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Fall Spice Cake with Brown Butter Buttercream and Cranberry Filling
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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.
Course: Desserts
Cuisine: Desserts
Author: Zoë François

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.