Moist Holiday Spice Cake
Delight your taste buds this season with our moist holiday spice cake—a festive showstopper brimming with warm, aromatic spices and topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting. This easy-to-make dessert combines pantry staples like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves with the natural sweetness of unsweetened applesauce and rich buttermilk for an impeccably soft, flavorful bite. Perfect for gatherings, each slice is crowned with velvety cream cheese frosting, and a dusting of chopped pecans adds a festive crunch. Ready in under an hour, this holiday favorite is sure to be the centerpiece of your dessert table. Perfect for holiday baking, spice cake lovers, and cream cheese frosting enthusiasts alike!
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Recipe Information
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
- 0.5 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoons ground nutmeg
- 0.5 teaspoons ground ginger
- 0.25 teaspoons ground cloves
- 0.5 teaspoons salt
- 0.75 cups unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cups granulated sugar
- 0.5 cups brown sugar, packed
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 0.75 cups unsweetened applesauce
- 0.5 cups buttermilk
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2.5 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 0.5 cups pecans, chopped (optional for garnish)
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan, or line it with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract.
Reduce mixer speed to low. Alternately add the dry ingredients and buttermilk to the wet ingredients in three additions, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.
Fold in the applesauce gently using a spatula, ensuring the batter is fully incorporated but not overmixed.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Smooth the top with a spatula.
Bake for 35–40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
To make the cream cheese frosting, beat the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar together in a large bowl until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
Add heavy cream and beat for another 1-2 minutes, until the frosting reaches a spreadable consistency.
Spread the cream cheese frosting evenly over the cooled cake. Optionally, sprinkle chopped pecans on top for garnish.
Slice, serve, and enjoy your Moist Holiday Spice Cake!
Nutrition Facts
Calories |
523 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
% Daily Value* |
|||
| Total Fat | 24.4 g | 31% | |
| Saturated Fat | 12.8 g | 64% | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 0.0 g | ||
| Cholesterol | 103 mg | 34% | |
| Sodium | 296 mg | 13% | |
| Total Carbohydrate | 70.6 g | 26% | |
| Dietary Fiber | 1.5 g | 5% | |
| Total Sugars | 52.9 g | ||
| Protein | 5.9 g | 12% | |
| Vitamin D | 0.6 mcg | 3% | |
| Calcium | 58 mg | 4% | |
| Iron | 1.4 mg | 8% | |
| Potassium | 119 mg | 3% | |
*The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
