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Caramel Spice Cake

This Caramel Spice Cake is hard to resist as it combines warm, spiced sponge cake layers with rich, salted caramel sauce, crunchy toasted pecans, and smooth cream cheese frosting! The cake is incredibly moist and flavorful, offering a perfect balance of sweetness, spice, and crunch. It’s an easy, eggless recipe that can be made dairy-free.
Author: Saloni Mehta
Yield: 10 servings
Prep: 1 hour
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 2 hours
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Equipment

  • 2 8-inch Round Cake Pans (20cm)

Ingredients

Caramel Sauce Ingredients

  • 100 g Cane Sugar*
  • 40 g Unsalted Butter* room temp
  • 65 ml Whipping Cream* warm
  • ½ tsp Sea Salt

Sponge Cake Ingredients

  • 300 ml Milk*
  • 1 tbsp White Vinegar*
  • 70 g Cane Sugar*
  • 165 g Light Brown Sugar
  • 90 ml Vegetable Oil
  • 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 2 tsp Cinnamon Powder
  • ½ tbsp All Spice Powder
  • 15 g Cornstarch
  • ½ tsp Baking Soda
  • 2¼ tsp Baking Powder
  • 225 g All Purpose Flour
  • ¼ tsp Salt

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

  • 170 g Salted Butter* room temperature
  • 170 g Cream Cheese* room temperature
  • 2-3 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 120 g Powdered Sugar

Filling & Topping Ingredients

  • 82 g Pecans toasted and chopped

Whipped Cream Frosting Ingredients

  • 160 ml Whipping Cream*
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 2 tbsp Powdered Sugar

Instructions

Sponge Cake Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 f or 175 C.
  • Grease 2 x 8-inch (20cm) cake pans with oil and line it with baking paper.
  • In a bowl combine milk with vinegar. Let it sit for 5 min until slightly curdled.
  • Add cane sugar, light brown sugar, oil & vanilla extract. Mix with a hand whisk until sugar is almost dissolved.
  • Combine all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and mix into liquid ingredients with a hand whisk until smooth.
  • Divide the cake batter equally between the prepared cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until firm to touch.
  • Allow the cakes to cool completely on a wire rack.

Caramel Sauce Instructions

  • In a tall medium sized saucepan add all the sugar to make a dry caramel.
  • Let the sugar melt on low heat. This can take a few minutes, let it boil until sugar turns to amber caramel color.
  • Stir occasionally with a spatula if needed for even heat distribution.
  • When sugar is completely dissolved and turns golden brown (not dark), add a few knobs of room temperature butter & stir with heat proof spatula.
  • Don’t add all the butter at once.
  • After all the butter is properly mixed, then slowly pour warm heavy cream in a slow stream.
  • Add only 1/3 of the cream at a time and mix. Add the remaining cream until all the cream is mixed.
  • Allow the caramel to boil on very low heat for less than a minute, remove from heat.
  • Add salt and stir.
  • Store in a heatproof container and cover the surface with cling film. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
  • If the sauce is too thick and cold then microwave the sauce for 5-10 seconds or longer if needed.

Filling & Topping Instructions

  • Whip butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl using an electric whisk or a paddle attachment until fluffy and creamy.
  • Add powdered sugar in 2 parts & vanilla extract.
  • Mix until smooth.
  • Whipped Cream Frosting Instructions
  • Combine and whip cream, vanilla extract and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl using an electric whisk until stiff peaks form. Keep it cold in the fridge until you are ready to decorate the cake.

Cake Assembly Instructions

  • Trim a thin layer of both cakes to level them with a serrated knife to ensure they stack evenly.
  • Place a small amount of frosting on the center of your cake stand or serving plate.
  • Place one layer of the cake on a cake stand or plate.
  • Using an offset spatula or butter knife, spread a generous layer of frosting (at least 5-6 scoops) evenly over the top of the first cake layer. Smooth it out to ensure an even surface.
  • Add half of the toasted pecans.
  • Drizzle caramel sauce all over the sponge cake to make it evenly covered in the sauce.
  • Carefully place the second cake layer on top of the frosted first layer. Align it as evenly as possible.
  • Apply a crumb coat by spreading a thin layer of frosting over the entire cake.Chill the cake in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
  • Frost the cake with the remaining cream cheese frosting.
  • Chill the cake for 30 minutes in the fridge for the frosting to set.
  • Pour 1/3 cup of caramel sauce mixed with pecans on top of the cake. Create drips on the edges using a spoon.
  • Fill a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle with the prepared whipped cream topping and pipe the whipped cream on the cake.
  • Chill the cake in the fridge until ready to serve!

Notes

  • Cup vs weighing scale: The US customary cup measurement serves as a rough estimate, as it can have uncertainties, so for precise results, it's recommended to weigh your ingredients using a digital scale in grams.
  • Before you start to make any recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the process will go smoothly and easily.
  • For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons and not the type of spoons you eat with for accuracy.
  • Milk: You can use any dairy-free unsweetened milk (like almond, soy, oat) or whole milk
  • Butter: Dairy-free butter sticks or any butter of your choice 
  • Lemon Juice: You can substitute with Apple Cider Vinegar / White Vinegar and vice-versa.
  • Whipping Cream: Use Dairy-free unsweetened whipping cream or any full fat whipping cream of choice
  • Cream Cheese: Dairy-free cream cheese or any plain full fat cream cheese of your choice
  • Sugar: Cane sugar can be substituted with castor sugar. Ensure the sugar is vegan-friendly (some sugars are processed with bone char) or use  organic cane sugar