Moist and Rich Chocolate Spice Cake with Chocolate Spice Buttercream
Chocolate Spice Cake – chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream, filled with fall-inspired spices.
Chocolate Spice Cake
Happy Monday, friends! Kicking off this snowy week with a new cake that is bound to warm your soul from head to toe! Yes, cake can actually do that – especially when it’s a chocolate cake filled with delicious fall-inspired spices.
This recipe is a breeze to whip up and made even easier by baking it in a 9″x13″ cake pan.
Chocolate Cake
This chocolate cake is not quite as dark and rich as my go-to Chocolate Cake you’ll see in many of my recipes like:
Instead, this cake has more of a milk chocolate flavor because I want the spices to shine and not be overshadowed by chocolate.
Can I substitute dark chocolate for the regular chocolate called for?
Yes, you can certainly use a dark cocoa powder instead of a semi-sweet or milk cocoa powder. Just know, the chocolate flavor will be richer and it may hide the flavors of the spices.
Can this cake be made as a layered cake?
Yes, you can make this as a layered cake. I would suggest doing two 8-inch cake layers or three 6-inch cake layers. Use the same baking temperature recommended in the recipe, but you’ll bake for less time (about 10 minutes less).
Spices and Ingredients
In this cake, you’ll need the following spices and ingredients:
- Brown and granulated sugar
- Eggs
- Butter
- Buttermilk
- Flour
- Vinegar
- Baking soda
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Allspice
- Sour cream
- Cocoa powder
Make Ahead Tips
- Cake – The cake is a great element to make ahead of time. Let the cake cool to room temperature and then wrap it well with plastic wrap. You can even leave this one in the pan and wrap just the top.
- Buttercream – the buttercream recipe can be made a week ahead of time and stored in airtight containers in the fridge. Make sure to let the buttercream gets back to room temperature and beat it again for a few minutes to restore the fluffy texture.
Best Cake Tip
To ensure your cake rises well, make sure all of your wet ingredients are room temperature before you start baking.
Chocolate Spice Cake
Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE
- 2/3 cup (133 g) brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup (174 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk at room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups (300 g) all purpose flour
- 1.5 tbsp (8 g) cinnamon
- 1 tsp (2 g) cloves
- 1 tsp (2 g) allspice
- 1/2 tsp (2.8 g) salt
- 1/2 cup (40 g) cocoa powder not dark cocoa
- 1/2 cup (115 g) sour cream at room temperature
- 1 tbsp vinegar white distilled or white wine
- 2 tsp. (8 g) baking soda
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM
- 2 cups (452 g) unsalted butter slightly cold
- 5 cups (625 g) powdered sugar measured and then sifted
- 1/4 cup (60 g) heavy whipping cream
- 8 oz (175 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 tbsp (8 g) cinnamon
- 1 tsp (2 g) cloves
- 1 tsp (2 g) allspice
- pinch of salt
Instructions
FOR THE CAKE
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 9"x13" pan with nonstick spray. Line the bottom with parchment paper if you plan to turn the cake out of the pan to serve. Otherwise, spray alone is ok.
- In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and salt. Whisk to combine and then set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together on medium high speed for about three to five minutes, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally. We want the butter mixture to get light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and beat again for a couple minutes.
- With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix until no flour streaks remain.
- Fold in the sour cream.
- In a small bowl, combine the vinegar and baking soda. Let bubble and then fold into the batter.
- Pour the batter into the pan and bake at 325 for about 25 to 28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs on it.
- Let cool completely before frosting.
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for a couple minutes on medium high speed.
- While the mixer is beating the butter, heat the heavy cream in the microwave. Pour the heated cream over the chocolate to melt the chocolate. Stir until smooth. Set aside to cool a bit.
- With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar, spices, and pinch of salt.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl and then with the mixer on medium speed add the chocolate ganache you've made. Once all of the chocolate is added, turn the mixer to medium high speed and beat for about 3 to 5 minutes.
Courtney, what kind of pan exactly would you recommend using for this recipe? Is a quarter sheet pan too shallow? Or should I use just a regular 9×13 pan? Would a glass 9×13 pan work?
9×13 glass is great!!
I set out all my wet ingredients to room temp but my cake still sunk a lot! Any ideas?
Make sure you aren’t overmixing your batter!
Can we do this as a layered cake? Possibly cupcakes? Thoughts?
Thanks! Cannot wait to try.
Cupcakes for sure!
This was delicious! I loved the little kick of the spices.
Thank you!
Hi Courtney! How far in advance can the cake be made ahead of time? Thank you!
A couple days! You can keep it wrapped in saran in the freezer until the day before.
Is rose nicely ————-HOWEVER EVEN AT 10 MORE MIN. IT WAS STLL NOT COOKED. MIDDLE WAS NOT EVEN SET.
I COOKED IT AN EXTRA 25 MIN. I THINK 325 IS TOO LOW A TEMP FOR A 13X9 . I HOPE IT COMES OUT COOKED. IT SMELLS GREAT AND LOTS OF GREAT THINGS IN IT.
I hope you enjoyed!!