Rich, moist, and perfectly spiced, this Bundt cake is packed with warm notes of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Sour cream creates a tender, buttery crumb, while a decadent maple icing adds just the right amount of sweetness. With its deep, aromatic flavors, this cake is the perfect centerpiece for fall gatherings and holiday celebrations.
Extra-Spiced Sour Cream Cake with Maple Icing
Megan Benson
12
20 minutes
Ingredients
For the cake
- All-purpose flour 250 g 2 cups
- Baking powder 6 g 1½ tsp
- Baking soda 2.5 g ½ tsp
- Salt 3 g ½ tsp
- Ground cinnamon 10.5 g 1 tbsp + 1 tsp
- Ground nutmeg 3 g 1½ tsp
- Ground ginger 4 g 2 tsp
- Ground cloves Approx. 2 g Scant 1 tsp
- Ground allspice or star anise 0.5 g ¼ tsp
- Vegetable or canola oil 145 g ⅔ cup
- Dark brown sugar, packed 213 g 1 cup
- Vanilla extract 8 g 2 tsp
- Large eggs 100 g 2 eggs, without shells
- Full-fat sour cream 240 g (estimated) 1 cup
- Weights are standard approximate conversions, not your recorded scale measurements. The sour cream is a proposed reconstruction: the original used ½ cup sour cream plus ½ cup applesauce. Using 240 g sour cream replaces both, but your actual quantity may have differed. The original also allows ¼ tsp each of allspice and star anise if you used both.
For the maple icing
- Unsalted butter 57 g 4 tbsp
- Dark brown sugar 107 g ½ cup packed
- Whole milk 45 g3 tbsp
- Maple extract Approx. 1 g ¼ tsp
- Powdered sugar 75 g Scant ⅔ cup
- Chopped toasted pecans (optional) 15 g 2 tbsp
Directions
Make the cake
Preheat the oven. Heat to 350°F (177°C), positioning the rack in the center. Have a 10-cup Bundt pan ready.
Combine the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice or star anise.
Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the oil, dark brown sugar, vanilla, and eggs until smooth and fully incorporated.
Add the flour and sour cream. Add half the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring gently until mostly combined. Fold in the sour cream, followed by the remaining dry ingredients. Mix just until no visible flour remains. Avoid overmixing.
Prepare the pan. Thoroughly grease the Bundt pan with baking spray containing flour, ensuring that all the crevices are coated. Transfer the batter to the pan and smooth the surface.
Bake. Bake for approximately 33–38 minutes; aim for an internal temperature of 200–205°F (93–96°C) at the center.
195°F: Start checking for doneness.
200–205°F: Ideal target for a moist, fully baked cake.
210°F+: Greater risk of a dry cake.
Cool. Let the cake rest in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Carefully invert onto the rack and allow it to cool completely before icing.
Make the maple icing
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, brown sugar, and milk.
Bring to a gentle simmer, whisking frequently, and cook for 1–2 minutes until the sugar dissolves.
Remove from heat and whisk in the maple extract and powdered sugar until smooth.
Allow the icing to cool briefly until thickened but still pourable.
Drizzle over the cooled cake and immediately sprinkle with toasted pecans, if desired.
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