I want a hamburger.
with cheese and pickles and too much ketchup.
And chocolate milk.
This is not that… but this is still good.
Why would I crank up my oven and make a spice cake in the middle of summer? I dunno.
Why would I make this cake when what I really want is a giant hamburger and chocolate milk? I dunno.
Why haven’t I gotten my stupid shaggy hair cut yet? Don’t know.
What the heck is going on with Frank on The Bachelorette and why did he have to go all the way to Tahiti to drop bombs? I do not know.
Why the deep V? Why?
We’re going to get to the bottom of this Bachelorette thing. We’re going to talk about it. I really have a few things I need to get off my chest.
Seriously.
This spice cake with beer and honey is from a book called Booze Cakes. Pretty self explanatory, right? It’s a pretty cute book from two Los Angeles based ladies. If you have a sweet tooth for things like Jello Shot Cakes, or if you were just dying to find a way to get tequila into your cakes… this is totally the book for you.
This spice cake is pretty interesting. It’s got a heartwarming combination of spices, and a super moist crumb. This cake stays moist for daaaaays. The recipe called for granulated sugar, brown sugar aaaand honey. That’s a lot of sugar. Even after cutting back on the sugar I thought it was dang sweet. You might be able to cut back on the sugar just a touch more.
Can you taste the beer? Just barely… and it’s not really beer-y. The hoppy beer is a great compliment to the spice and honey. It really rounds everything out.
Can you replace the beer with anything not beer like? No… It’s a Honey and Beeeeer Cake. Just go with it.
If beer offends you, how about Honey Whole Wheat Pound Cake? Super yum. Trust.
With barely sweetened cream and salty roasted nuts, I say this cake is pretty swell.
If you have a mega sweet tooth, Cream Cheese Frosting would set this cake over the top!
Honey and Beer Spice Cake
adapted from Booze Cakes
makes one 9×13-inch cake
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (next time I’ll use a combination of all-purpose and white whole wheat flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon all-spice
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup honey
12 ounces (1 1/2 cups) pale ale beer or honey beer
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9×13-inch (don’t use anything smaller, seriously) pan and set aside.
I a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, cream together butter, sugars, spices and lemon zest. Mixture may look crumbly, but mix for about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition.
Beat in the lemon juice and honey.
Add the flour mixture and beer. Alternating. First add a third of the flour mixture, mix. Add half of the beer, mix. Add the second third of flour, the rest of the beer. Mix. Then finally add the last third of the flour. Beat the batter on high speed for 30 seconds. The batter will be loose and smooth.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake in the upper third of the oven for 45-50 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Serve with barely sweetened whipped cream and salty roasted nuts. This cake would also be pretty delicious with a cream cheese frosting.
emma
As soon as it cools off a bit I am going to make these into cupcakes. Thanks for sharing!
Saxon
I know you posted this a long time ago but did you ever make these into cupcakes? If so, how did they hold up? I’m thinking maybe a little less egg would help.
Saxon
No I haven’t yet. My husband and I own a micro brewery and we have a wheat beer called Allergeez and it’s got flavors of honey, and camomile and I was going to use that and probably two eggs and see how it goes!
alicia
Yes! Dipping the hamburger in the ketchup is the BEST!!! Nice cake. I am going to try it this weekend.
Snarky Sister
I’ve given up on Frank and moved on to the chaos that is the Big Brother household. This cake looks like it would smell delicious. Does that even make sense?
Suzie
um #1: I’m ketchups hugest fan. So the fact you said you liked your burger drenched makes me feel not-so-alone. I also dip.
um and #2: done. this is being baked tomorrow. BAM!
Eileen
Definitely try a chocolate cake with guinness – it’s super moist.
Sushi Lover
I may have to buy that book. I need kahlua recipes. When are YOU putting out a cookbook?
*love*
Alice from Someone Who Bakes
I just got that book! I have yet to actually bake anything from it, but I’m veeeery intrigued. Especially since I’m going to be making a wedding cake for a couple I feel might be into that kind of thing. Go booze!
Samantha Angela @ Bikini Birthday
There’s something about booze in cakes that always makes them come out super moist. Moister than a cake with lots of oil
Wei-Wei
Ohh, god this sounds amazing. I think I’d cut back on the sugar waaaaaay more than you did. Sounds soo good :D
Wei-Wei
Maddie
I’m from Chicago, and am personally offended by Frank. Frank gives the Windy City a bad name. Hmph.
DessertForTwo
I love that this cake only requires 1 stick of butter! I mean, the tons of eggs negates this, but at the end of the day, how many butter wrappers are left on my counter is a direct measure of my happiness (less is better). Also, I am a whore for allspice, so this is a must-make.
Glad you’re up and runnin’ again.
P.S. Don’t try to cut your own hair. Just don’t. I feel like you might be thinking about it ;)
Karla
Booze cakes!! I love the idea of this!
Basically I’m sold on anything that has booze… put it in cake form and I’m in heaven.
I made champagne brownies a few days ago. Another boozed up baked good!
Carly
I need that cookbook! Booze cakes?! Awesome.
PS. I will be making this with cream cheese icing for brunch on Saturday. Yummers.
The Blue-Eyed Bakers
No but seriously – what is the deal with Frank? The suspense is killing us!!! Also, we love the name of this cookbook…it’s just the best. And we would tooootally add the cream cheese frosting to this…because it’s delicious.
Jessica @ How Sweet
I would love to try it with cream cheese frosting. That is a fab idea. And if you really want to know about Frank…have you ever read Reality Steve’s blog? ;)