Honey Spice Cake with Honey Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

Have you heard about subscription boxes? They are boxes periodically delivered to subscribers of basically any products. Whether you’re a beauty junkie, foodie or sneakers fan, chances are there’s a subscription box service out there to scratch your itch.

I’ve always been interested into this new retail trend, especially the food related subscription boxes. There are personally curated food items and gourmet ingredients inside each box. Such a perfect gift for any foodies, including those really picky ones. Come one, who can resist a box full of indulgence delivered to your doorstep?

So when I received a complimentary Sugar and Spice Box from Taste Box delivered to my door, I was so excited that I wanted to hug and kiss the delivery man! Not to mention how loud my screams were when I was opening the box and saw the goodness inside – high-quality baking spice, Vietnamese cinnamon, Mexican vanilla bean, organic whole nutmeg and Chatworth Honey.

 

Naturally I had to make good use of these spices and create something amazing. And here it came a honey spice cake. Many years ago I made this cake for a friend who was recovering in hospital after suffering a car accident. It had a heartwarming combination of spices and a comforting moist texture. The cake kept my friend company in the hospital for days when he felt like he’s wandering around his grandmother’s kitchen. Such a memory!

Last week I revisited this honey spice cake recipe, using the gourmet spices from Taste Box this time. High-quality spice has the inherent ability to elevate the overall flavor profile of all food, and I found it works particularly well in desserts. These lovely spices provided more depth to my honey spice cake. The cake was so much more aromatic and flavorful.

Taste Box was founded out of an adventurous spirit and the love of all things food. Their mission is to find the perfect ingredients and inspire culinary creativity at home. So you can easily create great meals for family and friends. And best news is now you will get 15% off your first box. Hooray!

Ingredients (one 8-inch 2-layer cake):
Honey Spice Cake
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup honey
1 large egg, room temperature
1/2 vanilla bean
1 cup sour cream, room temperature
Honey Caramel
1/4 cup honey
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Cream Cheese Frosting
1 pack 8-ounce cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
To prepare cake, preheat oven to 350F. Grease two 8-inch cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ground ginger and nutmeg.
In a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, beat together two sugars, oil, honey and egg. Scrape in seeds from the vanilla bean. Continue beating until mixture becomes light in color.
Add sour cream and continue mixing until incorporated.
With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and mix until just blended.
Divide batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cakes cool completely.
Run a pairing knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Peel off the parchment paper circles.
To prepare honey caramel, cook honey, butter and sugar in a saucepan on medium-high heat while stirring constantly. Bring the mixture to a boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Mix in heavy cream thoroughly. Let it cool to lukewarm.
To prepare cream cheese frosting, place cream cheese and butter in a mixing bowl. Beat until soft and well incorporated. Add powder sugar and vanilla. Continue beating until light and fluffy.
To assemble the cake, sandwich cake layers with the cream cheese frosting. Top the cake top with another layer of frosting. Smear the excess frosting around the sides of the cake to create the look of a naked cake.
Slowly spoon the honey caramel over the top of the cake.
Cover and refrigerate the cake. Leave cake in room temperature for at least an hour before serving.

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