Salted Caramel Spice Cake (THM S)

Let me go ahead and put this out there - this cake took me two tries. Not only did it stick to my non-stick, sprayed pan (GRR!) but also the flavor needed adjusting. However, in my absolute need to make the second cake a good one (as I was running out of ingredients), I concocted this amazingly flavorful cake.

My little dude just turned 2 before Thanksgiving, and for his birthday I like to make Fall or Winter-inspired cakes. Last year, my mother-in-love made him an amazing pumpkin spice cake that he (and the rest of us) gobbled right up. This year, I wanted to do something a little different, but still keeping with a seasonal theme.

Enter - spice cake.

Warm spices are something I live for this time of year, and a newly discovered favorite addition is cardamom. Cardamom isn't warm like cinnamon or cloves - it's more floral like lavender, and complements the other spices with which it's paired.

This cake is spiced with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, and molasses for a deeply intense flavor. [The cake itself is dairy free, so if you need to go that route on the frosting as well, I suggest one of the dairy-free icings (pg. 309)  in the Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook.]

Once the layers were cooling on the rack, I soaked them with warm salted caramel sauce. [YUM.] If the layers cool before you're able to put the caramel on, that's fine too. The caramel does stiffen slightly [like a glaze, almost] once it cools to room temperature, so you won't have any issues when you try to frost. It should glide right over the glaze like a big, fluffy cream cheese blanket (Can you tell I like frosting?).

I finished it with vanilla mascarpone cream cheese frosting and chopped toasted pecans. If mascarpone cheese is unfamiliar to you, it's basically an Italian sweet, and slightly softer, version of cream cheese. It does have a few carbs with it, so I only use a touch of  it in this recipe. I usually find mascarpone in the specialty cheese section of my grocery store. If you don't have it, or your grocer doesn't carry it, you can just replace it with extra cream cheese.

The layers are moist and spicy, while the frosting is fluffy and creamy; finished with crunchy pecans, and you have a real holiday winner.

Salted Caramel Spice Cake (THM S)

Main Ingredients

For the Cake:
1 c coconut flour
1 c almond flour
1 15oz can unsweetened coconut milk
1 c unsweetened vanilla almond milk
8 whole eggs, 1 egg yolk
1/2 c coconut oil, melted
3 tbsp Pyure or similar zero calorie sweetener
1/2 tbsp blackstrap molasses
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp cardamom
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cloves
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
coconut oil spray and parchment paper*

For the Salted Caramel Glaze:
1/4 c Pyure or similar zero calorie sweetener
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp blackstrap molasses
1/4 c water
1/3 c heavy cream
1/4 c (or 1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp coarse sea salt

For the Frosting:
3 blocks softened cream cheese
1 1/2 sticks unsalted, softened butter
1/4 c heavy cream
1/3 c mascarpone cheese (chilled is fine, as the cheese is soft)
1/4 c powdered Pyure or powdered Monkfruit
1 1/2 tbsp vanilla bean paste (vanilla beans from the pods work also, or an extra 2 tsp vanilla extract)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 pinches salt
1 about c chopped, toasted pecans

Recipe Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Combine dry ingredients with spices and sweetener in a small bowl. In a separate large bowl, beat together the eggs and yolk, coconut milk, almond milk, vinegar, molasses, and melted coconut oil.

3. Begin adding the dry ingredients into the wet mixture in two batches, being careful not to over-mix.

4. Prepare two 8-in round cake pans by cutting two circles of parchment paper for the bottom. Lightly spray the parchment and sides of your pan with coconut oil.

5. Pour the batter evenly between the two pans, and gently tap the pan (picking it up a bit and then lightly dropping it evenly) against a flat surface to release any air bubbles. Bake in at 350 degree oven for 30-35mins, or until an inserted toothpick comes out cleanly.

6. Begin making the glaze. Add the first 4 ingredients in a sauce pan over medium heat. Bring mixture to a boil and continue boiling carefully for 6-8 minutes, stirring constantly. The coconut sugar will caramelize slightly, and some of the liquid will evaporate off. Keep the heat at or below medium (about 4 on an electric range) to prevent the sugar from burning.

7. Remove from the heat, whisk in butter and cream. Whisk in table salt, and sprinkle in sea salt.

8. Cool for about 5-7 minutes, then spoon the mixture over both warm cake layers.

9. Allow the cake to cool, then begin the frosting. Combine all ingredients except nuts in a large bowl and whip on medium-high speed until everything is fluffy and well-incorporated. Adjust for sweetness, if needed.

10. Coat the completely cooled layers with the icing, and stack. Finish the sides and top of the cake. [I like a more rustic, "homemade" look so I don't spend a ton of making the edging perfect.]

11. Cover the top of the cake with the chopped pecans. Store at room temperature for immediate serving, or in the fridge if you're serving the next day.