.  It’s a perfect size for several servings for two people and you won’t be eating giant pieces.

Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting

Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting

Yield: 8 small slices
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Barely sweet spiced cake with a luscious brown sugar buttercream.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/3 C all-purpose flour (160g)
  • 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 C butter, softened (113g)
  • 1 C packed brown sugar (213 g)
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 egg yolk, room temperature
  • 2/3 C buttermilk, room temperature (139g)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting:
  • 1/2 C butter, softened
  • 1/4 C packed brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 C powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 to 2 tbsp milk

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Spray two 6" round cake pans with cooking spray. Line each pan with parchment paper, spray the parchment paper, then lightly flour the bottom and sides of the pans. Knock out excess flour.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.
  3. Place the butter in a medium mixing bowl. Use a hand-held mixer on medium speed and beat the butter until creamy. Add the brown sugar and beat until fluffy, 4-5 minutes.
  4. Add the eggs and egg yolk one at a time, beating well after adding each one.
  5. Reduce the mixer speed to low, then add about a half-cup of flour, then half of the buttermilk. Add another half cup of flour, then the rest of the buttermilk and blend. Finish with the 1/3 cup of flour and mix just until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  6. Add the vanilla and beat 30 seconds. Pour half of the batter into each pan and bake for 28 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out almost clean.
  7. Put the pans on a wire rack and let the cakes cool for about 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and let them cool completely on the wire rack.
  8. Prepare the frosting: Place the butter and brown sugar into a mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer at medium speed and beat until smooth, about 3 minutes (may not be completely smooth - that's OK). Add the powdered sugar a little at a time and beat until smooth. Add the vanilla and one tablespoon of the milk and beat until smooth. Add milk a teaspoon at a time until it's the consistency desired.
  9. Place one cake on a cake plate and use about one-third of the frosting on that layer. Place the second layer on top and frost the tops and sides of the cake.

Notes

Changes from the original recipe: The original recipe calls for unsalted butter. If you use unsalted butter, add 1/4 tsp salt to the buttercream.

The original recipe calls for 1/4 tsp ground cloves, but I think that's overwhelming, so only use 1/8 tsp.

I used 2% milk to thin the frosting. It works fine.

Use little strips of wax paper around the bottom layer of the cake while you frost it to have a neat bottom border. Slide them out carefully when you're through frosting the cake.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 slice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 527Total Fat: 26gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 134mgSodium: 552mgCarbohydrates: 70gFiber: 1gSugar: 52gProtein: 5g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© Candace Floyd
Category: Cakes
 
 

Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is Little Everyday Cakes by Candace Floyd. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th – never before – we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!

Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the thumbnail pictures below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.

The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.

 

 

 

It is a new year and a new book – Little Everyday Cakes – and our choices for March 2021 were ~ 

 

Crumb Cake

Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting

Jam Cake

 
 

Maple Layer Cake (#TheCakeSliceBakers)

by 12 Comments

Updated: September 2020

I zeroed in on the Maple Layer Cake from The Perfect Cake for The Cake Slice Bakers’s choice this month.

There were three other great choices: Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake, Cider-Glazed Apple Bundt Cake, and Pear-Walnut Upside Down Cake, but I just love anything maple!

Maple Layer Cake

 

The second time I made this cake, I doctored ATK’s (America’s Test Kitchen) recipe a little because I wanted more maple flavor.

The end result – a fantastic maple cake with maple cream cheese frosting.

Maple Layer Cake

You whisk the batter ingredients together by hand and it’s unbelievably quick to come together. ATK provided a maple cream cheese frosting for the cake, but I wasn’t very impressed. The frosting isn’t sweet at all to me and has no maple flavor whatsoever.

I love cream cheese on bagels but unless sweetened, it isn’t so great on a cake! I ended up adding almost a half cup of powdered sugar and over a half teaspoon of really good maple flavoring to make it a nice creamy, still barely-sweet, maple-flavored frosting.

Since the frosting they offered wasn’t up to par, on my second cake bake I used a different ATK cream cheese frosting from another recipe of theirs. I included it on the recipe card below instead of the original. It’s great!

Maple Layer Cake

We’re enjoying the cake with the new and improved frosting. The sponge of the cake is moist and so very soft.

It’s kind of strange that after using 1 1/4 cups of maple syrup in the cake from the original recipe, it still had no maple flavoring. Maybe we don’t get the best quality maple syrup in Texas – go figure.

Will I make this cake again? Yes, using the updated recipe. This Maple Layer Cake will be a nice addition to holiday tables and a definite must for pot luck get-togethers.

Looking for more great cake recipes?

Maple Layer Cake

Maple Layer Cake

Yield: 10-12 slices
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Soft, tender maple layer cake with a tasty cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 C (10 oz)   Cake Flour
  • 2 tsp  Baking Powder
  • 1/2 tsp  Salt
  • 3/4 C plus 2 tbsp  Vegetable Oil
  • 1 1/4 C  Maple Syrup
  • 3 large  Eggs
  • 1/2 tsp  Maple Extract
  • 3 1/2 tsp  Vanilla Extract
  • For the Frosting:
  • 1 1/4 lb   Cream Cheese, softened
  • 12 tablespoons   Butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened
  • 2 tbsp  Sour Cream
  • 1 1/2 tsp  Maple Extract
  • 1/4 tsp  Salt
  • 2 1/2 C (10 oz)  Powdered Sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray two 9" round cake pans, line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper, then spray the parchment. Lightly flour both pans.
  2. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl. In a large bowl, whisk the oil, maple syrup, eggs, maple extract, and vanilla extract until smooth.
  3. Divide the batter between the two prepared pans. Bake until the cakes are set and the center is firm to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking.
  4. Remove cakes to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from the pans, peeling off the parchment paper, and let cool completely on the wire rack, about 1 hour.
  5. For the frosting: Using a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese, softened butter, sour cream, maple extract, and salt on medium-high until smooth, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the powdered sugar. beat on medium until the sugar is fully incorporated and the frosting is smooth, about 4 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, about 4 more minutes. (Should yield about 5 cups)
  6. Place one layer of the cake on your cake platter. Spread 1 1/2 cups of the frosting evenly over the top, right to the edge of the cake. Top with the second layer and press down lightly. Spread the remaining frosting evenly over the top and sides of the cake.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

Be sure and use cake flour for this cake. If you don't want to buy a whole box of cake flour, see if your local store (Central Market, Whole Foods, etc.) has bulk flours and just buy the amount you need.

I use salted butter in the frosting because that's what I have. I just use a pinch of salt in the frosting instead of the 1/4 tsp it calls for to make up for the salted butter.

I stored the leftover cake in the refrigerator. Before serving the refrigerated cake, I set it out on the counter to get it back to room temperature.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 497Total Fat: 32gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 126mgSodium: 489mgCarbohydrates: 46gFiber: 1gSugar: 23gProtein: 7g
© America's Test Kitchen
Category: Cakes

Beet and Ginger Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

by 3 Comments

Since beets are in season now, this Beet and Ginger Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting seems like the perfect Fall cake to make.

Beet and Ginger Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

It’s beautiful weather here today in North Texas – a coolness that lets us know Fall is around the corner. Cooler weather really gets me in the mood to cook and bake. 

If you know me, you know I don’t like beets. Beets and banana bread, but banana bread’s a story for another post. I recently made Chocolate-Beet Cupcakes, though, and found out if you disguise the beets well enough that they can be a good thing!

This Beet and Ginger Cake is adapted from the famous baker and cook, David Lebovitz, and looks so interesting that I just had to make it.

Beet and Ginger Cake

There’s a lot of good stuff in this cake – candied ginger, beets, orange zest, sour cream, and walnuts. It sounds like Fall, doesn’t it?

The flavors blend beautifully and make an earthy, tender, great-textured cake that’s frosted with a creamy cream cheese frosting.

I halved Mr. Lebovitz’s recipe and added raisins because I thought it needed them, and it made three nice little mini-loaves.

Beet and Ginger Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I love this cake! The beets really give it a unique flavor (and not beet-y) and you get a little bit of candied ginger and walnuts in every bite. Both of David Lebovitz’s recipes I’ve tried (this one and Chocolate Yeast Bread) have been just great.

This cake is really fairly easy to stir together. Peeling and grating the beets is faster and easier than you’d think. Just be sure and wear plastic gloves when you’re handling the beets or you’ll have semi-permanent red fingers.

If you’re trying to get the wee ones to try a new vegetable, try this delicious cake!

Beet and Ginger Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Beet and Ginger Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Yield: 3 - 4

Along with the earthy flavor of beets, you get a bit candied ginger and walnuts in every bite.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 C (50 g) finely chopped candied ginger
  • 1/2 C plus 1/3 C (100 g) all-purpose flour
  • 3/8 C (75 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/8 tsp baking soda
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 4.5 oz (130 g) grated fresh, raw peeled beets
  • grated zest of one medium orange
  • 1/3 C (37.5 g) toasted, chopped walnuts
  • 2 1/2 tbsp raisins
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1/8 C (30 g) sour cream
  • 1/4 C canola oil
  • Cream Cheese Frosting:
  • 3 oz. (85 g) cream cheese at room temperature
  • 1/3 C powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1-2 tbsp heavy cream (or milk)
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.  Spray and flour three (or four, depending on size of yours) mini-loaf pans.  Put the ginger in a small bowl and cover with about 1/2 cup of boiling water.  Set aside for about 15 minutes, then pour out the water and gently squeeze out the water.  Pat dry.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add the grated beets, orange zest, walnuts, candied ginger, and raisins to the bowl, but don't stir them in yet.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream and oil together, then pour the liquids over the dry ingredients.  Stir the ingredients together, just until the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
  4. Spoon the batter evenly into the mini-loaf pans until about 1/4" from the rim.  If you have more batter, use a couple more mini-loaf pans.  Use the back of a spoon to even the tops.
  5. Bake the loaves for 25-35 minutes, checking at 25 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Place the pans on a rack and let cool for about 15 minutes.  Run a butter knife around the edges and turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
  6. For the cream cheese frosting:  Beat the cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth.  Beat in the powdered sugar until it's completely combined, then add one tablespoon of the heavy cream and the vanilla.  Beat for about 1 minute until thickened and creamy.  Add additional cream/milk if needed.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

Really...use gloves when grating the beets.

My mini-loaf pans were a little larger than standard, so you may need to use four mini-loaf pans.  

Make sure the loaves are completely cooled before frosting or the frosting will slide right off!

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 mini-loaf
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 563Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 84mgSodium: 422mgCarbohydrates: 71gFiber: 2gSugar: 56gProtein: 9g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© David Lebovitz
Category: Cakes