Apparently I really like Spice Cake. Love may be the more accurate explanation as to why I am now posting a third spice cake recipe! Could it be the third time is the charm? Now joining the Applesauce Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Icing and the Applesauce Spice Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing is this Spice Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing. While each of the three versions of a spice cake share some common elements, they are discernibly different from one another in taste, texture, and appearance. Quite honestly, I am going to say my most favorite, quite possibly the best one of the three is this one. Saying this is akin to a mother admitting in public she has one favorite child rather than saying all of her children are her favorites. I am not a good spice cake mother. Hands down this cake is of those blue ribbon worthy, worth spoiling your dinner or your diet for, dreamiest, most destined to make anyone a spice cake lover of all spice cakes. Although there is room in the world (or on a blog) for more than one kind of spice cake, this Spice Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing should be the one taking up most of the oxygen.
Why make a Spice Cake in the middle of summer? Well, why not? Think of it as a year round cake, not a seasonal or autumnal one.
What makes this Spice Cake so 'shout it from the rooftop' fabulous? Several things actually. While all three recipes use applesauce, this one uses extra-virgin olive, honey, and whole milk instead of unsalted butter in the batter. The spiciness in the cake comes from not three but four spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice) and the zest of an orange. And what taste game changers all of these ingredients are. Rather than using all-purpose flour, this spice cake is made with spelt flour, organic whole-grain spelt flour to be exact. Sometimes referred to as an ancient grain, spelt flour has more nutritional value than all-purpose flour and yields a lighter, softer texture in baked goods. Even before you taste the spice cake, your fork will detect something is different, better about it. Fork yeah!
The first piece of spice cake I ever tasted was served in the shape of a square. Which meant it was baked in either a square or rectangular pan. But I have resisted making spice cakes in square or rectangular pans, particularly 9"x 13" (or 9" x 12") or sheet pans. Mostly because I don't consider those pans to create cakes with high sexiness or swoonworthy factors. This observation (and strongly held conviction) comes from years of seeing too many cakes served right out of these pans instead being transferred to platters. Call me a bit of a cake fussyterian (and I won't be offended) but eating a cake out of a pan is kind of like serving vegetables out of the pot they were cooked in. You might do it at home with your family when food presentation takes a back seat to getting food on the table, when you are home alone and ravenous, or when bringing food in a cast iron pan to the table creates a rustic chic kind of ambiance. But you might think twice about bringing the vegetable pot to the table for intimate gatherings, dinner parties, or holiday meals. If you don't believe me, try serving something in a pot/pan or in a pretty bowl. Then do a taste test with your family and friends. I am fairly certain what they see with their eyes will influence their flavor and taste experience.
One of the many things I love about this Spice Cake is how it's made. Two bowls, a whisk, and a spatula are all you need to make the cake batter. No standing mixers with specific attachments, no handheld mixers. Just good old-fashioned arm strength.
You won't need to pull out your mixer until you make the Maple Cream Cheese Icing. Sifting the confectionary sugar along with having room temperature butter and cream cheese are key to creating the creamiest, dreamiest icing. The recipe below reflects a double batch of icing. You might have a little icing left over, but in order to get the most perfect cake to icing ratio you want to top the spice cake with a generous amount of this maple cream cheese icing.
Whatever you do, don't let the ingredient list or the finished look of this Spice Cake deter you from making it. Spelt flour is readily available in most grocery stores (see notes below). And you don't need a pastry bag and tips to ice the cake. Simply make beautiful icing swirls using an offset spatula. Just promise me you will remove it from the baking pan when you serve it.
This is a great cake when serving a crowd. You can make the cake early in the day or the day before (cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator if made the day before) and ice it a couple of hours before you serve it. Because the icing is made with cream cheese and butter, I would recommend storing the finished cake in the refrigerator. Personally I like the taste of a chilled cake, but if you don't, take it out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before its' served.
If there was ever a cake tasting better on the second day versus the first day, this Spice Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing would qualify. By the second day the flavors have a chance to fully develop and deepen. (Note: So making the cake only the day before you plan to serve it is a really good idea.)
I would be remiss if I didn't give you other options for finishing this cake. Even though I am partial to this Maple Cream Cheese Icing, one of my fellow foodblogging friends suggested serving it the way her grandmother did. With some freshly whipped cream and sliced peaches. For the simplest of presentations dust it with confectionary sugar. An even richer presentation would be to serve it warm (lightly reheated in the microwave) with a luscious caramel sauce. Or serve it on a bed of lightly melted vanilla ice cream (a semi-homemade creme anglaise). Whatever you decide, I only hope you make THIS spice cake. Aka the one yet to be designated as the best spice cake on the planet. And yes, just in case you were wondering. The third time was definitely the charm!
Spice Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing (inspired by the Cinnamon Spice Cake recipe from "Simple Cake" by Odette Williams)
Ingredients
Spice Cake
2 1/4 cups (270 g) organic whole-grain spelt flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup mild flavored extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon good quality vanilla
1 cup (240g) unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup (85) mild flavored honey
1/2 cup whole milk
Zest from one orange
1 cup (190 g) lightly packed light brown sugar
Maple Cream Cheese Icing
4 cups (460 g) confectionary sugar, sifted
1 cup (2 sticks, 230 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 teaspoons good quality vanilla
2 Tablespoons Grade A maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions
Spice Cake
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line a 9" x 12" or 9" x 13" cake pan with parchment paper. Lightly butter the sides of the pan and bottom of the parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the spelt flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. Set aside.
3. In another large bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, olive oil, vanilla, applesauce, honey, milk, light brown sugar, and orange zest until smooth.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Whisk until the batter is smooth.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or the cake bounces bake when light pressed.
6. Allow cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack. Let cake cool completely before transferring to a platter and icing.
Maple Cream Cheese Icing
1. In a large bowl, beat the confectionary sugar, butter, cream cheese, vanilla, maple syrup, and kosher salt using handheld beaters until the icing is smooth and creamy.
2. Transfer icing to pastry bags fitted with selected pastry tips. Note: If using pastry tips, spread a thin layer of the icing the cake before piping on the additional icing.
3. Alternately, spread the icing on the cake using an offset spatula. Note: There will be some extra icing. Reserve for another use.
4. Serve immediately or store the cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Notes: (1) I used an Organic Spelt Flour made by Arrowhead Mills. I found it at Whole Foods. (2) The cake can also be made in a 10" round cake pan. Baking time will be 40-45 minutes. (3) The cake itself can be made the day before. Store covered in the refrigerator overnight. Ice the cake either immediately or several hours before serving. Keep any leftover cake lightly covered in the refrigerator.
