*This post was updated Jan 2016 just to tinker with the recipe a little bit and share about a pumpkin variation of this cake!*
This upcoming Sunday is the solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe! It can sneak right by if we're not paying attention, because the following Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent! But I say, let's wrap up the end of the Church year with a bang — with a cake. It's an easy bang to produce because, seriously, this cake almost makes itself.
I want to tell you that I was very proud of this recipe, because it's the first one that I've ever written and can honestly say that I made it myself. Although it was a full year ago that I made it and recorded what I did (and took these somewhat sad pictures – before my camera upgrade last Christmas!), I do recall that I had recently been reading Deb Perelman's notes about recipe adaptation and proper attribution, etc., and comfortably knew that, indeed, this was my own cake. (If you are a cake expert and you find that this recipe seems highly run-of-the-mill and are not impressed because you don't detect any sort of striking originality, please don't tell me. It's original to me.)
I also want to tell you that, when I served this cake to my husband and my delightful sister-in-law, they declared that it was the best cake they'd ever eaten. Now, we can certainly take those comments with a grain of salt, my husband being who he is (the man who chose to marry me because he loves me that much) and my sister-in-law being who she is (a highly emphatic and enthusiastic person), but still. I hope the point comes across: it's a tasty cake.
And again: so easy.
It's a spice cake, so it's the type of thing that one is happy to eat any time between October and February, if one feels strongly about seasonal flavors, and happy to eat at any time of the year, if one just likes a tasty spice cake. What I really mean to say is that it could function excellently for any festivity during the holidays, and I think you'll feel it's just the thing.
Now, I had read that it's appropriate to celebrate the Kingship of Our Lord with a “crown cake,” and researched a bit what this might look like. Since I had a little baby and, I guess, not a ton of extra crafty energy to spare, I opted out of the cardboard cake topper sort of thing, although I do think that that looks pretty righteous. I decided that I could get a sort of “crown” effect simply by making my cake a bundt and using icing to a regal effect.
Now, I'm not a huge icing fan in general. I'm not anti-icing, mind you, but I do think it easily gets out of control, and I can't stand even a touch of it if it's not homemade. I wasn't the kid at the birthday party who requested the big frosting rose; I was the kid who was trying to subtly scrape the rosebuds off of my piece without anyone noticing…
But browned butter icing. This I can get into.
When I look back on this picture, it strikes me that I clearly didn't spend a lot of time on the actual job of decorating. I'm sure that you could do something with a lot more forethought and finesse if you decide to use this recipe for the upcoming feast day. I'll be trying to make it again for our little family's feast day celebration and I will take a little more time to – ahem – refine the details. But I guess I was satisfied that an overall “crown” vibe was coming through!
But even if you have terrible luck with the decorating process – or terrible luck with the recipe as a whole – I'm confident that you and yours will enjoy the finished product nonetheless. In the times that I've made this cake, I seriously thought on occasion that I was tempting fate and trying to have it come out badly, but was pleasantly surprised each time to find that it just appeared out of the oven with a smell that was divine and a texture that was both moist and crumbly, and melted in the mouth.
As a final selling point, it freezes extremely well. We ate half, froze the rest, and then pulled the other half out a while later and let it come to room temperature before eating – and couldn't tell the difference.
Update from Jan 2016: I find that, with a little tweaking, this cake can also be delicious in a pumpkin iteration. Equally tasty with a slightly different flavor and perhaps a bit more density. See more below.
Without further ado:
Christ the King Spice Crown Cake with Browned Butter Icing
Preheat oven to 350*
Thoroughly grease and flour a bunt pan.**
In a large bowl (I use my KitchenAid), cream until fluffy and light:
2 C. sugar
1 C. butter, softened
Beat in:
1 C. yogurt
2 1/4 C. flour
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
Pour batter into pan
Bake 50~55 min
Remove from oven when a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Set to cool for a bit in the pan before turning over onto a cooling rack.
Pumpkin Cake Variation:
Follow same recipe as above, substituting 1 C. pureed pumpkin for the yogurt. I have also combined yogurt and pumpkin, totaling one cup of the two ingredients together. I find that it works well both ways.
Icing:
Gently brown 1/4 cup and 2 tsp butter in a small saucepan
Add 1 C. and 3 tbsp confectioners' sugar; stirAdd vanilla and spices to taste (I probably used about 1 tsp. vanilla and about 1/2 tsp. of nutmeg and/or allspice)
Adjust consistency with water, gradually adding 1 3/4 tsp as the mixture cools
When the cake is cool, pipe the icing on decoratively to achieve the look of a crown
(This recipe is rich, so I find that this amount is plenty for your decorative purposes)
{**From the original post: I am trying to recall whether I greased the bundt pan before pouring the batter in. I honestly can't remember — I want to say “yes, because I always grease pans and I'd be so nervous about it sticking!” but then the other part of me says, “No, but wasn't this recipe so ridiculously moist that it didn't even need it?” I asked the Artist if he remembered what I did (knowing that obviously he wouldn't), and his reply was, “Sorry, Deirest, can't help you there. [pause] Actually, I do remember now: you greased the pan with 5 oz of bacon fat. It was perfect.”
In short, I'm a bad recipe writer/share-er, and you're on your own on that one. At least until I make it again and update the recipe here, or one of you experts chimes in and tells us!}
Leila says
Yes, butter the bundt! Butter and flour! The pan is out to get you! DO NOT TRUST THE PAN.
~one who has suffered
Laurel says
I was about to comment the same thing — FLOUR (too) is essential with a cake! Avoid the unnecessary frustrations of a STUCK cake. 🙂
Meredith says
I have to agree with Leila about the greasing and flouring! Bundt cakes are my preferred method because who has time for decorator icing, anyway?
Thanks for the recipe!
Alice says
The Cook’s Illustrated people have you mix flour (or, for chocolate cakes, cocoa) and melted butter in a 1:1 ratio and brush it on your bundt pan with a pastry brush. It works perfectly, although it can leave floury traces on a yellow cake. With chocolate, though, it is perfect.
Well, I guess I know what I’m doing this Sunday.
Lisa G. says
Oh, that’s good to know. I have had a bundt pan for several years and been afraid to use it. 😀
Lisa G. says
Oh, that’s good to know. I have had a bundt pan for several years and been afraid to use it. 😀 As for seasonal flavors, I’m all for ’em! Made a cheesecake for my brother’s birthday last week and just had to make a gingersnap crust and cranberry topping for it.
And not only seasonal flavors, but every fall when the leaves turn I get the urge to read books about the revolutionary war era, or our founding fathers, brothers, etc.
Your cake looks *very* nice. Beautiful icing job!
Alice says
(I also want to say that I have a copy of the book from which the Catholic Culture post is extracted. It’s pretty amazing, and of its era.)
Anne-Marie says
So do I! It was a precious inheritance from my mother.
Mary Alexander says
This reminds me of the spice cake on Christmas Eve at the Alcott’s home.
Cecilia says
Thank you! I’ve been waiting for an excuse to make a bundt cake for such a long time! I thought I was going to get to make one for my husbands birthday, which is on Halloween, by the way, but we were to busy and were leaving town, and it came and went. And then I thought I could use St. Cecilia’s Day as an excuse, which is coming up on November 22nd, because it is my feast day, after all, and daughter’s feast day too. Now I have TWO excuses–Christ the King and St. Cecilia’s Day. Don’t you love being Catholic! So much food and feasting and fun!
P.S. I was also the kid who did not eat the frosting. I still cringe when I have to eat cake that is not homemade. My husband calls me a cake snob!
DeirdreLMLD says
Cake snobs unite! Life is too short for boxed mixes, canola oil, and packaged frosting!
Robin says
Amen and amen! Though I’m still searching for a better word than ‘snob’ to describe my preference for things homemade and coffee not industrially ground.
Laura says
totally! (i’m an apple snob too!) but eating GF makes it a bit harder… i’ve sorta learned to choke things down if they’re at all edible! lol
Laurel says
We’ll take any excuse to eat spice cake! 😉
christine says
We have a Confirmation meeting on Sunday night, and this will be the perfect thing for me to bring. The girls will love it! Thanks for the recipe!
Amanda says
Oh, I love this and all things spiced cake and frosting!
Hafsa says
Yum, I will definitely be making this. It looks so good and like others have commented, I cannot stand canned frosting. With that said, would you believe that I only learned how to make homemade frosting after realizing my mother in law made it from scratch? And homemade icing is so easy!
Elise says
Thank you for sharing this idea and recipe! Love it.
Melanie says
oooh, I might make this. I feel *very strongly* about seasonal flavors,lol…so this looks great! I would put more icingthough, :). looove icing…
DeirdreLMLD says
Haha well this icing is quite rich and the recipe makes plenty! So I hope you enjoy. 🙂
Ona says
Just went looking for my old bundt pan…success! Question tho….cake flour? unsalted butter? Looking forward to making this yummy cake…thanks!
DeirdreLMLD says
Ona, I never use cake flour and I very rarely use unsalted butter. So plow ahead with your regular flour and, if you use unsalted butter, increase the salt a little. Bon appetite!
Woman of the House says
This looks wonderful, Deirdre! I am wondering, though, why the allspice is in brackets. Is it optional (but why would anyone want to skip allspice? lol)?
DeirdreLMLD says
Haha, yes it’s optional. Probably I made it once with and once without, and didn’t feel very strongly about it… Or something. But knock yourself out!
Mary Eileen says
Have you seen that hilarious post about “all the comments on every recipe blog”? I’m about to do one…..
I’d love to do this! I’m going to experiment with making it gluten free (for sad celiac souls like myself). But seriously, what a lovely and simple way to celebrate this Sunday.
Mary Eileen says
In case you missed it….http://the-toast.net/2014/09/04/eighteen-kinds-people-comment-recipe-blog/
Valerie says
Mary Eileen, not sure if you tried it GF but I did and it worked out great, I tweaked it a little( based on past tweaking experience on other cakes). See my comment below if you are interested. My two sons have CD( diagnosed this year) and am trying to adapt things as much as possible for them. I will not let go of baking that easily! 🙂
Anne-Marie says
I’m going to be one of those food blog commenters, too, because I I discovered at the last minute that I was out of vanilla and yogurt. I used brandy and sour cream instead, and the cake was delicious. The texture is marvelous–moist and firm. The brandy made the icing almost into a hard sauce. Three family members stood around while I iced the cake, asking for squeezes onto their outstretched fingers. I think I’ll stick to brandy in the future. Congratulations on inventing this recipe, Deirdre!
Carrie says
This is such a lovely, happy-sounding post! I have a bundt pan I use for festive breakfasts (Nigella Lawson’ s breakfast banana ring cake from ‘Feast’). I think I may use this spice cake recipe for my husband’s January birthday. Thank you very much!
Nancy Starkey says
Thank you for the recipe and planning to make it this weekend to share with friends after mass.
Catherine says
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe! We will be enjoying it tomorrow for the feast!
Valerie says
I made this cake today( a gluten free version because of Celiac) and it worked beautifully!
For those who have to be on a GF diet and are interested in adapting the recipe: I used cup4cup flour, reduced sugar to 1 cup and half and added 2 tsp of baking powder, all the rest is the same. No one could tell it was GF and everyone had second servings.
Thank you so much for this recipe!!! And the icing, my goodness, delicious! Do you have a St Lucy lussekatter recipe? I would like to make these this year for her feast day.
corina says
Deirdre, I made this cake on Sunday and you are right, it is excellent, very tasty and moist! I don’t have a bundt pan, so I used a “ciambella” pan; not as spectacular as a bundt, but still very good. I made it together with my 5 years old daughter, the pickiest cake eater in the world (she doesn’t event take a bite from the cakes I usually make), and she ate an entire slice because of the icing. She really loved the icing, I on the other hand really appreciated the taste and the texture. Thanks again for sharing!
Kristi says
I am replying very late to thank you for this delicious recipe, and to let you know I actually baked it for Christ the King that Sunday & it was a huge hit with our family! 🙂 I got multiple requests to “please make it again.” Wanted to note two things for anyone who might try it — I, too, apparently didn’t grease the “valleys” in the bundt pan enough, because I lost some of the top when removing it, but I was able to add it back on & once it had frosting you couldn’t really tell. 😉 Also, the baking time was much longer for mine, closer to 50 mins, I think. Not sure why because our oven seems to be accurate, but wanted to mention it just FYI. Thanks again, Deirdre!
Mary says
I made this yesterday for Epiphany. “King cake.” We hid a bean in it. It works. And was yummy, thanks!
Rosemary says
Thank you for sharing! I’ve made this a couple of times already and I love the taste, but I have to say that the baking time has been tricky, and I wondered about the asterisk next to the cooking temp which is not addressed in the recipe. Were you meaning to suggest a higher temp for certain types of containers? Right now I’m baking it in two small tinfoil loaf pans and I’m up to 65 minutes with it still undone in the middle. Any advice?
Leila says
Hi Rosemary — hoping your cake(s) came out okay…
The asterisk is just us not knowing at the time how to put a degree sign in there.
Sometimes tinfoil sort of insulates what’s inside… just keep baking, I guess!
Sherri says
Have you ever tried putting chopped nuts, like pecans or walnuts, in this cake? Just wondering if it will work or not. What do you think?
Wysteria says
Just starting my foray into liturgical living (after just starting my foray into Catholicism last year) and had to share. We did this cake for Epiphany and it was a huge hit. I used apple sauce instead of yogurt and instead of water in the icing I used maple syrup with a 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Total hit. Next time I will use 2 tsp of vinegar to activate the baking soda that was missing from the lack of yogurt. Delicious.
Diana says
Thank you SO much for this cake! It was seriously one of the best cakes I’ve ever had. I did the half-pumpkin half-yogurt version. I made a gluten-free and dairy-free version, and it translated splendidly. We made it for Epiphany, as a “king cake” in place of the normal yeast-based king cake that we have not been able to translate into a gluten-free version. We hid a bean in it and had a splendid time – and the cake was gone in under 24 hours! Thanks!!