Spice Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

I’ve been in such a baking mood lately. I am behind on fall gardening chores, need to start on making Christmas tags, have two quilt tops to finish, but I seem to be spending all my spare time in the kitchen. I love fall baking. Not only do I enjoy eating and sharing the baked goods, but the aroma of the spices  as they are baking is heavenly. Who needs to buy scented candles? Just bake something with cinnamon, nutmeg or ginger and your house will smell good for hours!

This spice cake has all the above-mentioned spices, plus the less commonly used, cardamom.  Neither spice overpowers the other, it all blends together so nicely. Sour cream in the batter makes for a moist and tender cake. There is a little bit of orange rind in the cake, complimented by the addition of rind in the cream cheese frosting. Everyone loved this cake!

Spice Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whole milk

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting:
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter three 9-inch round cake pans.  Line bottoms of pans with waxed paper.  Butter and flour pans; tap out excess flour (or use baking spray). Sift first 8 ingredients into medium bowl.  Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter and orange peel in large bowl until fluffy.  Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. In a small bowl, combine sour cream and milk. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture alternately with the sour cream-milk mixture. Divide batter among prepared pans.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer pans to racks and cool 10 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks and cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.)

Place one cake layer on platter.  Spread 2/3 cup frosting over. Top with second layer.  Spread 2/3 cup frosting over.  Top with third cake layer.  Cover top and sides of cake with remaining frosting.

To make the frosting, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until well blended.  Beat in sugar, then orange peel and vanilla. 

I had leftover decorations from making gingerbread houses, they added a little fall festivity to the cake!