Spice Cake

The forecast for yesterday was very blustery wet weather so I thought I’d do a little baking for breakfast to get everyone off to a toasty warm start for the day. This spice cake is very lightly sweet so if you’re after something sweeter then you might want to add some frosting.

Vermont Spice Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon molasses
1 cup walnut pieces

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Butter a 9-inch round baking pan with removable bottom.

In a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In the bowl of a mixer, beat the butter with the molasses 2 or 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well incorporated. In a small bowl, mix together remaining liquid ingredients and add to the butter mixture alternatley with the dry ingredients beating well after each addition. Transfer mixture to the baking pan and top with walnuts. Bake 35 minutes at 400 F. Cool ten minutes on a wire rack in the pan before serving.