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My Grandma’s easy boiled Spice Cake is my most treasured dessert recipe. As a sweet brunch addition, birthday cake, or party dessert idea, there’s no wrong time to savor a slice.
This is the Best Spice Cake Recipe
Every summer when I was young, my family would pack up our car and drive north to a cabin for am extended family vacation. One taste of this Spice Cake recipe takes me instantly back there. All credit for this easy Spice Cake goes to my Grandma, who perfected and shared the recipe with me.
When Grandma made her Spice Cake, it was always moist with delicious flavor and gone within the first two days. While it likely won’t last long in your family either, the sweet memories you make while whipping it up time and time again sure will.
Table of Contents
Spice Cake Recipe Ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
- Raisins: I love the chew factor these offer, but if you’re not fond of regular raisins, golden raisins, dried cranberries, or chopped dried figs would also work well. Or omit entirely.
- All purpose flour: Sift the flour together with the baking powder and baking soda to not only mix those ingredients, but to also ensure you don’t end up with any flour pockets hiding inside your cake batter (white flour is obvious in a dark cake like this one).
- Cinnamon
- Powdered Sugar
- Cloves
- Baking Soda
- Baking Powder
- Vanilla
- Eggs
- Water
- Butter
- Sugar
How to make Spice Cake
- In medium saucepan over medium heat, combine raisins, sugar, water, butter, cinnamon, and cloves. Bring to a boil; remove from heat and cool completely, at least one hour. Pour into a large mixing bowl.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease 12-inch bundt pan. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk eggs into cooled spice mixture until uniformly combined. Add dry ingredients in 3 batches, whisking well after each addition.
- Pour batter in to prepared pan.
- Bake for 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely. Transfer to a plate or wire rack.
- To make the glaze, in a small bowl whisk together powdered sugar, water, and vanilla. Drizzle over cooled cake.
Tips and variations for the Best Spice Cake Recipe
- Yield: This Spice Cake recipe makes one bundt cake, which serves between 12 to 20 depending on the thickness of your slices. This usually serves about 16 nice slices when I’m cutting.
- Your pan plan: My Grandma always made this in a 9-inch x 13-inch pan with stellar results, so if you don’t own (or don’t want to use) a bundt pan, that’s certainly a great option.
- One bowl: I love that this recipe is mixed by hand in one bowl, but you can certainly mix the cake batter in the bowl of a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment or with an electric mixer by hand. The batter can be mixed on medium-high speed.
- Mix up your spices: Customize the spice blend you use in your spice cake. Consider ground ginger, nutmeg, or allspice.
- Spice up your glaze: To echo the spices in the cake batter, feel free to add a pinch of cinnamon to your powdered sugar glaze if you like. Or, try a drizzle of Caramel Sauce with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
- Nuts: Fold in toasted walnuts, almonds, or hazelnuts into your spice cake batter if you love some extra crunch.
- Cream Cheese frosting: For the ultimate indulgence, slather on a thick layer of homemade cream cheese frosting. This works better if you make the spice cake in a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan. If you use a cake pan, line it with parchment paper for the easiest clean-up.
Storing this Spice Cake Recipe from Scratch
Cover any extra cake in plastic wrap and store covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Freezer
Cool an unglazed Spice Cake to room temperature, then wrap tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight at room temperature, then glaze and slice.
Recipe for Spice Cake FAQs
Carrot cake and spice cake both have a lot of similar spices (warming spices like cinnamon, cloves, or nutmeg). However, carrot cake also has shredded carrots, while this version of spice cake has a boiled raisin mixture. Carrot cakes are often made in to a layer cake, while spice cakes are usually made in a sheet pan or bundt pan.
For a butter-free spice cake, substitute an equal amount of canola or vegetable oil or even unsweetened applesauce.
Substitute your favorite one-for-one gluten free flour blend to make this cake gluten free.
More fall desserts
If you’re craving more fall baking recipes, try Pumpkin Bars, Apple Cider donuts rolled in brown sugar and cinnamon, or Cinnamon Apple Cake.
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Spice Cake
Ingredients
For the Spice Cake:
- 2 cups raisins (see note 1)
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups water
- ¾ cup butter
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (see note 2)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 eggs beaten
For the glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In medium sauce pan, combine raisins, sugar, water, butter, cinnamon, and cloves. Bring to a boil; remove from heat and cool completely, at least one hour. Pour into a large mixing bowl.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease 12-inch bundt pan (or 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan). In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Whisk eggs into cooled spice mixture until uniformly combined. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, whisking well after each addition.
- Pour batter in to prepared pan and bake for 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely.
- To make the glaze, in a small bowl whisk together powdered sugar, water, and vanilla. Drizzle over cooled cake.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Raisins: I love the chew factor these offer, but if you’re not fond of regular raisins, golden raisins, dried cranberries, or chopped dried figs would also work well. Or omit entirely.
- All purpose flour: Sift the flour together with the baking powder and baking soda to not only mix those ingredients, but to also ensure you don’t end up with any flour pockets hiding inside your cake batter (white flour is obvious in a dark cake like this one).
- Yield: This Spice Cake recipe makes one bundt cake, which serves between 12 to 20 depending on the thickness of your slices. This usually serves about 16 nice slices when I’m cutting.
- Storage: Cover any extra cake in plastic wrap and store covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Cool an unglazed Spice Cake to room temperature, then wrap tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight at room temperature, then glaze and slice.
- Your pan plan: My Grandma always made this in a 9-inch x 13-inch pan with stellar results, so if you don’t own (or don’t want to use) a bundt pan, that’s certainly a great option.
- Spice up your glaze: To echo the spices in the cake batter, feel free to add a pinch of cinnamon to your powdered sugar glaze if you like.
If one omits the raisins do you still boil the remaining ingredients and are the quantities the same?
Hi Colleen, yes. Still boil the remaining ingredients and the amounts stay the same. I hope you love this cake! – Meggan
I have made this cake at least half a dozen times since finding Meggan’s recipe a few months ago and it comes out perfect every single time! I’m making yet another one today! Sometimes I make the Bundt version, sometimes I’ll make two loaves. (I usually don’t make the glaze – we like it plain, or with a smidge of butter) It seems to taste even better after a day or two, wrapped in plastic. If you remember the A&P Spanish Bar Cake, this recipe is VERY similar. (I add approximately 1/4-1/2 tsp allspice, ginger and ground nutmeg with the other spices)
Thank you so much for writing, Lisa! I’m so happy that you love it! 😊 – Meggan
For the 2 cup water, could I reduce it to 1.5 cups and use 1/2 cup molasses? Any other modifications needed? Thanks, can’t wait to make this for my hubby’s bday. He loves spice cake with fruit!
Hi Laurie, I haven’t tried substituting water for molasses with this cake. More common would be to use molasses instead of some of the sugar and reduce the amount of water by a couple tablespoons, but I haven’t tried that here, either. Sorry about that! I wouldn’t want your husband’s cake to be ruined. Sorry! – Meggan
Omg this is the best cake my husband and I have tried . I did add a little extra spice ( our preference ) . Thankyou so much ! We loved it .
So glad you both loved it! – Meggan
So I made this twice first time following the recipe to a tea was a lil disappointed not enough spice flavor for my taste. So the second time I added an teasooon of allspice to the mix which kicked up the cloves and cinnamon giving it more flavor. Turned out perfect also added some lemon juice to the glaze kicking it up a notch as well
Hi Trista, thanks so much for writing! I’m glad you were able to adjust the recipe to your taste on the second try! Thanks for sharing! – Meggan
could you sub some buttermilk for some of water to make it really moist
Hi Jalena, sure! Sounds delicious! – Meggan
I made this for a fall church function. Looked so pretty on the table, not a crumb left, many many compliments. Thank you for sharing. This one’s a winner
You’re so welcome, Julia! I’m so happy it was a hit. – Meggan
Meggan: THIS CAKE was to-die-for! I made it for myself on my birthday, and my husband also pronounced it “a definite do-over!” (Easy for him to say, haha!). Thanks for your reply to my earlier question about technique for drizzling the frosting! It turned out just fine. And… may I ask you another, kind of shot-in-the-dark question? I have been on a quest (for years) to find a recipe for the old-time (1960’s) A&P Spanish Bar Cake — or something very similar! This cake was quite close in taste, but the consistency of the other, as I remember it, was a little darker and a little more dense… and it had what I think today must have been a cream cheese frosting… (and of course, it was baked as a loaf, which is not at all important to me 🙂 Thanks!!
Making this today! How do you drizzle the icing so perfectly?
Hi Jill, so exciting! My best advice is to make sure the cake is 100 percent cool when you’re ready to glaze. If it is warm at all, the glaze will melt and pool off the cake, even clump some. Make sure the glaze is also a consistency to be drizzled, if it is somewhat stiff, you can add a little bit more water, or if it is too loose, you can add a little more powdered sugar. I hope you love this cake! Please write back and let me know how it turns out! – Meggan
My husband requested an old fashioned raisin spice cake for his birthday. When I found your recipe I felt it was perfect. The recipe was easy to follow and cam together perfectly. The cake was nice and moist and the flavor was heavenly! My husband LOVED it, and he is hard to please when it comes to spice cakes. I finally found the perfect recipe! Thank you!
Hi Rita, I’m so glad you both loved this cake! Take care! – Meggan