Easy Swedish Spice Cake - Delicious, Warm And Cozy

 

Yes, I put my hand up. I am one of those people who can eat a spice cake any time of the year.  Cakes flavored with the warm baking spices are my favorite kinds of cake. Cinnamon, Ginger, cloves, allspice, etc. I love ALL of the warm baking spices and I am not afraid to admit it!

I do not save these flavors and smells just for the autumn or the Winter holidays. I embrace them all the year through, and why not! When you love something, you love something.

That's when I saw this Swedish Spice Cake recipe on a page called True North Kitchen, I just HAD to make it. I printed the recipe out immediately.

 

This cake had all of my loves, the warm baking spices and molasses, plus it gave me another cake to bake in my Rehrucken/Almond Cake Loaf Pan.  This is a pan I bought a couple of years ago to make a Scandanavian Almond Cake.

I've been looking for a way to use it ever since then to justify my having bought it. It wasn't a really expensive pan, but I do like to be able to use what I have for more than just one thing! Don't worry if you don't have this pan. You can also cook this cake in a loaf pan, 9 X 5-inches in size.

This cake recipe went together very easily and smelled positively amazing while it was baking.  I am sure it got all of the neighbors' tastebuds tingling.

I had in mind to share some of it with them, but I confess I have been very greedy with it, and ended up keeping it all to myself. I do still have half of it left, but let's face it, it's the weekend!  And a weekend without a cake in it is not a weekend at all.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS DELICIOUS CAKE

Simple baking cupboard ingredients.  This is a very simple and easy cake to make. 

For the cake:

• 1 cup (125g) unsifted all-purpose plain flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 6 TBS (86g) butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (50g) soft light brown sugar, packed
• 2 TBS molasses
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup (120ml) butter milk 

For the drizzle icing:

• 1 cup (130g) icing sugar, sifted
• few drops of vanilla extract
• 1 - 2 TBS water or milk

Just use ordinary plain all-purpose flour. No special flour is needed at all. My flour it organic unbleached flour. This is the perfect mix of spice for this cake.

If you cannot get molasses and are in the U.K., you can use 1 TBS each of dark treacle and golden syrup. This works perfectly.

No buttermilk? No problem!  I have two solutions. One, add a TBS of lemon juice or white vinegar to a cup and add whole milk to the measure. Leave to clabber for five minutes.  Two, whisk together equal amounts of full fat yogurt or sour cream, and whole milk. Leave to clabber for five minutes. Works a charm.

 

HOW TO MAKE THIS CAKE

This is really a very simple cake to make. Don't worry if you don't have the correct pan for baking it in, you can use a 9 by 5 loaf tin in its place!

Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Grease your cake tin really well with some cooking spray. This is the cake tin I use. Alternately you can use a 9 X 5-inch loaf tin. Do spray it generously with the baking spray.

Sift the flour, soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt into a medium sized bowl. Set aside.

Measure the butter, both sugars and the molasses into a large bowl. Using an electric whisk beat them together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Beat in the egg until thoroughly combined.

Add the flour mixture alternately to the batter with the buttermilk, making three dry and two wet additions. Mix only until it comes together and no dry streaks remain.

Pour into the prepared baking tin and smooth over the top.

 

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 35 to 45 minutes. The cake it done with the top springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then carefully tip the cake out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

To make the frosting, whisk everything together until you have a smooth and pourable drizzle icing, starting with using only 1 TBS of water or milk. Add the remainder only as necessary to give you the right consistency.

Drizzle this icing over the cake decoratively. Leave to set. Cut into thick slices to serve. Enjoy!

 

HINTS AND TIPS FOR SWEDISH SPICE CAKE SUCCESS

If you follow these hints and tips, your cake should turn out perfectly.

1. Do use a baking spray to oil the tin. I used Kirkland Canola Oil Spray. Spray the tin generously and it will not stick.  This is superior to buttering the tin and flouring it.  

2.  Have all of your ingredients at room temperature. 

3. Don't overmix your batter or you will toughen it. Mix the flour and buttermilk in only until the flour has been incorporated and no dry streaks remain. Over mixing will develop too much gluten and you will lose the tender crumb that is expected from a cake.

 

This cake was quite simply lovely. Moist and dense it gets better tasting with each day that passes.  It is lovely with a hot cup of tea. (Mine is Lemon Meringue Herbal Tea from Tealish.)

This would make a fabulous dessert topped with a dollop of whipped cream, or with some sliced strawberries.  

I cannot recommend this cake enough. It is fabulous and smells amazing while it is baking. Your house will smell like a bake shop!!

  

Do you enjoy spice cakes and Gingerbread as much as I do? Then you might also enjoy the following cake recipes! I promise you they are also delicious! 

SPICE CAKE WITH A SPICY MOCHA FROSTING - This is a real favorite cake recipe. A ribbon of cream cheese filling runs right through the middle of this moist and delicious spice cake. The cake itself is generously studded with toasted nuts and crowned with a rich and decadent spicy mocha frosting! 

TOMATO SOUP CAKE - People are always really surprised when you give them a slice of this delicious cake and are told what kind of cake it is!  Tomato Soup Cake is a spicy sweet classic that has been gracing tables across North America for a great many years, back to the 1930's and the great depression.  This simple spice cake is also known as Mystery Cake. 

Yield: 10 Servings

Author: Marie Rayner

Swedish Spice Cake

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 45 MinTotal time: 1 Hour

A moist and tender spice cake that eats like a gingerbread. Not too sweet, it goes beautifully with a hot cup of tea. A sweet drizzle icing completes it. Prepare to fall in love.

Ingredients

For the cake

• 1 cup (125g) unsifted all-purpose plain flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 6 TBS (86g) butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (50g) soft light brown sugar
• 2 TBS molasses
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup (120ml) butter milk 

For the drizzle icing:

• 1 cup (130g) icing sugar, sifted
• few drops of vanilla extract
• 1 - 2 TBS water or milk

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Grease your cake tin really well with some cooking spray. This is the cake tin I use. Alternately you can use a 9 X 5-inch loaf tin. Do spray it generously with the baking spray.
2. Sift the flour, soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt into a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
3. Measure the butter, both sugars and the molasses into a large bowl. Using an electric whisk beat them together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Beat in the egg until thoroughly combined.
5. Add the flour mixture alternately to the batter with the buttermilk, making three dry and two wet additions. Mix only until it comes together and no dry streaks remain.
6. Pour into the prepared baking tin and smooth over the top.
7. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 35 to 45 minutes. The cake it done with the top springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
8. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then carefully tip the cake out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
9. To make the frosting, whisk everything together until you have a smooth and pourable drizzle icing, starting with using only 1 TBS of water or milk. Add the remainder only as necessary to give you the right consistency.
10. Drizzle this icing over the cake decoratively. Leave to set. Cut into thick slices to serve. Enjoy!

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