Julie Clark
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Spice Crazy Cake
This yummy from-scratch cake recipe is also one of the easiest homemade cake recipes out there! Make this spice crazy cake using only one baking dish and basic pantry ingredients!
We shared our crazy chocolate cake recipe recently and wanted to put a twist on it with this spice version. Move over cocoa powder and vanilla extract…we’ve got new spices in town. With nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves, this Spice Crazy Cake is perfect for fall—or just when your tastebuds are in the mood for fall flavors.
Why you’ll love this wacky cake recipe:
- It’s a great recipe to make with your kids or when you’re craving a homemade spice cake but don’t have any eggs or oil.
- It’s also a perfect birthday cake for the person with egg or dairy allergies or for vegans. No eggs and no milk make this cake extremely versatile for different dietary needs!
- Best of all, you mix all the ingredients together in the same baking pan you bake the cake in. This one-dish, no-mess recipe can’t get much better!
What is Crazy Cake?
Crazy Cake is also referred to as Wacky Cake or Depression Cake (or even war cake). This cake recipe came about during wartime in The Great Depression when ingredients like eggs, butter, and oil were too expensive or difficult to find in the stores. Bakers found a way to create a delicious cake using ingredients they already had in their pantry!
How to Make Spice Crazy Cake
Grab your baking dish and staple pantry ingredients to make this spice crazy cake that’s bursting with the flavors of fall. There’s no need for a mixer. Just grab a spoon and whisk or fork.
- Preheat the oven to 350º Fahrenheit.
- In an ungreased 8″×8″ cake pan add the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ground cloves, and salt.
- Stir all the ingredients in the pan using a whisk until well-mixed. Use a small spoon to get the flour mixture out of the corners and edges.
- Next, use a spoon to make a big well in the dry ingredients on one side of the pan and a smaller well on the other side of the pan.
- Place the vegetable oil (or canola oil) in the large well.
- Pour the vinegar in the smaller well.
- Next, pour the cold water over all the ingredients in the pan.
- Whisk until combined. Use a spoon to get into the corners and along the edges of the pan to move the flour mixture out to the middle to be whisked as well.
- Once everything is well-combined if there are bubbles in the batter, gently tap the pan on the counter a few times.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven to cool on a wire rack before frosting and serving.
Frosting for Spice Crazy Cake
Our caramel cream cheese frosting is the perfectly sweet topping for this spice cake! If you don’t want the frosting to be too sweet—or don’t like caramel—skip the caramel topping and use plain cream cheese frosting (or a whipped cream cheese frosting) instead.
- Place the canned cream cheese frosting in a small bowl.
- Add ¼ cup of caramel sauce to the frosting and stir until well-combined. If you want your frosting to be less sweet, you can add a tablespoon of the caramel at a time and taste as you go.
- Frost the cooled cake and then drizzle with extra caramel if desired. Ice cream isn’t a bad addition either.
Enjoy this easy and delicious homemade spice cake!
Spice Crazy Cake
This yummy from-scratch cake recipe is also one of the easiest homemade cake recipes out there! Make this spice crazy cake using only one baking dish and basic pantry ingredients!
Servings 9
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 cup cold water
For the frosting:
- 16 ounces cream cheese frosting about 2 cups
- ¼ cup caramel sauce with extra for drizzle on the cake
Instructions
Make the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In an UNGREASED 8×8 pan add the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ground cloves and salt.
- Using a whisk stir all the ingredients in the pan until well-mixed. Use a small spoon to get the flour mixture out of the corners and along the edges moving it into the middle to be whisked.
- Next using a spoon make a big well in the dry ingredients on one side of the pan and a smaller well on the other side of the pan.
- In the large well place the vegetable oil.
- In a smaller well pour the vinegar.
- Next pour the cold water over all the ingredients in the pan.
- Whisk until combined. Use a spoon to get into the corners and along the edges of the pan to move the flour mixture out to the middle to be whisked.
- Once everything is well-combined if there are bubbles in the batter, gently tap the pan on the counter a few times.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the cake tester comes out clean. Remove from the oven to cool before frosting and serving.
Make the frosting:
- Place the contents of the canned cream cheese frosting in a small bowl.
- Add ¼ cup of caramel sauce to the frosting and stir until well-combined.
- Frost the cooled cake and then drizzle extra caramel.
Notes
This frosting is on the sweet side so keep that in mind. You can add caramel a tablespoon at a time and taste as you go to get the desired sweetness if you don’t like extra sweet. Or just use plain cream cheese icing.
The calories shown are based on the cake being cut into 9 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice of frosted cake. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**
Nutrition
Calories: 434kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 370mg | Potassium: 45mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 49g | Vitamin A: 6IU | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg
I have tried Spice Crazy Cake but with ghee instead of using vegetable oil and The cake was splendid in terms of softness and taste. I liked the ghee flavor too. I found in Ghee vs oil use, ghee is a better ingredient for ghee’s nutrition and baking safety for high smoke point. You may try the cake recipe with ghee too, it’s a wise choice.
This cake is so easy and so good! I double the recipe to make one for my parents. I added raisins and skipped icing all together. It’s moist and sweet enough without it.
LOVED this easy peasy cake. I added a few raisins in the batter and some crushed walnuts on top. Definitely a cake I will be making again. Oh, I didn’t do the carmel but was delicious without it.