Light, fluffy, moist cake with deep flavors of brown sugar and cinnamon-spice. This cake is perfectly fall, sturdy enough to stack high, and tender enough to keep a perfect crumb after a few days—even in the fridge!

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Guys, my head. I feel like I need a long vacation after grading 45 honors essays yesterday. At one point I just couldn’t make sense of anything I was reading and had to take a break. Sadly, it was 9:30pm so I had to make it a short break. But I finished all my quarter grading! Now, for all of the things I assigned this week…

Pray for me, would ya?

Anyway, this cake!!! Oh. My. Gosh. This cake is so fluffy and so good! It’s completely changed my mind on the creaming method of making cakes. I usually go for the blending method. Two bowls—one for wet ingredients, one for the dry—then mix them together and you’re done. Easy. And usually very good, as vanilla and as chocolate.

The creaming method, however, usually involves beating the butter and sugar then eggs, just like the first steps of making cookies. Then you alternate beating in the dry ingredients and something liquid like milk. It’s always felt like too much work, and I’ve never been impressed with the results. But after some research and trying a few recipes, I landed on a recipe that I love and will for sure be making again. It’s moist and fluffy and tender and not at all tough or dry.

And the warm, spicy, fall flavor is my favorite!

I used more cinnamon than your average spice cake, but I felt that was necessary. No one ever uses enough cinnamon! I threw in a little ginger, nutmeg, and cloves for good measure and because “spice cake” sounded fun, but you could use cinnamon on its own.

The brown sugar is also key. I wish I could do all brown sugar, but it’s not easy to pull off. Brown sugar is often too wet to help a cake rise fully, so a bit of white sugar is helpful to get the right height and not have a sticky cake.

How to make brown sugar spice cake

First, sift and whisk together your dry ingredients using a large mesh sieve. Sifting is key to creating a fluffy cake. Set that aside

Cream the butter.

Add the butters and blend until very fluffy.

Add eggs then vanilla.

In 5 additions, add 1/3 of the flour, then 1/2 of the milk, then 1/3 flour, then remaining milk, then remaining flour. Only mix until just barely blended each time. Don’t worry about a curdled look after the milk additions—it just separates a bit then comes together with the flour.

Divide evenly between your prepared cake pans (I used three 6” but two 8” or 9” work, too). Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 5-10 minutes then remove to a cooling rack (although I forgot and left them to cool in the pans and it was fine!).

Frost and enjoy!

Pairs well with:

The pictures here show these cake layers in my apple pie cake, using brown sugar, bourbon, & cider apple pie filling and whipped sea salt vanilla buttercream. But you might also consider pairing this cake with:

Ginger Bourbon Peach Compote and Brown Sugar Spice Buttercream
Cardamom Honey Fig Jam and Cinnamon Vanilla Bean Buttercream
Salted Caramel Buttercream and Vanilla Salted Caramel Sauce
Keep it simple and use Classic Vanilla American Buttercream!

Tips for this recipe

How to fix adding all the eggs at once

This is an accidental lesson I learned. I was rushed and added all the eggs at once. At first I was worried I’d ruined the batter, but then I tried “pulsing” my mixer from low to high, which helped mix it in. I had to scrape it a few times as well, and by the end it was blended the way it ought to be. So, lesson learned: if you ever add all the eggs at once (when you were supposed to add them one at a time), turn your mixer from off/low to high briefly as it works the egg into the butter, scraping the bowl at least 2-3 times until it’s smooth.

Use room temperature ingredients

One of the main reasons a batter doesn’t come together (and thus looks curdled or separated) is that the wet ingredients were too cold and wouldn’t blend with everything else. Taking everything out at least an hour before you begin is important. Butter can be sped up by cutting into small pieces and by beating a little longer in the first step. Eggs can be warmed up faster by putting in a bowl of warm-ish water (shell on, obviously). Milk is the hard one, as you can put it in a saucepan over low heat, but you want to avoid making it hot, just room temperature.

Sift your dry ingredients

This is one of my top baking tips. It’s important to sift the dry ingredients so you get a light, fluffy cake crumb. I’ve tried it both ways and trust me, sifting makes a difference. I love having a set of fine mesh sieves in all sizes, and they store nested so it takes up very little space.

Don’t over mix the batter

I know this is the most frustrating tip ever. Like, how would you know??? I try to give you a time or stopping point so you know if you’re mixing too long. In this batter, it’s about how blended it looks. The butter and sugar is hard to over mix (although beyond 3 minutes is more than you need). After that, you’re looking for fully combined, fluffy batter when adding the eggs. Once it’s smooth (scraping the bowl might be necessary), you’re good. Once you add the flour, it actually smooths out, while adding the milk creates a curdled look. This is where you can just ignore the texture and just mix until combined. When you do the next addition of flour, it’ll smooth it back out, as will scraping the bowl and mixing on high for a few seconds at the end. That’s the key—mix just a few seconds then see how smooth it is.

My cake tools

Here are my must-have tools I use for making this cake. Affiliate links provided.

Stand mixer or handheld mixer

Reusable silicone piping bags to pipe the dam of frosting (These are super easy to clean—just turn inside out, wear like a mitten, and wash! I stand mine like a cone hat on my tea kettle to dry.)

Offset spatula

Silicone liners for 8” cake (or for 6” cakes)

8” aluminum cake pans or 6” aluminum cake pans (I’ve found nonstick doesn’t bake as evenly)

You might also like:

Brown Sugar Spice Cake

Print

prep time: 10 minutes
cook time: 20-30 minutes (depending on pan size)
total time: 40 minutes (plus cooling time)

Servings: 12-16 (makes three 6” layers or two 8” to 9” layers)

Ingredients:

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (289g) flour, spooned then leveled and sifted
2 teaspoons (8g) baking powder, sifted
1 tablespoon (8g) cinnamon dash each of ground nutmeg, cloves, and ginger (or to taste--I like 3 dashes ginger)
½ teaspoon (3g) sea salt
¾ cup (170g) unsalted European style butter, softened
1 cup (213g) packed light brown sugar
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon (13g) pure vanilla extract
1 cup (240g) whole milk, room temperature
optional: one batch whipped sea salt vanilla buttercream and half a batch of brown sugar, bourbon, and cider apple pie filling

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350. If your oven bakes fast/hotter than normal, you may need to reduce this to 325. Lightly grease and flour three 6” or two 8” or 9” cake pans and line with parchment paper or silicone cake liners (my fave!).
Sift then whisk together the flour, baking powder, sea salt, cinnamon, and spices. Whisk until the mixture is evenly light brown from the spices. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer), beat the butter on high for about 30 seconds, until smooth. Add the brown sugar and white sugar and beat on high until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape the bowl halfway through.
Add the eggs, one at a time (or see my note if you forget and add them all at once), beating on medium until well-combined and scraping the bowl between each addition. Add the vanilla and beat on medium again until fully combined. If needed, beat on high for a few seconds just until smooth (room temperature ingredients help it come together more easily).
Add ⅓ of the flour mixture and mix on low until combined. Then, add ½ the milk and beat on low until combined. Don’t worry if it looks a little separated. Continue this process, adding another ⅓ of the flour, then the rest of the milk, then the rest of the flour, mixing just until combined each time. After it’s all added, scrape the bowl then turn the mixer to high for just a few seconds to help smooth it out. Don’t mix it too long. It doesn’t have to be silky smooth, just not separated or curdled looking (it’s not curdled, it’s just that this type of batter sometimes has that separated look).
Divide evenly between your cake pans and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 20-25 minutes if using 6” pans and 25-30 minutes if using 8” or 9” pans, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Check early, though, as ovens and climate can drastically alter bake time. Cool in the pans for at least 5-10 minutes then remove to a cooling rack until completely cool.

Frost and enjoy!

The cake in the pictures here uses my brown sugar, bourbon, & cider apple pie filling and whipped sea salt vanilla buttercream. That cake, in its entirety, can be found here.

Cake layers can be made ahead, wrapped well in plastic wrap (I suggest a double layer), and stored on the counter overnight, in the fridge for 2-3 days, or frozen for 1-2 months. Leftovers should be covered with plastic wrap touching the cut section of the cake plus more to cover the whole cake (or in a cake container--but keep the cut sides touching plastic wrap) and stored on the counter unless the filling requires refrigeration.