Spiced Moist Aromatic Cake (Printable)
Moist and aromatic spiced cake blending cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg for a warm flavor.
# What You Need:
→ Dry Ingredients
01 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
03 - ½ teaspoon baking soda
04 - ½ teaspoon salt
05 - 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
06 - 1 teaspoon ground ginger
07 - ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
08 - ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
→ Wet Ingredients
09 - 1 cup granulated sugar
10 - ½ cup packed brown sugar
11 - ½ cup vegetable oil
12 - 2 large eggs, room temperature
13 - 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
14 - 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
→ Optional Add-Ins
15 - ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
16 - ½ cup raisins or dried cranberries
# How To Cook:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan or line it with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves until evenly mixed.
03 - In a large bowl, beat granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vegetable oil until fully combined and smooth.
04 - Add eggs one at a time to the sugar mixture, beating thoroughly after each addition. Stir in vanilla extract.
05 - Gradually add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to the wet ingredients, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix gently until just combined to avoid overmixing.
06 - Carefully fold in chopped nuts and dried fruit if using.
07 - Pour batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth the surface evenly.
08 - Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center emerges clean.
09 - Allow cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The spices do all the heavy lifting, so you don't need fancy add-ins or complicated techniques.
- It stays moist and tender for days, which means you can actually make it ahead without stress.
- One bowl of spiced cake tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen when really it was just forty minutes.
02 -
- If your buttermilk is cold straight from the fridge, the batter will seize up and look lumpy; warm it up briefly or let it sit on the counter for a few minutes.
- Overmixing after you add the flour is the enemy, so fold gently and stop when you don't see white streaks, even if it looks slightly lumpy.
- A toothpick that comes out completely dry means you've baked it slightly too long; you want just a few moist crumbs still clinging to it.
03 -
- Toast your spices lightly in a dry pan for 30 seconds before using them if you want to wake them up and make them taste fresher and more alive.
- Keep your buttermilk, eggs, and oil at room temperature; cold ingredients won't mix smoothly into the creamed sugar and oil base.
- Make a foil tent if the top starts browning too fast, but usually this cake bakes evenly and gently without fuss.