Spice Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
Extra tender and moist spice cake made with five warming spices for the perfect flavor, paired with brown butter cream cheese buttercream to take it beyond delicious!
Servings 15 slices
Ingredients
Spice Cake
- 2 1/4 Cups (298g) all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1 3/4 Cups (350g) packed brown sugar light or dark
- 3/4 Cup (180ml) vegetable oil
- 1 Cup (240g) unsweetened applesauce
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 Cup (240ml) buttermilk*, room temperature DIY recipe in notes
Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- 3/4 Cup (170g) unsalted butter
- 12 Oz (339g) full-fat brick-style cream cheese, room temperature NOT the spread
- 6 Cups (720g) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt, or to taste
Candied Pecans (Optional)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar light or dark
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp water
- 1/2 Cup (2oz, 60g) pecans, coarsely chopped
Instructions
Make the Spice Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Prepare three 6-inch cake pans or two 8-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with baking spray and lining the bottoms with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the brown sugar, vegetable oil, and unsweetened applesauce. Whisk together until uniform, then whisk in the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla.
- Whisk in half of the dry ingredients, followed by all of the buttermilk, then the rest of the dry ingredients. The batter will be fairly thin.
- Pour the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake for 32-36 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Let the cakes cool in the pan for five minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack for an additional few hours of cooling.
Make the Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- Brown the Butter: Add the butter into a large frying pan and cook over medium heat until the butter melts, stirring occasionally. Continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes while stirring constantly. The melted butter will start to foam on top, then will turn light brown in color and smell deliciously nutty. Remove from heat at this point and transfer to a glass container. Allow it to re-solidify for about 2 hours at room temperature or place it into the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. It should be completely room temperature and solidified (but easy to press a spatula into) before continuing on with the buttercream recipe.
- When the brown butter has cooled to the ideal consistency, place it into the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a large bowl and hand mixer) and add the cream cheese. Mix on medium-high until fluffy and light in color, about 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed.
- Turn the mixer to low speed and add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, scraping down the bowl and paddle after mixing in each addition. Add the vanilla and salt and continue mixing on low speed until smooth and uniform.
Make the Candied Pecans
- In a small saucepan, add the brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, vanilla, and water. Mix together while you cook over medium heat until the mixture starts to bubble slightly. Reduce the heat slightly and add the pecans. Stir to coat them while you continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes, until the pecans are nicely coated and smell fragrant.
- Place the candied pecans onto a parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer to cool.
Assembly
- Once the cake layers have cooled completely, level them to your desired height. Fill and stack the cake layers with brown butter cream cheese frosting, then crumb coat the cake with more of the frosting. Refrigerate the crumb coated cake for at least 30 minutes to let the frosting firm up.
- To create the design pictured, use the rest of the brown butter cream cheese frosting to frost the cake and create rustic texture using a small icing spatula. Top with the candied pecans in a crescent shape.
Notes
*DIY Buttermilk Recipe: add 1 Tbsp of white vinegar to a jar and top it with 1 Cup of whole milk. Stir and let sit for 15 minutes before using in the recipe.
Make Ahead Tips:
- The spice cake can be made ahead and stored at room temperature, covered tightly in plastic wrap, for up to two days. Alternatively, you can cover with plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to two months before thawing to room temperature.
- The brown butter can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature. It should be slightly creamy before using in this recipe.
- The brown butter cream cheese frosting can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-whip with your stand mixer on low for one minute to bring it back to frosting consistency.
- The candied pecans can be made ahead of time and (once cooled) stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week, or in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.