Spice Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Name: Spice Cake with Chocolate Frosting
Yield: 10-12 servings
Cuisine: Eastern Europe
Ingredients: 2 cups water; 2 cups granulated sugar; 1 cup neutral oil; 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg; 1 teaspoon ground cloves; 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 4 cups all-purpose flour; 2 teaspoons baking soda; 1 teaspoon baking powder; ¼ teaspoon kosher salt; 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened; 3 tablespoons whole milk; ½ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder; ½ cup powdered sugar

Total Time: About 1 hour, plus cooling time

Recipe Journey

PolandNew York CityHuntington, NY

New York City

Among the things Rabbi Arielle Stein inherited from the women of her family are silk scarves from her grandmother Sara’s collection, a love of fashion (you might know Arielle as the rabbi with a freaky shoe collection) that can be traced back to her great-grandmother Yehudit, and this spice cake that’s been made by three generations of women before her.

The recipe can be traced back to Yehudit who fled Poland around the turn of the 20th century. She was only 11 or 12 when her family home was set ablaze during a pogrom and they were forced to escape into a rainy night in a covered wagon. “It was a terrifying experience that haunted her for her entire life,” Arielle shares.

When the family settled on the Lower East Side, Yehudit and her sisters all became seamstresses. “My mother remembers her telling stories of the outfits she made for herself, including an all-lavender knitted suit that she wore to visit cousins in Philadelphia [where] she was photographed for the local newspaper,” Arielle adds.

Yehudit baked this spice cake laced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves for holidays and Shabbat — and it was the only time she was willing to use sugar in her cooking. The recipe was later taken over by her daughter-in-law Sara, whose husband Avraham Soltes was a rabbi in the 1940s at the same synagogue where Arielle now works in Manhattan.

In the 1990s, Arielle’s mother Dafna added her own touch to the recipe: covering the top with chocolate frosting. The scent of the cake always reminds Arielle of holidays at her parents and grandparents’ homes, but more recently, she baked it in her own home in Brooklyn for the first time. Making her family recipes has “felt like stepping into that lineage,” she says. “I feel very connected to the women who came before me.”

Cooking note: This recipe is a Depression Cake, a type of cake that became popular in the 1930s during the Great Depression, when ingredients like milk and eggs were considered luxuries. Though it contains no dairy or eggs, the cake remains fluffy.

Ingredients

10-12 servings

For the cake:

2 cups water
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup neutral oil
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

For the buttercream frosting:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons whole milk
½ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
½ cup powdered sugar

DessertsVegetarianEasyShabbatEastern EuropeCake

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Preparation

Step 1

In a saucepan, combine the water, sugar, oil, and spices. Set over high heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally for about 3-4 minutes, until the sugar has fully dissolved. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Step 3

Grease a 12 cup bundt pan with butter and dust with a thin layer of flour.

Step 4

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to ensure the leaveners are evenly distributed.

Step 5

Gradually whisk in the spice syrup until a thick batter forms. Be careful not to over-whisk.

Step 6

Transfer the batter to the prepared bundt pan.

Step 7

Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45-55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out dry. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10–15 minutes. Gently run a thin knife around the edges, then invert the cake onto a cooling rack and let it cool completely.

Step 8

Prepare the frosting: Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed, adding the milk one tablespoon at a time. Then increase to medium speed and continue mixing until the frosting reaches a spreadable consistency, about 4–6 minutes.

Step 9

Turn the stand mixer to a slow speed and gradually add the cocoa powder and powdered sugar. Mix until the buttercream is smooth and silky, about 2–3 minutes. If needed, pause to scrape down the sides of the bowl so all the sugar and cocoa are fully incorporated.

Step 10

Using an offset spatula, spread the buttercream in an even layer over the top of the cake and serve.

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