What you’ll need

• 9×13 baking pan or two 9-inch rounds. For baking the cake
• Large mixing bowl. For the cake batter
• Hand mixer or stand mixer. For creaming the batter smooth
• Measuring cups and spoons. For all ingredients
• Rubber spatula. For scraping the bowl and spreading frosting
• Wire cooling rack. For cooling the cake before frosting

Some hosts want something to slice at the table that is not pie. A spice cake is the answer: warm, familiar, not too sweet, and it feeds a lot of people. The two things that lift it above an ordinary spice cake are a spice blend that is actually generous and includes a little black pepper, and a cream cheese frosting made with browned butter.

[Photo: a slice of two-layer spice cake on its side, frosting thick between and on top, crumb close and moist]

Why this works

Most “spice cakes” are cinnamon cakes with a token pinch of nutmeg. A cake that actually tastes warm needs a proper blend — cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and a small amount of black pepper, which you do not taste as pepper but which makes the whole thing read as deeper and rounder. It is the same trick that makes a good gingerbread work.

The cake uses both butter and oil: butter for flavor, oil for the keeping quality that means it is still moist the next day. Buttermilk tenderizes the crumb and its acidity feeds the baking soda. And browning the butter for the frosting adds a caramel, nutty note that makes a plain cream cheese frosting taste like it took more effort than it did.

What you need

Cake

• 2¾ cups (345g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 2 teaspoons ginger, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, ½ teaspoon cloves, ½ teaspoon allspice, ¼ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
• 1 cup (225g) unsalted butter, softened
• 1½ cups (300g) light brown sugar, packed
• ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• ⅔ cup (160ml) neutral oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1¼ cups (300ml) buttermilk

Brown butter cream cheese frosting

• ¾ cup (170g) butter, browned and chilled back to soft
• 12 oz (340g) full-fat block cream cheese, cool
• 4 cups (480g) powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla, pinch of salt

How to make it

1. Prep. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line two 9-inch round pans or a 9×13 pan.
2. Dry. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and all the spices.
3. Cream. Beat the butter with both sugars until light, 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs two at a time, then the oil and vanilla.
4. Alternate. Add the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk, mixing just until each disappears. Mix gently once the flour is in to keep the crumb tender.

   

5. Bake. Layers 30 to 35 minutes; 9×13 sheet 40 to 45 minutes. Done when the center springs back and a skewer comes out with a crumb or two.

   

6. Cool completely. Layers 15 minutes in the pan then out onto a rack; sheet cake in the pan. Wait until fully cold to frost.

   

7. Frost. Beat the softened browned butter with the powdered sugar until smooth, then beat in the cream cheese, vanilla and salt just until combined, about 30 seconds.

   

The details that decide it

• Be generous with the spice. It should smell strongly of spice raw. It mellows in the bake.
• Brown the frosting butter and chill it back to soft before beating, not warm, not fridge-hard.
• Cream cheese in at the end, briefly. Overbeaten cream cheese frosting slumps off the cake.
• Fully cold cake only. Any warmth and the frosting slides.

Variations

• Apple spice cake: fold 1½ cups grated apple into the batter and reduce the buttermilk to 1 cup.
• Carrot-cake direction: add 2 cups grated carrot, ½ cup raisins and ½ cup toasted walnuts.
• Caramel instead: skip the cream cheese frosting and pour a caramel glaze over a bundt version.

Scaling for a crowd

The 9×13 sheet is the crowd format, frost it in the pan, cut it in the pan, carry it in the pan. Layers are for when the cake is the centerpiece and someone will present it. Bake the cake a day ahead, wrapped and unfrosted, and frost on the day; a frosted cake then keeps 4 days refrigerated. Plan one slice per person, a sheet cuts 15 generous or 24 modest squares. It pairs on a dessert table with the maple-pecan cheesecake or, if you want the pumpkin version, our pumpkin cake.

Make ahead, storing and freezing

• Unfrosted: wrapped at room temperature 1 day, or frozen 2 months.
• Frosted: refrigerated, 4 days. Bring slices to room temperature before serving.
• Frosting alone: 5 days refrigerated; re-whip briefly.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between spice cake and carrot cake?

Carrot cake is a spice cake with grated carrot, and usually raisins and nuts, folded in. This recipe is the plain spice cake; add carrot and the rest if you want to take it that direction.

Can I make Thanksgiving cake ahead?

Yes. Bake the layers or sheet a day ahead and keep them wrapped and unfrosted, or freeze for up to 2 months. Frost on the day you serve.

Do I have to brown the butter for the frosting?

No, but it is what makes this frosting taste more interesting than a standard cream cheese one. If you skip it, use plain softened butter.

Sheet cake or layers?

Sheet for a crowd or a casual gathering, simpler and it travels. Layers when the cake is the centerpiece.

The bottom line

A real spice blend with a whisper of black pepper, part butter and part oil for flavor and keeping, and a brown butter cream cheese frosting. The thing to slice at the table when you are done with pie.

Save it for the spice blend, that is what separates this from a cinnamon cake.