Finally Fall! Spice Cakes Recipe

I need to get into a solid blogging groove.  I am always cooking, but I need to sit down and take pictures and then upload everything on to the blog.  Most of the time I finish cooking and then realize that I didn't take any pictures or write down any amounts of ingredients!  Must.get.better.

Anyway, fall is FINALLY here.  And it is my favorite season- the cool air, the changing leaves, the warm yummy foods!  Yesterday I made a batch of spice cakes to celebrate the season- even though today it's supposed to hit 80 degrees.  Go figure.

These cakes are easy and you can make 2 loaves, or many smaller cakes.  I opted for 1 loaf (made in a 9 inch loaf pan) and 5 smaller cakes to give away as gifts.  The beauty of these cakes is that the flavor is nice and light without being overly sweet, with just a hint of spice.  Perfect for serving with coffee!

Cake Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/3 cups vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

2 cups white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

Glaze Ingredients:

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2-1 cup confectioners sugar, depending on how much glaze you want to make

1/2 tsp cinnamon

water

Combine all dry ingredients and mix.  Combine all wet ingredients (milk, vanilla extract, oil, eggs) into a separate bowl.  Slowly add the dry ingredients and stir to combine, until batter is smooth.  It may look a little liquid-y, but trust me, it comes out perfect!

Divide batter in two, and pour each half into a greased 9 inch loaf pan.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour, or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean.  Cool on wire racks.

To make the glaze, combine confectioner's sugar, vanilla extract, and cinnamon.  Add water until you get a smooth glaze.  Consistency of the glaze will be quite thin.

Once cakes are mostly cool, use a pastry brush to brush the tops of the cakes with your glaze.  

Loaves can be sliced and frozen.  Slicing ahead of time makes it easy to defrost slices as needed : )

Enjoy!  More fall cooking and baking to come!