This Spice Cake is an easy dessert to make, frost, and serve for a special occasion. It’s perfect to make for the cooler, fall months. Made with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice, it’s so flavorful and topped with a perfect ginger cream cheese frosting.
For more recipes like this, check out my Apple Crisp, Cherry Almond Cake, and Confetti Cake.
To start, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, vegetable oil, unsweetened applesauce, whole milk, eggs, vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until combined.
Pour the batter into a 9″ cake pan that’s greased, lined with parchment paper, and dusted with flour. Bake for 30 minutes at 350° F or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
When the cake is almost cool, start on the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on high until combined. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time along with the ginger and beat until combined and creamy. Once the cake is removed from the pan, top with frosting and serve!
Some ingredients notes
Unsweetened Applesauce – This will help to keep the cake moist and tender.
Spices – For this Spice Cake, I like to use ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice for the cake. To add a special touch to the cream cheese frosting, I like to add ginger.
Tips
- For easy removal of the cake, prepare the cake pan by greasing, lining the bottom with parchment paper, and dusting with flour.
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Single Layer Spice Cake
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
The Spice Cake
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
The Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 9″ cake pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, and dust with flour.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, vegetable oil, unsweetened applesauce, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- When the cake is almost cool, start on the cream cheese frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and cream cheese on high until combined. Add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time and the ginger and mix until combined and smooth.
- Add the frosting on top of the cake once removed from the pan.