{{Short description|Cake flavored with spices}} {{Infobox food | name = Spice cake | image = Spice Cake with sea foam frosting.jpg | image_size = 250px | caption = Spice cake with seafoam frosting | alternate_name = | country = | region = | creator = | course = | type = Cake | served = | main_ingredient = Cake base, spices | variations = Maple spice cake | calories = | other = }}
'''Spice cake''' is a type of cake that is traditionally flavored with a mixture of spices.<ref name="Scripture Cake">{{Cite web |author=Ann Vogel |year=2008 |title=Making a Cake by the Book |url=http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/may/31/ann-vogel-making-a-cake-by-the-book/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090621155206/https://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/may/31/ann-vogel-making-a-cake-by-the-book/ |archive-date=21 June 2009 |url-status=dead |work=Kitsap Sun |location=Bremerton, Washington |access-date=26 August 2025 }}</ref> The cake can be prepared in many varieties. Predominant flavorings include spices such as cinnamon, cloves, allspice, ginger, and nutmeg.<ref>{{Cite dictionary |entry=Spice cake |title=Canadian Oxford Dictionary |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-541816-3 |editor-last=Barber |editor-first=Katherine |edition=2nd |location=Don Mills, Ontario}}</ref><ref name="Pecan Spice Layer Cake Recipe">{{Cite web |title=Pecan Spice Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting |year=2007 |url=http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pecan-Spice-Layer-Cake-with-Cream-Cheese-Frosting-238083 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080731222218/http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pecan-Spice-Layer-Cake-with-Cream-Cheese-Frosting-238083 |archive-date=31 July 2008 |url-status=dead |work=Epicurious |agency=Gourmet |access-date=26 August 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=York |first=Patricia S. |date=20 November 2023 |title=The Old-Fashioned Spice Cake Recipe I Make Every Fall |url=https://www.southernliving.com/food/desserts/cakes/fall-apple-spice-cake |website=Southern Living |access-date=2024-04-13|language=en}}</ref>
== Description == In Medieval cuisine, a spice cake, also called '''spice bread''', was a flavorful, sweetened yeast bread.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Hahnemann |first=Trine |title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-931339-6 |editor-last=Goldstein |editor-first=Darra |location=Oxford New York |chapter=Scandinavia |editor-last2=Mintz |editor-first2=Sidney |editor-last3=Krondl |editor-first3=Michael |editor-last4=Rath |editor-first4=Eric |editor-last5=Mason |editor-first5=Laura |editor-last6=Quinzio |editor-first6=Geraldine |editor-last7=Heinzelmann |editor-first7=Ursula |display-editors=1}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Schmidt |first=Stephen |date=2013 |chapter=Cake |editor-last=Smith |editor-first=Andrew F. |title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America |publisher=Oxford University Press |edition=2nd |location=New York |isbn=978-0-19-973496-2}}</ref> It was typically sweetened with honey, as sugar was largely unavailable in Europe until the 1600s, and cooked over an open fire.<ref name=":0" /> By the 17th century, spice cake was something similar to the modern raisin bread, usually having spices, sugar, dried fruit, eggs, and butter in the yeast dough.<ref name=":5" /> The sizes ranged from individual buns to ordinary loaves to the great cake, which was a very large cake, sometimes weighing more than {{Convert|50|lb|kg|round=5}} that was baked for holidays and important celebrations.<ref name=":5" /> (Because these cakes often included both dried fruit and spices, most of them can also be classified as fruit cakes.<ref name=":5" />)
With the development of the sugar trade, spice cakes were still popular, and were coated in white icing on special occasions.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Woloson |first=Wendy A. |date=2013 |chapter=Weddings: Wedding Cake |editor-last=Smith |editor-first=Andrew F. |title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America |edition=2nd |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-973496-2}}</ref> French chefs hired by Charles II of England in the mid-1600s baked elaborate spice cakes coated in white icing.<ref name=":1" /> This decoration style became popular for wedding cakes, and having a white coating over a darker cake was the first meaning of a white cake.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Carol |date=2015 |chapter=Wedding Cake |editor-last=Goldstein |editor-first=Darra |title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets |location=Oxford; New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-931339-6}}</ref>
The modern spice cake, a type of butter cake or layer cake, appeared in the latter part of the 19th century.<ref name=":5" /> Brown sugar, molasses, and a generous quantity of dark-colored spices were used to produce a dark brown cake.<ref name=":5" /> By the middle of the 20th century, various kinds of spice cake were the second most popular cake flavors in the US.<ref name=":5" />
==Variations== A maple spice cake is an American variation that adds maple syrup or maple flavoring. The recipe was a New Hampshire specialty that started at the beginning of the 19th century. It often tastes like cinnamon or apple cider, and is a fall classic.<ref name="Maple Spice Cake Recipe">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fywlrT6VI3oC&dq=spice+cake+franklin+pierce&pg=PA641 |title=Maple Spice Cake (excerpt from ''The Presidents'') |access-date=2009-06-20 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc |year=2007|isbn=9780787988869 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Vergara |first=Deniz |date=2021-07-31 |title=Applesauce Spice Cake With Maple Glaze Recipe |url=https://www.thedailymeal.com/1560556/applesauce-spice-cake-recipe/ |access-date=2024-04-13 |website=The Daily Meal |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Vergara |first=Deniz |date=11 April 2024 |title=Blender-Made Batter Equals an Effortless Spice Cake |url=https://www.foodandwine.com/spice-cake-8409234 |access-date=2024-04-13 |website=Food & Wine |language=en}}</ref>
Sometimes, spice cake is combined with layers of lighter colored cakes, to produce a multi-flavored, multi-colored cake.<ref name="Layer cake">{{Cite book |last=Reber |first=Patricia Bixler |title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-931339-6 |editor-last=Goldstein |editor-first=Darra |location=Oxford New York |chapter=Layer cake |quote=The Dutch-Indonesian cake Spekkock or lapis legit is made by baking very thin layers in succession to form a tall, multilayered spice cake. {{pb}}Although layer cakes of a single color were often baked, two-layer cakes could combine silver (white) and gold (yellow), or light and dark (spice and chocolate). Three layers might have a contrasting color sandwiched between two matching cakes, while four layers could feature completely different colors, as in the Harlequin Cake. |editor-last2=Mintz |editor-first2=Sidney |editor-last3=Krondl |editor-first3=Michael |editor-last4=Rath |editor-first4=Eric |editor-last5=Mason |editor-first5=Laura |editor-last6=Quinzio |editor-first6=Geraldine |editor-last7=Heinzelmann |editor-first7=Ursula |display-editors=1}}</ref> Names for this included ''ribbon cake'', ''metropolitan cake'', ''Neapolitan cake'', ''Prince of Wales cake'', and ''Harlequin cake''.
During times of food rationing or to keep costs down, spice cakes lent themselves toward replacing expensive ingredients, such as eggs and butter, with more economical choices, such as pureed fruit.<ref name=":5" />
Marble cake is sometimes made with spice cake for the darker colored batter.<ref name=":5" /><gallery mode="packed" widths="240" heights="160"> File:Spiced banana bread (49701073257).jpg|Spice cake with bananas File:Cinnamonpoundcake.JPG|Marbled spice cake File:Kruidkoek op bord met close-up.jpg|Kruidkoek File:Dutch style gingerbread loaf, cut open.jpg|Gingerbread File:Applesauce cake.jpg|Applesauce cake </gallery>
== Notable versions == {{Div col|colwidth=15em}} * Applesauce cake<ref name=":5" /> * Banbury cake<ref>{{Cite book |last=Everett-Heath |first=John |url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191905636.001.0001/acref-9780191905636 |title=Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Place Names |date=2020 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-190563-6 |edition=6 |language=en |chapter=Banbury |doi=10.1093/acref/9780191905636.001.0001}}</ref> * Carrot cake * Election cake<ref name=":5" /> * Gingerbread<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Hudgins |first=Sharon |title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-931339-6 |editor-last=Goldstein |editor-first=Darra |location=Oxford New York |chapter=Gingerbread |editor-last2=Mintz |editor-first2=Sidney |editor-last3=Krondl |editor-first3=Michael |editor-last4=Rath |editor-first4=Eric |editor-last5=Mason |editor-first5=Laura |editor-last6=Quinzio |editor-first6=Geraldine |editor-last7=Heinzelmann |editor-first7=Ursula |display-editors=1}}</ref> * Gâteau de Sirop<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wallace |first=Emily |title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-931339-6 |editor-last=Goldstein |editor-first=Darra |location=Oxford New York |chapter=Cane syrup |editor-last2=Mintz |editor-first2=Sidney |editor-first3=Michael |editor-last3=Krondl |editor-first4=Eric |editor-last4=Rath|editor-first5= Laura |editor-last5= Mason |editor-first6=Geraldine |editor-last6= Quinzio |editor-first7= Ursula |editor-last7= Heinzelmann |display-editors=1}}</ref> * Kruidkoek<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=van der Sijs |first=Nicoline |title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-931339-6 |editor-last=Goldstein |editor-first=Darra |location=Oxford New York |chapter=The Netherlands |editor-last2=Mintz |editor-first2=Sidney |editor-last3=Krondl |editor-first3=Michael |editor-last4=Rath |editor-first4=Eric |editor-last5=Mason |editor-first5=Laura |editor-last6=Quinzio |editor-first6=Geraldine |editor-last7=Heinzelmann |editor-first7=Ursula |display-editors=1}}</ref> * Parkin<ref name=":3" /> * Pork cake<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lockwood |first1=Yvonne R. |title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America |last2=Lockwood |first2=William G. |last3=Kraig |first3=Bruce |date=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-973496-2 |editor-last=Smith |editor-first=Andrew F. |edition=2nd |location=New York, NY |chapter=Midwestern Regional Cookery}}</ref> * Singing hinny<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ayto |first=John |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/796276333 |title=The Diner's Dictionary: Word Origins of Food & Drink |date=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-964024-9 |edition=2nd |location=Oxford |chapter=Singing hinny |oclc=796276333}}</ref> * Spekkoek<ref name="Layer cake" /><ref name=":4" /> {{Div col end}}
==See also== * List of cakes
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Cakes}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spice Cake}} Category:Cakes