Spice Cake with a Spicy Mocha Frosting

 Spice Cake with a Spicy Mocha Frosting.  The recipe I am sharing with you today is for a delicious nut studded spice cake with a fabulous old fashioned mocha icing.
I love snack cakes and this is one of the best. Not only is it one of my favorite spice cakes, but it has a ribbon of cream cheese filling running through the middle of it.
 Back before I moved over to the UK you used to be able to buy these small recipe magazines put out by Pillsbury, Betty Crocker etc. in the grocery stores. They would be situated near the tils.  
Something for you to peruse while you were waiting for your turn to empty your shopping trolley onto the conveyor belt.  I could never resist looking at them.  
 I had collected quite a few through the years.  Sadly I lost them all when I moved back to Canada last autumn, save a few of them that I somehow had the forethought to pop into my luggage.
This recipe comes from one entitled Fall Baking by the people who make Gold Medal  flour. It was published in 2000, and was always one of my favorite of those little books. 
 I cut the original recipe in half.  The original made a 13 by 9 inch cake.  Far too much cake for just me, and in all truth so is an 8-inch square cake. Its a good thing I have some family to share it with!
Spice cake is something I have always loved.  Flavored with warm baking spices,  it is just a cake I have always enjoyed, in any way shape or form.

Flavored with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and all spice, some cakes will also use molasses to sweeten them. This cake does not.
Instead it uses brown sugar, which also goes very well with warm baking flavors.
 The batter is enriched by the use of sour cream, which produces a lovely, moist cake. I know there are some people who don't like the word moist. I am not one of them.
I embrace moistness. To me moist spells delicious!
 What makes this cake a bit unique however is that it has that ribbon of cheesecake running through the middle of it. Oh my goodness.
What's not to fall in love with when you are talking about something like that?  Spice cake, moist and spicy . . .  cheesecake, rich and decadent.  Oh my my  . . .  
 WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE SPICE CAKE WITH SPICY MOCHA FROSTING
Simple ordinary ingredients most of us always have in our homes, that's what! 
For the cake:

• all purpose flour
• brown sugar
• sour cream
• chopped toasted walnuts
• butter
• water
• warm baking spices (cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg and ginger)
• baking soda and baking powder
• salt
• egg (1) 

 The filling uses equally simple ingredients and only three of them:

• cream cheese
• sugar
• egg yolk

And then the frosting is simple as well:

• icing sugar
• butter
• cocoa powder
• hot water
• cinnamon
• instant coffee

You see, nothing complicated there in the least.
 HOW TO MAKE SPICE CAKE WITH A SPICY MOCHA FROSTING
Again, this is a very simple cake to make. You want to make the cheesecake filling before you start the cake.  This is easily done by whisking them all together until smooth.
Likewise the cake batter is also very easy to make.  Once more, you simply whisk everything together until smooth.
I do like to use toasted nuts in all of my bakes. This isn't really necessary, but I like the extra nuttiness that results from toasting them.  Again a simple thing, spread on a baking sheet in a single layer, in a moderate oven for about 8 minutes.  Let them cool before using.
 I often do a whole bag at a time, keeping them in an airtight container in the freezer so they don't go rancid. Ready to take out and use whenever I need toasted nuts.
Once you have the filling and the cake batter done, it is a simple matter of layering them in a prepared baking tin. I used an 8-inch square tin which was buttered and lined with baking paper.
 You may wonder why I always line my tins if I am buttering them anyways. Its simple really.  It helps me to be able to safely lift the baked cake out of the tin when it is done. 
This is a matter of practicality when you are talking about smaller 8-inch cakes and bakes such as brownies and other bars. Also, if you don't want the grid marks on the top of your cakes and bakes, being able to lift them out prevents that.
  
Layering the cake layers and cheesecake layers is probably the most complicated part of this recipe, but even that is easy to do.
Just spoon and spread half of the cake batter in the prepped pan.  Dot the cheesecake filling over top and then spread it as evenly as you can over the cake batter.  This is quite easy if you use the back of a metal spoon.
 Finally the remaining cake batter is spread over top of the cheesecake layer.  Again, done in dollops and spread with the back of a spoon.
That's it just bake and then let it cool.  If you frost the cake before it is completely cold, the frosting will melt. 
The frosting is as easy as measuring everything into a bowl and whipping it all together until it is smooth and light and fluffy.  Spread that on the top of the cake and you are done!

This really is a lovely cake. Moist and delicious and filled with Autumn flavors, all spicy and warm.  I loved the mocha frosting, but then again my favorite chocolate bar is the coffee crisp bar. I may not drink coffee, but I do enjoy eating it.
Altogether this is a fabulous snack cake. If you are not fond of mocha, then just leave out the coffee in the frosting.  It will still be a really tasty cake. I really hope that you will be inspired to bake it and that when you do, you enjoy it as much as I have!
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Spice Cake with a Spicy Mocha Frosting

Yield: 9Author: Marie RaynerPrep time: 15 MinCook time: 40 MinTotal time: 55 MinA small batch recipe for a snacking spice cake that has a ribbon of cream cheese running through it and a lush mocha cinnamon frosting on top. Delicious!

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1 cup (140g) of all purpose plain flour
• 3/4 cup (150g) packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (60g) dairy sour cream
• 1/4 cup (28g) chopped toasted walnuts
• 1/4 cup (60g) butter, softened
• 1/4 cup (60ml) water
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 large free range egg

For the cheesecake filling:

• 1/2 package (4 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 3 TBS sugar
• 1 large free range egg yolk

For the mocha spice frosting:

• 1 cup (130g) sifted icing sugar
• 2 TBS butter, softened
• 1 TBS cocoa powder, sifted (not drink mix)
• 1 TBS hot water
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp instant coffee (dry)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 130*F/180*C/ gas mark 4.  Butter an 8-inch square cake tin and line with baking paper.
2. Make the cream cheese filling by popping all of the ingredients into a bowl and beating together until smooth.
3. Make the cake batter by combining all of the cake ingredients in a bowl and beating with an electric whisk until smooth, stopping to scrape the bowl occasionally.
4. Spread half of the cake batter in the tin.  Dollop the cream cheese filling over top and then spread it out as well as you can in an even layer.  Finish with the remaining cake batter, spreading it evenly over top as much as possible.
5. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly touched.
6. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then lift out onto a wire rack to cool completely. 
7. Once the cake is cooled, measure all of the frosting ingredients into a bowl and beat together with an electric whisk until smooth and spreadable.  Spread this mixture over top of the cake.
8. Cut into squares to serve.  Delicious!

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