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There’s a reason why my family calls this Easy Spice Cake Recipe “magic cake”! This easy cake recipe is like a gift made of brown sugar and spices. And when I say spices, I mean it! You’ll love how bold this spicy cake is!! Not only that, this pretty bundt spice cake will make your house smell incredible! It’s perfect for a fall family brunch, tea/coffee time or to end a special holiday meal.
Why I love this Easy Spice Cake recipe
Oi Gente!!
This bolo de especiarias spice cake has been at the top of my family’s holiday baking recipes for forever now.
Whether we make it for a family brunch, or serve it as dessert for special occasions, this homemade spice cake never disappoints.
I love it because this cake is perfectly moist and fluffy. It perfumes the whole house with the best seasonal spice smells in the world.
Also, it’s super easy to make.
This moist spice cake is seriously a gift our family and close friends call “magic cake.”
Everyone loves it so much, I can sometimes even use it as currency.
Every time I ask my best friend Angela and her husband for a favor, they say, “Sure, just make us a magic cake and we’re even!”
They love to enjoy this cake topped with brigadeiro, Brazilian chocolate ganache. (It’s just like the one I use on my Nega Maluca cake.)
I prefer this cake all by itself, dusted with just a little powdered sugar. And any leftovers are great toasted with a little salted butter on top.
This cake is also great when paired with a cup of coffee or bourbon… or both! Even a nice cocktail like this Smoked Old fashioned for a nicer dessert option (don’t forget a dollop of vanilla ice cream on top!)
So many delicious ways to enjoy – it really is magic!
I hope you see, smell and taste all the magic in this delicious cake for yourself.
Bom Apetite!
Beijinhos!!xoxo
Spice Cake Ingredients
- Large Eggs — the fresher the better.
- Vanilla extract — please use the pure stuff. It costs more, but it helps all these ingredients sing.
- Brown sugar — you may use light brown or dark brown sugar here. Do not sub the brown sugar with all white sugar – the molasses in the brown sugar plays a role in the final product by adding color, texture and also flavor to our cake.
- Granulated sugar — also known as white sugar. And yes, we are creating a blend of brown and white sugars here. The white granulated sugar will pack more sweetness and will help create an almost crispy outer layer to the cake.
- All purpose flour — I have not tried this cake with a gluten free blend or another flour, so please keep that in mind.
- Baking powder — make sure yours is fresh!
- Milk — whole milk is the best in this recipe. We are using a lot of sugar and the fat from the milk will help ensure the cake is velvety and balanced.
- Corn oil — or another neutral oil, like vegetable oil or canola oil.
What spices are in spice cake?
- Ground cinnamon
- Ginger powder
- Ground nutmeg
- Ground cloves
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Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
How to make spice cake
Prep the Pan and Oven:
Preheat the oven. Anytime you’re baking a cake you’ll want to start by preheating your oven, so that by the time you’re done making the cake batter, the oven is nice and hot and ready to bake.
Prep the pan. You need to have the pan greased and floured before the batter is ready, so that your cake batter doesn’t sit there a few extra minutes with active baking powder, waiting for you to get the pan set up.
Make the Batter:
Combine the wet ingredients. Measure the oil and the milk, combine them and set aside.
Combine the dry ingredients: Add the flour, salt, baking powder, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves to a big bowl. Whisk everything to combine and set aside.
Mix the sugars and eggs. In another bowl, combine the eggs, vanilla extract, the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Mix with a hand mixer until smooth.
Incorporate dry and wet ingredients into the egg-sugar mixture in an alternating manner.
Always start and end with the dry ingredients, alternating with two parts of liquid in between.
In other words, start off by adding about a third of the dry mixture to the egg mixture, and mix to combine.
Then, add half of the liquid, and mix.
Repeat until everything has been incorporated.
Bake. Pour the batter into your prepared bundt cake pan and bake in the preheated oven until it’s done.
The bake will take about 35-40 mins, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out lightly crumbly to clean.
At this point your house should be smelling like pure magic!!!
Flip the cake onto a wire cooling rack, and let it cool completely before slicing.
Sprinkle a little powder sugar on top after the cake is cool, and enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a different pan to make this cake?
No, you should not. A bundt pan that holds at least 10 cups (and allows at least 2″ for the batter to rise) is a must. The batter is loose and it won’t bake properly or rise any other way… and has potential for being a hot mess. People on Pinterest tell me they have successfully used mini muffin pans… Minis can work well, but be aware the cake will collapse in the middle if you use a regular cake pan. I linked to the specific bundt pan I use above.
How do you store this cake?
Store in an airtight container for 2-3 days at room temperature. Slice as needed.
This spiced cake is great after:
- Creamy Pumpkin Soup Recipe
- Roasted Acorn Squash Salad
- Ham with Pineapple Sauce
- Instant Pot Pumpkin Risotto Recipe
Other easy bundt cake recipes:
- Bolo de Cenoura – Brazilian Carrot Cake
- Key Lime Cake Recipe
- Eggnog Pound Cake Recipe
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5 from 164 votes
Easy Spice Cake Recipe
My family calls this Easy Spice Cake Recipe "the magic cake", and say it's like a gift made of brown sugar and spices. And when I say spices, I mean it! You'll love how bold this spicy cake is!! Not only that, this pretty bundt spice cake will get your house smelling oh-so-gorgeous, you'll never want to leave! Perfect for a Fall family brunch, tea/coffee time, or to end a special holiday meal.
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes minutes
Servings: 16 servings
Author: Aline Shaw
Ingredients
- 4 whole eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 1 cup of granulated sugar
- 1 3/4 cups of all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp ginger powder
- 3 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 cup of corn oil
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar for dusting (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F
Grease and flour a 9inch bundt cake pan
Add all of the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder, and all the spices) to a large bowl, whisk to combine and set aside
In another smaller bowl, combine the oil and the milk, and set aside
In another large bowl, combine the eggs, the vanilla extract, and the sugars. Mix using a hand mixer on medium to high speed, until frothy and elastic
Then, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients mixture to the eggs mixture, and mix on low to medium to combine. Add half of the liquid ingredients, and mix on low to medium to combine. Add the second third of the dry ingredients, and mix on low to medium to combine. Add the last of the liquid, and mix on low to medium to combine. Add the last third of the dry ingredients, and mix on low to medium to combine.
Pour the batter into the greased bundt pan, and bake bake until a cake tester/toothpick inserted to the middle comes out lightly crumbly to clean (about 35-40 mins)
Move the cake pan to a cooling rack and let it cool for about 10 mins, then remove the cake from the pan and let it cool on the rack
When the cake is completely cool, dust it with a little powder sugar if you'd like, and trasfer to serving plate
Bom Apetite!
Did you make this recipe? Show me how it turned out! Snap a photo and share with me on Instagram tagging @aline_shaw!
