Moist Spice Sheet Cake
Super moist spice sheet cake with warm fall spices and caramel notes from the unrefined sugar. Topped with a light mascarpone whipped cream frosting. The perfect quick and easy dessert to enjoy during the Autumn!
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Super Moist Spice Sheet Cake
This Spice Sheet Cake is truly one of the most tender, moist cakes with a warmth from the fall spices and balanced with a deep caramel and molasses flavor from a few S T A R ingredients (hello unrefined sugar!) This cake is so quick and easy to make and in my humble opinion- can be enjoyed without a frosting completely. We opted for a light cinnamon mascarpone whipped cream frosting.
We turned this into a sheet cake for easy frosting, stacking, and assembly but you can easily fancy this spice cake up and bake in 3 6″ round cake pans or 2 8″ round cake pans for a layer cake!
Secret Ingredients that make this Spice Cake Shine
Unrefined Sugars– We used a combination of two different unrefined sugars by Wholesome Sweeteners because they are organic, fair-trade and sustainably farmed.
- Organic Sucanat– Found on Amazon. Why Sucanat sugar? It is the least refined cane sugar with none of the molasses removed from the sugar for deliciously rich caramel flavor.
- Use as a 1-for-1 replacement for refined white sugar or brown sugar.
- It is not crystallized, so no molasses is removed from the organic sugar cane juice, which gives this spice cake a deep brown color and caramel/molasses notes without being overly sweet.
- Organic Coconut Palm Sugar– Found on Amazon. also known as coconut sugar, is produced by tapping the sweet nectar from the tropical coconut palm tree flower. The sweet nectar is simply cooked and dried creating deliciously warm caramel tones
- Use as a 1-for-1 replacement for refined white or brown sugar. Perfect in brownies, cookies and cakes and also makes a perfect topping for oatmeal or cereal
- SUSTAINABLE, GREEN PRODUCTION – Because coconut palm trees can produce both coconuts and nectar for 25-30 years, farmers are carefully protecting the environment rather than cutting all of the trees down. Additionally, no chemicals are used to make our coconut sugar
Zucchini– using a shredded squash or carrots adds lot’s of moisture to this cake!
Fall Spices– the perfect combination of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom and cloves for an autumn cake
Cinnamon Mascarpone Whipped Cream Frosting– this cake is so tender and delicious on its own so we opted for a light in texture (and flavor) whipped frosting. You can get creative and do any frosting of your choice such as salted caramel, vanilla, cream cheese or maple!
Baking Tips
- Room Temperature Ingredients- set eggs & buttermilk at room temperature for 30min-1hr before baking.
- Scoop and Level the Flour– Always scoop flour with a spoon into measuring cup and level off with a knife for the most accurate measurement (unless you have scale at home). Tips on how to properly measure are on our Instagram Reel videos!
- Use Organic, Seasonal Ingredients– nothing beats fresh, organic, seasonal ingredients. You can use carrots or zucchini in this cake but I highly recommend organic and in season for optimal sweetness and freshness (sorry, that means not using pre-shredded carrots!). Its an extra step to shred but so worth it.
- Don’t overmix the batter- once you incorporate the buttermilk, if the batter is overmix, it can introduce too much gluten and yield a dense cake. Mix until just combined and finish the final mixing by folding with a spatula.
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Happy Baking, Friends!
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Spice Cake
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves or cardamom
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup oil grapeseed oil or vegetable oil
- 4 eggs room temperature
- 1 cup organic sucanat sugar (for unrefined sugar) or sub with granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup organic coconut palm sugar (for unrefined sugar) or sub with light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup buttermilk room temperature
- 2 cups shredded zucchini- rinsed and drained or carrots
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts optional
Frosting
- 8 oz mascarpone cheese softened but still chilled
- 1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream cold
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 °F. Line a 9×13 cake pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl- combine all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, & spices. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- Wash, peel and seed zucchini. Using a food processor- grate zucchini. Using a cheesecloth or paper towel, squeeze grated zucchini to release some of the moisture. Set aside
- In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment- combine oil and sugars and mix on medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until combined.
- Add eggs to the stand mixer, one at a time, mixing thoroughly before adding each additional egg.
- Starting and ending with the dry ingredients, alternate mixing dry ingredients and buttermilk. Add 1/3 dry ingredients, mix on medium speed until combined. With the mixer on low, slowly stream in 1/2 the buttermilk. Continue by alternating the dry and wet ingredients, making sure to end with the dry ingredients.
- Fold in the shredded zucchini and walnuts using a spatula- do not overmix!
- Pour batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 30-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool on a cooling rack for 30 minutes until removing cake from the baking pan.
Frosting
- Add cold heavy cream, powdered sugar, vanilla to a mixing bowl and mix on medium-high speed until soft peaks form (5-6 minutes).
- Add softened mascarpone cheese to the whipped cream and mix until stiff peaks form (1-2 minutes). Don't over mix!
- Once cake is cooled- evenly spread frosting across the cake using a spatula or spoon and dust with cinnamon. Enjoy!
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