Ultra Moist Caramel Spice Cake

This moist and tender spice cake is full of flavor and layered with caramel sauce and a smooth cream cheese frosting. It’s a perfect cake for the Holidays or any fall occasion!

Something that’s really great about fall and the Holidays is just how many spices we get to use when we bake. Do I have to make several trips to my spice cabinet to carry it all? Of course. Does it make recipe ingredient lists look long? Also yes, but I promise it’s all part of the fun. 

Why You’ll Love This Layer Spice Cake

• It’s super moist and tender. Oil, applesauce, and Greek yogurt in the batter help make the cake so soft. In addition, it’s made using the reverse creaming method, which leads to a tight crumb and soft texture. 
• It’s packed with flavor from lots of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and more. 
• Homemade (or store bought) caramel sauce sandwiched between each layer adds a rich sweetness to the cake that pairs well with the spices. 
• It makes for a great Thanksgiving or Holiday cake. 

Key Ingredients and Notes

Spice Cake Batter

• All-purpose flour: for the best results, measure flour with a food scale to prevent over or under-measuring. If you don’t have a scale, then use the spoon and level method.
• Dark brown sugar and granulated sugar: dark brown sugar contributes the majority of the sweetness in the cake, adding both a dark color but also caramelly flavor. 
• Spices: ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice contribute to the cake’s wonderful, cozy flavor. 
• Large eggs: make sure that the eggs are at room temperature. To quickly warm up cold eggs, soak them in a bowl of hot water for 5-10 minutes. 
• Vegetable or canola oil: pick any neutral oil that won’t add flavor. 
• Unflavored Greek yogurt or sour cream: either will work well in this recipe
• Unsweetened applesauce: applesauce acts similarly to an oil or fat in the cake. Make sure to use unsweetened, as the sugar in sweetened applesauce may impact the texture and flavor of the cake. 
• Buttermilk
• Vanilla extract
• Baking powder and baking soda

Cream Cheese Frosting

• Unsalted butter, softened 
• Plain cream cheese, from a block
• Powdered sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Salt

How To Make Homemade Caramel Sauce

Between each layer of frosting and spice cake is a lovely caramel sauce. If you don’t want to make caramel at home, store bought works just as well. Just try to use caramel sauce that is sold in a jar instead of the squirt-bottle style since it tends to be a little thicker and more spreadable. 

If you’re up for it, homemade caramel is one of those things that is so much easier than you would expect! It takes less than 15 minutes and is also so versatile. Use it in this cake, but also any leftovers you can use to make other tasty desserts like a maple cider cake or caramel buttermilk bundt cake. 

For it, you will need only five ingredients

• Granulated sugar
• Water
• Salted butter
• Heavy whipping cream: at room temperature – this is very important and you will not be successful if your heavy cream is cold. 
• Sea salt

While the full instructions for how to make caramel are in the recipe card, I wanted to share a few tips here to help you out along the way:

• Use room temperature ingredients: to ensure a silky and smooth caramel sauce, make sure that all of the ingredients are at room temperature, namely the butter and heavy cream. Adding cold ingredients to hot melted sugar will cause it to seize up.
• Use a larger pot than you think: don’t use the smallest pot that you have (a 2 quart pot usually works perfectly). When adding heavy cream to the recipe it will bubble up and steam furiously, so you want to allow for space there so you don’t burn yourself.
• Avoid stirring the sugar until it is almost melted: instead, lift up the pot and give it a few shakes. This will actually help it cook more evenly and prevent burning.
• Make sure the sauce has completely cooled before using it: before spreading caramel onto the cake, make sure that it is completely cool so that it doesn’t melt the frosting. If you find that your caramel is thicker than you’d like at room temperature, you can actually heat it back up and add a little more heavy cream to thin it out.

Tips for the Best Cake Layers

I’m dedicated to nothing but your success here, so here are a few tips to help you bake the best spice cake layers!

Use room temperature ingredients. Cold ingredients do not mix well together and can cause your batter to split. This negatively impacts the texture and crumb of the cake sponge. Make sure that your eggs, buttermilk, yogurt, and anything else you would keep in the fridge are all at room temperature. For the eggs, soak them in a bowl of hot water for 5-10 minutes. For everything else, use the microwave to warm them to room temperature. 

Chill the cake layers before assembling: make sure your cake layers are completely cool before assembling. Even a little bit of warmth can cause the frosting to melt and make a mess. You can also make the cake layers a day ahead of time and store them in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble. 

Check your leavening agents. Did you know that baking powder and baking soda lose their potency over time? If your leavening agents are well over a year old, or you’ve noticed your bakes not coming out with quite as good a rise, it may be time to replace them.

Assembling the Caramel Spice Cake

1. Start by placing one round of cake on a cake board or stand.
2. Spread an even layer of cream cheese frosting on top. Use a spoon or frosting spatula to shape the edges to be a little higher than the middle to make a shallow well for the caramel sauce.
3. Spoon in a thin layer of caramel sauce. 
4. Place a cake round on top and repeat.
5. Place the last cake round on top and spread a very thin layer of frosting around the entire cake to make a crumb coat. Let this set until the frosting feels dry, and then add another, thicker layer of frosting around the sides and top of the cake. 
6. Optional–spread more caramel sauce on top or let it drip down the sides. 

How to Store Leftovers

To prevent the cake from drying out, tightly wrap it with foil, pressing it tightly against any exposed cake. Store the cake in the fridge for up to 3 days. 

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