Spice Cake Recipe & Penuche Frosting

Spiced Cupcakes and Caramel Frosting Recipes

Feb 19, 2009 Donna Diegel

Easy spiced cupcakes with penuche frosting, spice cake with caramel frosting & dairy-free cake recipes. Decorate cute cupcakes with edible flowers and pansies for spring!

Moist spice cake and cupcakes are dairy-free and egg-free for the lactose intolerant person that's also allergic to eggs. Quick and easy cake batter can be whipped up in minutes and baked, then refrigerated or frozen to decorate later. This very classy cake and equally cute cupcakes are the perfect ending to a springtime brunch buffet!

Spice Cake Recipe

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup corn starch
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons allspice
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups brown sugar, packed
2/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons white or cider vinegar
2 cups lukewarm water

How To Make Spice Cake and Spice Cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter or spray one 9 X 13 - inch baking pan, or prepare 24-30 cupcake tins with paper liners. If using two 9 X 2 - inch round cake pans, spray or butter the pans, and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside.
Sift flour, corn starch, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, cloves and salt into a medium size bowl. Add brown sugar and blend, breaking up lumps as needed and set aside.
With mixer on medium speed, whisk canola oil, vinegar and water together.
With mixer on low - medium speed, add half the dry ingredients to the liquid ingredients, alternating again, and scraping as needed between additions. Mix until batter is nice and smooth with no lumps.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans, or divide evenly between the cupcake tins.
Bake round cake layers for 25 - 30 minutes, 9 X 13 - pan for 40 - 45 minutes, or until a pick comes out clean. Bake cupcakes for approximately 20 - 25 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched.
Cool 9 X 13 - inch cake and cupcakes completely on wire racks before frosting or freezing. Cool round layers 10 minutes before loosening, then remove them from the pans, and cool completely.
The cake, layers and cupcakes can be double wrapped in plastic and frozen for later use.

Penuche or Caramel?

In different regions of the US, some bakers call it penuche frosting and others call it caramel frosting. For this recipe, penuche and caramel frosting are one in the same.

Penuche - Caramel Frosting Recipe

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, or margarine for dairy-free frosting
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 - 1/2 cup milk, or warm water for dairy-free frosting
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
4 cups confectioners' or icing sugar

How To Make Penuche Frosting

Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the brown sugar, and bring to a boil.
Turn the heat to low and continue boiling for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add 1/4 cup of the milk very slowly. The hot butter and sugar may foam up and boil when adding the milk, so be careful not to splatter. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from burner and cool to lukewarm.
Using a hand mixer at medium speed, slowly add confectioners' sugar 1 cup at a time, beating after each addition. Beat until frosting reaches desired spreading and/or piping consistency. Add more milk a little at a time if the frosting is too thick. Add more confectioners' sugar if the frosting is too thin.

How To Assemble & Decorate a 9-inch Round Spice Cake

Smear a good size dab of penuche frosting on a flat, round, decorative serving plate. Place one round cake layer on top of the frosting and press lightly. Spread a thick coat of frosting over this layer and place the second layer on top, pressing down lightly to seal.
Put approximately 1 cup of frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a medium size star tip and set aside.
Frost the sides and top of cake using an off-set spatula, making sure to seal all edges evenly.
Using the pastry bag, place 12 evenly spaced rosettes on the top of the cake.
Refrigerate any leftovers. Cake and cupcakes can be double wrapped in heavy duty plastic wrap and frozen.

How To Decorate Cupcakes

Spread the frosting over the tops of the cupcakes as desired, maybe with a slight twist of the wrist to form a swirl. Decorate with edible flowers, small edible rose petals and pansies for the ultimate chic-cupcake!
Or, place the penuche frosting in a large pastry bag fitted with a large star or rosette tip.
Starting close to the cupcake, firmly squeeze the bag and frosting through the tip in a round circular motion, finally swirling the frosting into a peak.

Makes one 9 X 13 - inch cake, one thick 9-inch double layer round cake, or 24 - 30 cupcakes depending on the size. The recipes for Spice Cake and Penuche Frosting can be halved to make and decorate one 8 X 8 - inch square cake or 12 cupcakes.

For more springtime cake and cupcake recipes, try the moist and stunning Red Velvet Cake and the spicy Homemade Carrot Cake, both with Cream Cheese Frosting. The very sweet and slightly tart Lemon Tea Cake is another nice dessert for a spring tea party.

The copyright of the article Spice Cake Recipe & Penuche Frosting in Baking & Desserts is owned by Donna Diegel. Permission to republish Spice Cake Recipe & Penuche Frosting in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.