This Spice Cake Recipe is the perfect cake for any holiday. Frost the spice cake with a simple frosting and serve with coffee!
Make-ahead
Beginner-friendly
You’ll Learn: How to make a loaf cake that stays ultra-moist
Worth It: Makes coffee breaks feel extra special
Bonus: Endless ways to enjoy
A spice cake recipe for every holiday
From October to January you can catch me serving up this simple loaf cake. It is made with a mix of warming and comforting spices and topped with a simple spice cake frosting.
Orange juice is mixed into the batter to keep this cake moist and to add just a touch of acid. This recipe makes a big old spice cake loaf that is perfect for serving at holiday gatherings or just keeping all to yourself. I promise your secret is safe with me!
What spices are used in a spice cake?
The ideal spice blend for a spice cake is a mix of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. You will want to use lots of cinnamon, a bit of ginger, nutmeg and allspice, and only a pinch of cloves. This is the same spice mixture that is used in gingerbread cookies and holiday pies like pumpkin pie and apple pie.
Kitchen Tools
- Loaf pan – It is important to use a 9×5 1.5lb loaf pan for this recipe
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring spoons and measuring cups
- Liquid measuring cup
- Whisk and spatula
- Parchment paper or oil for lining loaf pan
Spice Cake Ingredients
- All purpose flour – You can use a mix of whole wheat flour and AP flour here, but using all whole wheat flour would result in a cake that is too dense
- Salt
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Spice blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and cloves
- Granulated sugar and brown sugar
- Neutral oil – I used avocado oil, but you can use any neutral tasting vegetable oil
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Orange juice
Spice Cake Frosting Ingredients
- Powdered sugar
- Milk of choice
- Vanilla extract
how to make a moist spice cake?
To make sure that this spice cake recipe is moist and delicious we used both oil and orange juice. Vegetable oil is traditionally what keeps loaf cakes moist, but adding the orange juice keeps it extra moist and adds depth to the flavor of the cake.
How to make a spice cake
Step 1: preheat oven and mix dry ingredients
Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9×5 loaf pan or line it with parchment paper. Whisk flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and cloves together in a medium mixing bowl.
Step 2: Mix wet ingredients and fold wet into dry
In a separate large mixing bowl whisk together eggs, sugar and brown sugar until the sugar is dissolved and evenly combined. Mix in the vanilla extract.
Fold half of the dry mixture into wet, then mix in the oil. Fold the other half of the dry ingredients into wet and then stir in the orange juice.
Step 3: bake
Pour the batter into the loaf pan and place in the oven to bake for 80-85 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the loaf to check if its done. If the toothpick comes out clean, the spice cake is cooked.
Step 4: Cool And Prepare Spike Cake Frosting
Allow the cake to cool completely and then remove from the loaf pan. While the cake cools, prepare the icing for the top by whisking together milk, powdered sugar and vanilla extract.
Only when you are sure the cake is completely cooled all the way through, pour the spice cake glaze over the top.
If the cake is too hot the icing will melt and fall off the top. Finally, cut into slices and enjoy!
How to serve
Serve this delicious spice cake recipe as a festive dessert at a holiday gathering. It is nice to serve alongside the classic apple pie for your guests who don’t like pie.
It is also the perfect afternoon treat. I like to have a slice when that 3pm slump hits. I serve it with a homemade Starbuck’s iced shaken espresso.
Storage, freezing and reheating
Cover the spice cake with a piece of plastic wrap or tin foil and store at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can store this loaf cake in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to three months.
If frozen, allow cake to thaw slowly in the refrigerator. If you want to reheat the cake, it works best to reheat one slice at a time in the toaster oven until it is warmed through.
Check out these other holiday desserts
This recipe was developed by Courtney Spiegl. You can find her on instagram @courtney_made.
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
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Recipe
Spice Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Spice cake ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger powder
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1/8 tsp cloves
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 cup neutral tasting oil
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup orange juice
Spice Cake frosting ingredients
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9×5 loaf pan or line it with parchment paper. In a medium sized mixing bowl whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and cloves.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together eggs and sugars. Mix until the sugars are dissolved and the ingredients and evenly combined. Whisk in vanilla extract.
- Fold half of the dry ingredients into wet and then mix in the oil. Fold in the other half of the dry ingredients and then mix in the orange juice.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake in the oven at 350F for 80-85 minutes. Test that the loaf is finished cooking by sticking a toothpick into the middle. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is cooked all the way through. Remove the spice cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely.
- While the loaf cools, prepare the icing by mixing together powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract until a smooth icing remains.Only when you are certain that the cake is fully cooled, pour the icing over top. Cut into slices and serve
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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