5 from 3 votes

Spice Cake with Brown Butter Buttercream and Cranberry Filling

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Fall Spice Cake with Brown Butter Buttercream and Cranberry Filling

As the temperature turns chilly and the holiday season nears, it makes me crave all the warm spices. This cake is adapted from my Zoë Bakes Cakes Yellow Cake, but with the quintessential fall spice blend added to the mix. You can buy Pumpkin Pie Spice in the baking aisle or make your own with individual ground spices from your pantry. See my notes in the recipe if you want to make your own.

Fall table set with fruit and cheese board, spice cake and fall decor

A simple, but elegant cake, set tall on a cake stand makes for a beautiful holiday centerpiece. I like to decorate with edible tablescapes, like a beautiful fruit and cheese board.

When I was creating this table, I looked to old Dutch Master paintings for my color inspiration. Creating a mood board on Pinterest is a great way to find and collect inspiration. I shopped at Terrain once I had a vision and found linens, cake stands, place settings, and a decorative wreath that completed the look.

A fall table setting with spice cake with brown butter buttercream and cranberry filling

To match the deep flavor of the spice cake, I played with my favorite Swiss Meringue Buttercream and swapped in brown sugar and browned butter. It is the softest, richest, most luxurious buttercream I have ever made and worth the extra effort to brown the butter. The process of browning the butter and letting it cool until it is firm enough to use in the buttercream takes some time, so I recommend doing this part a day in advance. To balance out the richness of the cake I added a layer of cooked cranberries. So simple, but gorgeous and just what the cake needs for the holidays. 

The sugared cranberries are a simple, beautiful last touch for the top. Just roll fresh cranberries in pasteurized egg whites and then dip in sugar. Let them dry for about an hour and they are ready to set on the cake. Decorating with fresh flowers is a beautiful way to finish a cake and you can use almost any flower if you wrap the stems in florist tape before setting them on the cake. Be sure to ask your florist or consult a trusted website, to make sure you are choosing flowers that are not poisonous.

The beauty of this cake is that you can bake it ahead and make the holidays more relaxed. I bake the cake layers, let them cool, wrap in plastic and freeze for up to 2 weeks. The buttercream can also be frozen, then let it come to room temperature several hours before using, and whipped smooth right before decorating the cake. You can decorate and refrigerate the cake the day before you are serving, but be sure to leave it at room temperature for several hours before serving, so the buttercream and cake layers have enough time to soften. 

Fall Table with Spice Cake
Fall Spice Cake with Brown Butter Buttercream and Cranberry Filling

Spice Cake with Brown Butter Buttercream and Cranberry Filling

This cake is adapted from my Zoë Bakes Cakes Yellow Cake, but with the quintessential fall spice blend added to the mix. The brown butter buttercream is the softest, richest, most luxurious buttercream I have ever made and worth the extra effort to brown the butter. I added cranberry filling to balance out the richness of the cake.
5 from 3 votes
Course: Desserts
Cuisine: Desserts

Ingredients

Spice Cake

  • 8 tbsp (113g) unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (120g) mild-flavored oil such as vegetable oil
  • 2 1/4 cups (450g) granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 4 eggs at room temperature
  • 5 egg yolks at room temperature
  • 2 2/3 cups (320g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 2 1/2 tbsp pumpkin spice blend see notes for how to make your own
  • 1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (120g) sour cream at room temperature

Cranberry Filling

Brown Butter Buttercream

Instructions

Spice Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Generously grease three 8-inch / 20cm cake pans, then line it with greased parchment paper.
  • In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium-high speed until creamy and smooth, about 1 minute.
  • Turn the mixer speed to medium; add the oil, sugar, and vanilla to the butter; and beat for about 5 minutes, until the mixture is light in color and about double in volume.
  • Turn the speed to low and add the eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, mixing each until incorporated before adding the next. Scrape the bowl after each addition.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. 
  • In a large measuring cup, whisk together the milk and sour cream.
  • Add one-third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl and add half of the milk mixture, mixing until combined. Repeat with another one-third flour, the remaining milk mixture, then finish with the final one-third flour, scraping the bowl and paddle after each addition.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Use an offset spatula to spread the batter evenly. Gently tap the pan on the counter several times to release excess air bubbles. 
  • Bake until a tester comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. Let the cake cool completely before removing from the pan by inverting onto a serving platter and decorate by layering the Brown Sugar Buttercream and Cranberry Filling between the layers and then covering the outside of the cake with more Brown Sugar Buttercream.

Cranberry Filling

  • In a medium saucepan cook the cranberries, sugar and vanilla extract until the cranberries pop, sugar dissolves and it becomes slightly thick, about 5 minutes.
  • Allow the cranberry filling to cool completely before spreading in between the cake layers. It can be made days ahead.

Brown Butter Buttercream

  • In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook until butter turns a medium-brown color and has a nutty aroma, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool until solid and room temperature. 
  • In the bowl of your stand mixer combine the egg whites and sugar. It will be very thick and grainy.
  • Put the bowl over a double boiler and stir it with a rubber spatula until the sugar is completely melted. This can take several minutes. You want to brush the sides down with the spatula to make sure all the sugar is melted and no grains are clinging to the sides.
  • Feel the egg mixture between your fingers to check for graininess. Once it is completely smooth and has no grains left, put it on your stand mixer and beat with the whip attachment on medium high speed.
  • Beat it until it is light, fluffy, glossy and the bowl feels just about room temperature. If the whites are not cooled off sufficiently it will melt the butter when you add it.
  • Once the egg whites are whipped and cooled, add the brown butter to it, 2 tablespoons at a time on medium speed.
  • WARNING: After you have added about half of the butter, it may look curdled and runny, this is normal and you should continue adding the rest of the butter.
  • Once you have finished adding the butter and it has mixed on medium speed for about a minute the buttercream should be creamy and glossy looking again. Add the salt, vanilla and any flavorings you choose.

Notes

Homemade pumpkin spice blend: 4 tsp ground cinnamon, 2 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp ground nutmeg, ¼ tsp ground clove, ¼ tsp ground cardamom.
Cake and buttercream recipes are adapted from Zoë Bakes Cakes.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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8 thoughts to “Spice Cake with Brown Butter Buttercream and Cranberry Filling”

  1. How do you store this cake, if not making to eat right away? Related to that, how far in advance can you make it of when you need it?

    1. Hi Jill, here are some tips for making it ahead: You can bake the cake layers, let them cool, wrap in plastic and freeze for up to 2 weeks. The buttercream can also be frozen, then let it come to room temperature several hours before using, and whipped smooth right before decorating the cake. You can decorate and refrigerate the cake the day before you are serving, but be sure to leave it at room temperature for several hours before serving, so the buttercream and cake layers have enough time to soften. Cheers!

  2. 5 stars
    Made this for a Christmas potluck. Truly an amazing cake with multiple positive comments. The frosting is the true star and will become a go to for many other cakes. It is indeed unctuous and creates a frosting that is neither too sweet or too buttery but has lovely caramel notes and excellent mouth feel. IMHO the cake needed a bit more spice to stand up to the frosting and the cranberry filling, which was quite tart. But I slightly over baked it and am prepared to give it another go before making any changes. I also added chopped Praline Pecans (Costco) between the layers, which was a perfect addition for both texture and taste. Thank you for sharing such a lovely recipe!

  3. I tried to use the brown sugar like the recipe says, and my buttercream never hardened. I think maybe it should have said white sugar and not brown sugar? Any troubleshooting tips? 🙁

    1. Hi Kendall, Sorry you’re having trouble with it! It should be brown sugar and the issue is likely with the butter. Brown butter is much softer than regular butter so we want to make sure you’re letting the brown butter cool until solid and room temperature. If you’re still having trouble, Zoë suggests adding a portion of regular unsalted room temperature butter until it stiffens. This can be a tablespoon to a half stick+. I hope this helps!

  4. Hi, the frosting is delicious but I’ve made it twice and I’m not having luck getting a good consistency. The first time was so soft we ended up spooning it on top of the cake slices. Nobody complained. The second time it had more body but I had to put it in the fridge for a couple of hours before I could dress the cake, and I had to work very fast.
    I don’t know what I’m doing wrong, the merengue had a good consistency before I added the butter, but once it became runny like Zoe warned it never got hard enough.
    Thank you, Maria

    1. Hi Maria, Sorry you’re having trouble with it! Brown butter is much softer than regular butter so we want to make sure you’re letting the brown butter cool until solid and room temperature. If you’re still having trouble, Zoë suggests adding a portion of regular unsalted room temperature butter until it stiffens. This can be a tablespoon to a half stick+. I hope this helps! Please let us know if you try it again.

  5. 5 stars
    This was, hand’s down, one of my top 5 cakes I’ve ever made! (And I’ve made alot!) The sweetness of the buttecream is offset by the tartness of the cranberry filling perfectly. And the spice cake is moist & full of flavors of the season. The directions didn’t include finishing the cake, so I had to wing it. I put a light coating of the buttercream on each layer then a thin layer of the cranberry filling. I was worried the filling would be too tart (by itself it is quite tart) but in hindsight, I would have put more on (half of the filling on the 2 middle layers). I piped a “dam” of buttercream on each middle layer before adding the cranberry filling so it would not ooze out (though quite stiff as I refrigerated it ahead of time). For the brown butter, I cooled it faster by adding ice water to a separate bowl underneath the brown butter bowl. It turned solid nicely and when added to the room temp brown sugar in the mixing bowl, made a nice buttercream consistency. I finished off the top with sugared cranberries. I always make my cakes ahead of time and freeze them. This is beneficial in that the buttercream doesn’t get too soft when being applied. Great recipe I will make again!

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