This is the best spice cake! It's moist with lots of warm fall spice flavor, filled with salted caramel, topped with luscious cream cheese frosting and a caramel drip.
If you're looking for other fall desserts, try my apple cinnamon rolls, apple cider cake, pumpkin cheesecake cookies, brown butter caramel cake, gooey butter pecan cake, pecan pie cheesecake, pumpkin cheesecake bars or salted caramel cheesecake!
Why This is the Best Spice Cake Recipe
It's full of warm spices. The batter is mixed with fall spices like cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and allspice to bring warm fall flavors to the cake.
It's a soft and moist cake. The buttermilk and sour cream help to keep this cake extra tender.
It's frosted with cream cheese frosting. The frosting makes each bite of cake just completely melt in your mouth.
It's filled with caramel sauce. Each bite is full of salted caramel flavor.
It's all homemade! This cake is easy to make, and it's all from scratch! No yellow cake mix or vegetable oil here, we're making everything homemade!
Simple Ingredients for Spice Cake
- All Purpose Flour– gives the cake the best, most tender crumb
- Granulated Sugar & Brown Sugar– used to sweeten and add moisture to the cake
- Eggs– make sure they are room temperature
- Unsalted Butter- make sure it's softened
- Buttermilk– makes the cake extra moist
- Sour Cream- also keeps the cake moist
- Ground Spices- ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and allspice add warm fall flavor to the cake
- Vanilla Extract – adds a sweet note to the cake
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda– help to give the cake its fluffy texture
- Salt– helps to bring out all the flavors
- Powdered Sugar– used to sweeten the cream cheese frosting
- Heavy Cream- used to make the caramel sauce
- Cream Cheese- used to make the delicious frosting
Step by Step Instructions
See the recipe card below for the full recipe, including complete measurements and bake time.
STEP ONE: Make the caramel sauce. Add the sugar to a sauce pan and heat it over medium heat until the sugar has melted. Stir occasionally to ensure it gets equally heated. It will take a little while for it to melt down so be patient. When most of the sugar has melted, but there are still a few crystalized clumps, turn the heat down to low so the melted sugar doesn't burn.
Once all the sugar has melted, add in the butter right away. Stir quickly until the butter is incorporated.
Once the butter has melted in, add in the heavy whipping cream, vanilla, and salt. Stir until everything is combined together and let the caramel simmer on the stove for 2-3 minutes to allow it to thicken a little more. Once it has become thicker, it should coat the back of a spoon thickly, remove it from the heat, pour it into a small bowl and allow it to cool completely. (See my salted caramel recipe blog post!)
STEP TWO: In a medium bowl, combine flour, ground cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then set aside the flour mixture.
STEP THREE: Add the granulated white sugar, brown sugar and butter to a large bowl. Cream together for 2 minutes with an electric mixer. (You can also use the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment.)
STEP FOUR: Then add in the eggs and vanilla and mix on medium speed until pale in color and smooth, about 1 minute.
STEP FIVE: Add in the buttermilk and sour cream. Mix on medium low speed until combined. The batter will look curdled at this point but don't worry. It will pull together once the dry ingredients are added.
STEP SIX: Add in the dry ingredients a little bit at a time, mixing on low speed just until all is combined and the batter is smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary.
STEP SEVEN: Pour the spice cake batter into two greased 8-inch round baking pans lined with parchment paper.
STEP EIGHT: Bake the cakes, then let the cakes cool in the pans for 5 minutes. Then turn the cake pans over on a wire rack to release the cakes. Let the cakes cool completely.
STEP NINE: While the cake cools, make the cream cheese frosting by adding the butter to a large bowl. Whip the butter on high speed with an electric hand mixer until pale and fluffy. Then add in the cold cream cheese and mix on medium speed until fluffy. Sift in the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until combined, then on high speed for 1 minute until fluffy again.
Assembling & Decorating the Cake
STEP ONE Filling the Cake: Place the plate you plan to serve the cake on, on a cake turntable. Add a dollop of frosting in the center of your cake plate. Lay the first cake layer on top of the frosting. This will help the cake to stay put while you're decorating it. Add a generous amount of cream cheese frosting onto the cake layer and smooth it out flat with an offset spatula, turning the cake table as you go. Add about ¼ of the frosting to a piping bag and cut off the tip so you have a half inch opening, or use a large circular piping tip. Pipe a “border” layer of frosting just on the edges of the cake layer. Make sure the border of frosting is about ½ inch thick and 1 inch high. Then add about ⅓ cup (80 ml) of caramel sauce on top of the cake layer.
STEP TWO Creating the Crumb Coat: Add the second cake layer on top. Place small dollops of frosting on the sides of the cake and top of the cake. Even out the frosting as much as possible with your offset spatula. Then with your cake scraper, scrape the icing across the cake, turning the cake turntable as you go to make this as easy as possible. The frosting should be a thin layer for this step. It ensures the cake's final layer will be free of crumbs. Chill the cake in the fridge for 20 minutes.
STEP THREE Final Layer of Frosting: Once the cake has chilled in the fridge, remove it and apply the final coating of frosting. You may need to rewhip the frosting at this point. Apply generous dollops of frosting on the sides of the cake and the top of the cake and smooth them out with your offset spatula. Then with your cake scraper even out the frosting, turning the cake turntable as you go, to give you a smooth finish of cream cheese frosting on the entire cake. Chill the cake for 20 minutes.
STEP FOUR Adding the Caramel Drip: Add the salted caramel sauce to a piping bag and cut a small amount of the tip off. Once the cake has finished chilling, squeeze caramel around the top edges of the cake so it starts to drip down the sides. Then squeeze caramel on the top of the cake and smooth it out with an offset spatula.
(I recommend waiting to do this step until right before you're ready to serve the cake because the caramel will continue to drip down the sides of the cake.)
STEP FIVE Decorating the Cake: Rewhip if necessary and then transfer the remaining cream cheese frosting to a piping bag fit with a decorative tip. Once the cake has chilled, pipe decorative swirls of frosting on top of the cake. Decorate with cinnamon sticks and star anise, then serve the cake!
FAQs
How do I store this cake? Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to three days. I like to keep it at room temperature, but you can also store it in the fridge and let it come to room temperature before enjoying!
Can I freeze leftovers? Yes. Wrap each individual piece in plastic wrap, then place in an airtight container. Freeze for up to a month.
What can I use instead of buttermilk? Use 1 cup of whole milk mixed with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice.
Pro Tips
For best results, measure your flour properly. This is always my #1 baking tip. Do not ever scoop a measuring cup into your flour. This will always lead to using too much flour. Instead, scoop spoonfuls of flour into your measuring cup and swipe excess flour off with the back of a knife. Or better yet, weigh your flour. 1 cup of flour equals 120-125 grams.
Make sure all your wet ingredients are room temperature. You'll have the best textured cake when the ingredients are room temperature instead of cold. Cold wet ingredients can make any kind of cake batter/donut batter "gummy".
Troubleshooting cream cheese frosting:
- Make sure you really whip the butter until it is pale in color and fluffy, before adding the rest of the ingredients in. This will give you the best, and most fluffy, frosting.
- Make sure your butter is the right temperature, not too cold and not too soft. Usually 30-40 minutes out of the fridge is just right.
- Make sure your cream cheese is cold. This will help the frosting to have the right consistency.
- If your frosting gets too warm while assembling the cake, chill it in the fridge for 10-20 minutes. Whip again with an electric mixer to get it back to the right consistency. This is a soft frosting because of the cream cheese so you may need to chill and rewhip a few times while putting the cake together.
If you make this cake please leave a star review! Tag me on Instagram @inbloombakery_ or TikTok @inbloombakery so I can see! Follow me on Pinterest for other dessert ideas!
Other Cake Recipes to Try Next Time:
📖 Recipe
Spice Cake
Ingredients
For the Salted Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoon (70 g) unslated butter, softened
- ½ cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the Spice Cake
- 2 ¼ cups (281 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 10 tablespoon (140 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (110 g) light brown sugar, packed
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup (82 g) sour cream, at room temperature
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup (224 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 8 oz (226 g) cream cheese, cold
- 3 ½ cups (455 g) powdered sugar
Instructions
For the Salted Caramel Sauce
- Add the sugar to a sauce pan and heat it over medium heat until the sugar has melted. Stir occasionally to ensure it gets equally heated. It will take a little while for it to melt down so be patient. When most of the sugar has melted, but there are still a few crystalized clumps, turn the heat down to low so the melted sugar doesn't burn.1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- Once all the sugar has melted, add in the butter right away. Stir quickly until the butter is incorporated.5 tablespoon (70 g) unslated butter, softened
- Once the butter has melted in, add in the heavy whipping cream, vanilla, and salt.½ cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla, ½ teaspoon salt
- Stir until everything is combined together and let the caramel simmer on the stove for 2-3 minutes to allow it to thicken a little more. Once it has become thicker, it should coat the back of a spoon thickly, remove it from the heat, pour it into a small bowl and allow it to cool completely. (It will continue to thicken as it cools.)
For the Spice Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Spray 2 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper rounds.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves.2 ¼ cups (281 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon ground allspice, 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- In a large bowl cream the softened butter, granulated white sugar and brown sugar together on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.10 tablespoon (140 g) unsalted butter, softened, 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, ½ cup (110 g) light brown sugar, packed
- Then add in the eggs and vanilla and mix on medium speed until pale in color and smooth.3 eggs, at room temperature, 2 teaspoon vanilla
- Add in the buttermilk and sour cream. Mix on medium low speed until combined.(The batter will look curdled at this point but don't worry. It will pull together once the dry ingredients are added.)1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature, ⅓ cup (82 g) sour cream, at room temperature
- Add in the dry ingredients a little bit at a time, mixing on low speed just until all is combined and the batter is smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary.
- Divide the batter evenly among the cake pans. Bake the cakes for 23-26 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool in the pans for 5 minutes and then on a cooling rack until they are completely cooled.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- To a large bowl, add the softened, unsalted butter. Beat on high speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.1 cup (224 g) unsalted butter, softened
- Then add in the cold cream cheese and mix on medium speed until combined and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.8 oz (226 g) cream cheese, cold
- Sift in the powdered sugar a little at a time and mix on low speed until all is combined, then on high speed for 1 minute until fluffy again.3 ½ cups (455 g) powdered sugar
Assembling & Decorating the Cake
- STEP ONE Filling the Cake: Place the plate you plan to serve the cake on, on a cake turntable. Add a dollop of frosting in the center of your cake plate. Lay the first cake layer on top of the frosting. This will help the cake to stay put while you're decorating it. Add a generous amount of cream cheese frosting onto the cake layer and smooth it out flat with an offset spatula, turning the cake table as you go. Add about ¼ of the frosting to a piping bag and cut off the tip so you have a half inch opening, or use a large circular piping tip. Pipe a “border” layer of frosting just on the edges of the cake layer. Make sure the border of frosting is about ½ inch thick and 1 inch high. Then add about ⅓ cup (80 ml) of caramel sauce on top of the cake layer.
- STEP TWO Creating the Crumb Coat: Add the second cake layer on top. Place small dollops of frosting on the sides of the cake and top of the cake. Even out the frosting as much as possible with your offset spatula. Then with your cake scraper, scrape the icing across the cake, turning the cake turntable as you go to make this as easy as possible. The frosting should be a thin layer for this step. It ensures the cake's final layer will be free of crumbs. Chill the cake in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- STEP THREE Final Layer of Frosting: Once the cake has chilled in the fridge, remove it and apply the final coating of frosting. You may need to rewhip the frosting at this point. Apply generous dollops of frosting on the sides of the cake and the top of the cake and smooth them out with your offset spatula. Then with your cake scraper even out the frosting, turning the cake turntable as you go, to give you a smooth finish of cream cheese frosting on the entire cake. Chill the cake for 20 minutes.
- STEP FOUR Adding the Caramel Drip: Add the salted caramel sauce to a piping bag and cut a small amount of the tip off. Once the cake has finished chilling, squeeze caramel around the top edges of the cake so it starts to drip down the sides. Then squeeze caramel on the top of the cake and smooth it out with an offset spatula.(I recommend waiting to do this step until right before you're ready to serve the cake because the caramel will continue to drip down the sides of the cake.)
- STEP FIVE Decorating the Cake: Rewhip if necessary and then transfer the remaining cream cheese frosting to a piping bag fit with a decorative tip. Once the cake has chilled, pipe decorative swirls of frosting on top of the cake. Decorate with cinnamon sticks and star anise, then serve the cake!
Any changes if I'd like to use your batter recipe for cupcakes instead?
Hi Krystal! Nope, you can make this recipe into about 24 cupcakes with no changes 🙂
This was delicious! I made it for the first time yesterday for Friendsgiving. It wasn’t as attractive but I’m just getting into baking and I’m not good at the decorating aspect. If I was to make again, I would make probably double the amount of the cream cheese frosting and create a moat of the decoration on the top and a pool of caramel on top instead of trying to have it drip around the edges since I was terrible at that part and it was hard to control the flow of the caramel once I started pouring. Very delicious cake, I also think it would be cool to make cupcakes and pipe the caramel into the middle. The next time though I would also print the recipe out because this site is just full of ads and it kept refreshing on its own over and over. Very frustrating