Description

Soft, fluffy, and full of all the cozy spices, this cake is like a warm hug! This easy cake comes together quickly and is finished with a crunchy cinnamon sugar topping for the perfect throw together dessert.

Ingredients

Scale

Spice Cake

150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
320g brown sugar (light or dark is fine)
20g molasses
1 tsp (5g) vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
2 large eggs (about 110g without the shell)
165g sour cream, at room temperature
250g all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp (3.75g) baking powder
3 tsp (9g) cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp (3.75g) ginger
1/2 tsp (1.5g) nutmeg
½ tsp (1.5g) cardamom
½ tsp (1.5g) kosher salt (use less if you are using table salt or salted butter)

Cinnamon Sugar Topping

30g raw / turbinado / demerara sugar (the coarse light brown sugar)
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 330°f / 165°c. Grease and line an 8" (20cm) square baking pan, extending the parchment paper over the edges of the pan so that you can use them as a sling later to remove the cake. I like to clip down the edges with little binder clips.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, molasses, and vanilla on medium to high speed until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing to combine between each, then beat the mix for a further 2-3 minutes on high speed until it has thickened up, and is very light.
Measure out the sour cream into a small bowl. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, and salt.
Alternately add the flour mixture and the sour cream, starting and ending with the flour - add the flour in two additions and the sour cream in one, and briefly mix between additions. Switch to a spatula and give the mixture a few turns to ensure that it is evenly mixed.
Transfer the mix to the prepared pan and smooth down with a spatula or the back of a spoon, making sure that there are no large air bubbles in the mixture.
Combine the turbinado sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle over the surface of the cake.
Bake the cake for 45-50 minutes, until the middle springs back when lightly pressed with a finger, and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached.
Remove the cake from the oven and leave to cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes, then use the parchment paper sling to remove it from the pan and allow it to cool completely on a wire rack.
Store the cake at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 days. I like to reheat it in the microwave briefly to freshen it up if it is after the day it was made.

Notes

I made this recipe in an 8" (20cm) pan, whereas my butter cake recipe is made in a 9" pan. This gives a slightly thicker cake. If you want to do it in a 9" pan that is just fine, the baking time will be closer to 45 minutes.

I used blackstrap molasses as that is what I had on hand, but if unsulphured is your preference, use that. In NZ blackstrap molasses isn't super potent, so it is what I use for baking.