This spice cake is so incredibly moist, and packed with that ‘cozy’ spice flavour! Topped with a tangy cream cheese buttercream frosting, you’ll be coming back for seconds (and maybe even thirds)!
What is a spice cake?
A spice cake is very similar to a carrot or pumpkin spice cake, minus the carrots or pumpkins!
It’s a super moist, slightly dense cake packed with spices such as cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. Some variations (like mine) also have applesauce mixed in, which adds an additional depth of flavour to the cake.
What makes this spice cake so soft?
There are a few key ingredients which make this cake SO SOFT!
- This recipe uses a cake flour substitute (a mixture of all purpose flour and cornstarch – cake flour is actually banned here in New Zealand which is why I can’t just use regular cake flour!). Cake flour has a lower protein content than regular flour, which results in a more tender crumb. By replacing some of the regular flour with cornstarch, it helps to reduce the protein content of the flour and mimic cake flour.
- Secondly, this recipe uses oil instead of butter. Because there is ample flavour coming through from the other ingredients (spices and applesauce), I decided to go without the butter. Oil is liquid at room temperature, resulting in a cake that stays moist for days!
- Applesauce is another ingredient I decided to add in. Many spice cake recipes don’t use applesauce, but I found that adding it in added great flavour and made for a softer cake.
- Lastly, this recipe uses Greek yoghurt to lighten the batter, add flavour, and help leaven the cake by activating the baking soda. I first used sour cream instead of Greek yoghurt, but found that the high fat content in sour cream resulted in a cake that was a little too dense for my liking.
Another factor is the mixing method. This recipe uses the ‘muffin method’ of mixing cake batter, where you combine the dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, then add the wet to the dry and gently fold them together. By hand mixing the batter and not overmixing it, you’re going to prevent too much gluten from forming (which is great for things like bread, but we don’t want TOO MUCH gluten in a cake!).
How spiced is this cake?
I’d say this recipe is in the middle, so more than what you would consider to be ‘lightly spiced’, but not overwhelmingly spiced either. You can always add more or less spice depending on your own taste preference.
Can I make my own applesauce?
If you can’t easily find applesauce in your local area, you can easily make your own! Applesauce is basically an apple puree, and the type we want for this recipe is unsweetened and unflavoured.
All you have to do is peel and core some apples, and place them in a pot with a little bit of water. About a third of the apples should be covered with water – you just want enough to create some steam. Then bring the water to a boil, and then turn down the heat and cover and leave to cook for about 15-20 minutes until the apples are soft.
Once soft, strain most of the water out, and then puree the apples. You’re then left with applesauce 🙂
How to make this spice cake
This cake is SO EASY to put together, and uses the ‘muffin method’ of making cake batter.
Begin by preheating your oven to 160°C fan forced, and grease and/or line two 8 inch cake tins. I like to grease my cake tins with my homemade cake release.
For the cake batter, start off by sifting together your dry ingredients (flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg). By premixing your dry ingredients, it helps ensure that everything is mixed well, preventing you from overmixing the batter when it comes to combining your wet and dry ingredients.
Set your dry ingredients aside and in another bowl combine your wet ingredients (soft brown sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, applesauce, Greek yoghurt and vanilla). Mix until well combined.
Now pour your wet ingredients into your premixed dry ingredients, and gently fold them together using a spatula until just combined. Do not overmix the batter.
It’s important to do this step by hand as this will prevent us from overmixing our batter and developing too much gluten.
Once the batter is done, evenly distribute it into the two 8 inch cake tins and cook for 28-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cakes to completely cool before frosting. I love using my cream cheese buttercream recipe for this cake!
How to decorate your spice cake
Here’s a quick run through on how I decorated my cake! I went for a super simple ‘rustic’ look.
Because my cake layers had a slight dome on the top, I began by trimming the tops with a serrated knife so that I had nice flat cake layers.
To decorate the cake I placed my first cake layer on my cake stand and placed a generous amount of frosting on top. I then used an offset spatula to neatly spread out the frosting.
I then placed my next cake layer on top, flipping it over so that the bottom of the cake was the top of my layer cake (so that we have a nice flat top).
I then placed a generous amount of frosting on my top layer and again used my offset spatula to neatly spread it out. I then finished off by placing some walnuts and pecans in a circle around the top edge of the cake.
And that is it! A beautiful, delicious spice cake ready to eat 🙂
Moist Spice Cake
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
Spice Cake
- 2¼ cups (270 g) flour - regular, all purpose (see note 1 if you want to use cake flour)
- ¼ cup (25 g) cornstarch - also known as cornflour
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2½ tsp cinnamon - ground (see note 4 about this cakes 'spice' level)
- 1¾ tsp ginger - ground, powdered
- ½ tsp cloves - ground
- ½ tsp nutmeg - ground
- 1½ cups (300 g) soft brown sugar - firmly packed (see note 2)
- 3 large eggs - room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) unflavoured vegetable oil - I use canola
- 1 cup (240 g) unsweetened applesauce - or apple puree
- 2 tsp vanilla essence/extract
- ½ cup (125 g) Greek yoghurt - room temperature, full-fat
Cream Cheese Buttercream
- 1 batch of my cream cheese buttercream frosting recipe - see note 5
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160 °C (320°F) with the fan on (see note 6 if you don't have a fan function) and grease and/or line two 8 inch cake tins (I use my homemade cake release).
- In a bowl, sift together your flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined. Set aside.
- In another bowl combine your soft brown sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, applesauce, vanilla and Greek yoghurt. Mix until well combined.
- Pour your wet ingredients into your premixed dry ingredients and gently fold together with a spatula until just combined. Do not overmix the batter (see note 3).
- Distribute the batter evenly into the two 8 inch cake tins, and bake for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Once baked, allow them to cool in the cake tins for about 15 minutes, and then turn them out onto a wire rack to completely cool before frosting with my cream cheese buttercream frosting.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
38 Comments
I came across this recipe on YouTube and as someone who loves these warm Christmassy spices, I couldn’t resist trying. I have never had much success with sponge cakes. They’re usually a bit over cooked and bland. I was intrigued by the added raising agents and liquid ingredients that seemed to be the reason the cake would be very soft and moist. I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out totally amazing! It was so soft and the balance of the light apple and spice flavour was so yummy. The cream cheese topping complements it perfectly although I only needed half. I just spread some in the middle and on top and decorated with walnuts. I served it for Father’s Day and my dad and al the family loved it. My sister in law who is French and a great cook even asked me for the recipe. I put the rest in one of those plastic take away containers in the fridge and it was still really soft 36 hours later!! I love this recipe so much. Thanks for sharing it MK. 💚
Hi Mandy! So so happy to hear you and your family loved the recipe 😀 really appreciate the feedback!
Looks fabulous, would this recipe be suitable to make individual steamed puddings?
Hi Kim! I haven’t tried this recipe as steamed pudding myself but would love to hear how you go if you decide to give it a shot 🙂
Love your recipes, Maryam! As an ex-pat Kiwi living in West Virginia, I bake a LOT as store-bought items here are very sweet and have too many additives for me. Re the apple sauce/puree, is there a substitute for that?
So happy to hear you’re enjoying the recipes Fiona and it’s always lovely hearing from other Kiwis! 😀 I haven’t tried a substitute myself so I’m not too sure what would work well sorry! Maybe pineapple puree would work but I can’t say for sure 🙂 sorry I couldn’t be of more help!
Can a regular yogurt be used instead of Greek Yogurt? I’m not fond of the flavor of Greek Yogurt so I’d be stuck with the rest of what was left of the container. Just wondering. I love a Vanilla yogurt.
My family loved it! It worked out perfectly and our house smelled amazing. I used your Swiss meringue buttercream with it.
Thanx so much for sharing your amazing creations with us Maryam 😀
Amazing! So so happy to hear you and your family enjoyed the recipe Elizabeth 😀 you’re so welcome I am so happy you’re enjoying the content 🙂
This cakes looks yummy 😋
Can you suggest the replacement for eggs
Thanks Ruth! I haven’t tried an egg replacement for this recipe yet so can’t suggest anything at this stage sorry! But hope to share more eggless recipes soon 🙂
I’ve always loved spice cake but was intimidated and often didn’t trust online recipes, they have failed me time and time again! When I saw this recipe on YouTube I had to try it. I am so glad that I did! I’ve never made cake with applesauce or yogurt but I trusted her recipe! I realized that I forgot the vanilla and was upset at myself but because the cake is sooo good it’s hard to tell it was missing. It came out sooo soft, sooo moist, so flavorful! I could not not wait for my family to try it and they loved it, thank you for sharing your talents with us!
Thanks so much for your feedback Denise! I am so so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe and that it still turned out amazing even without the vanilla 😀
I have just made this & it was totally delicious! Really moist & full of flavour. I will definitely be adding this to my favourites file!
As it’s Christmas I scattered some chopped dried cranberries as well as the nuts & it looked very pretty & a good extra flavour. 😋😊
I am really enjoying all your recipes, thank you 😊
So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe Chrissie! 😀 The addition of dried cranberries and nuts sounds sooo good! I’ll have to try it sometime 🙂
This is such a delicious cake, and it’s super easy to make. The flavours are just right, and combined with the cream cheese frosting it has rocketed to the top of my favourites!
Thanks so much for the feedback Clinton! So so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe 😀
Thank you for this recipe. Can the yogurt be replaced with butter milk?
Hi Ola! I’ve tried sour cream in replacement of the yoghurt and it works well, however I haven’t tried any other substitute so can’t say for sure sorry! Buttermilk is a common substitute for yoghurt though so it should be okay 🙂
Incredible recipe love it 😍
Thanks so much Mariam! 🙂