As we enter into the glorious fall season, I invite you to treat yourself to my signature "Hot Toddy" Spice Cake. This cake has all of the warming ingredients of a hot toddy cocktail but you can eat it any time of the day! The combination of warming spices, hot tea, honey, and bourbon will envelop you like a snug, cozy blanket. This spice cake recipe is perfect for holiday celebrations or for chilly autumn or winter nights. I love to serve this cake sprinkled with confectioner's sugar and drizzled with my homemade Gooey Apple Cider Caramel Sauce.
I Have Fallen In Love With Fall
Fall is my favorite time of the year. During the fall, I wake up early and stroll around my neighborhood. I revel in the sights and sounds of the season as I crunch along the sidewalk, which is glistening with morning dew and tinged with splashes of fiery red, orange, and yellow. When my morning walk ends, I pour myself a cup of tea and welcome the day quietly before the "getting ready for school and work" chaos erupts.
Fall is a time for shorter days, school carnivals, football games, and the giddy anticipation for the upcoming holiday season. In the fall, I love cooking and eating seasonal meals and snacks. In addition to my "Hot Toddy" Spice Cake, my favorite fall recipes include:
- The Best Homemade Spiced Apple Cider
- Chicken Thighs with Apple Cider Sauce
- Oven Roasted Autumn Vegetables
- Spiced Chocolate Chip Cookies
Hot Toddies and Spice Cake
When I was a kid, my parents hosted parties and get-togethers beginning in the fall and lasting throughout New Year's. My mom often made hors d'oeuvres and a fun seasonal drink (or two!) for our guests. She would make Spiced Apple Cider and Hot Buttered Rum (or, for the children, she would make "Hot Buttered"). On particularly cold days, she would sometimes make a Hot Toddy for the adults.
I always invited a friend over during these parties. I remember spying on the adults, sipping our "Hot Buttered"s, and nibbling on spice cake. There was a landing at the top of our stairs which provided a perfect vantage point for amateur spies. It was always a fun, festive atmosphere and I look back on these days with great fondness. It was a great time to be a kid!
What are your family's traditions during the fall? I, myself, love watching college football and making football snacks! College football is my passion. I love hooting and hollering for my beloved teams: the Florida State Seminoles and the Texas Longhorns. I love drinking tea and coffee all day long. On very cold days, I love curling up and reading a book. This is my favorite time of year and I am so thrilled I get to spend it with YOU! Happy Fall!
Essential Tools
Please note, this post contains affiliate links which means I will receive a small commission on the sale of these items at no cost to you.
All of my posts contain my recommendations for essential tools. I have researched these tools. Many of them are already in my kitchen. The ones that are not come highly rated. I do the research so you don’t have to and I only recommend high-quality tools.
If you are just starting to furnish your kitchen with tools or if you are looking to expand your kitchen toolkit, be sure to reference Expert Guide: Equip Your Kitchen for Less Than $200. This guide contains links to all of the equipment items I recommend for a basic kitchen set up.
My essential tools when making this recipe include the following:
- KitchenAid KSM75WH Stand Mixer, 4.5 Qt, White
- Pyrex Glass Mixing Bowl Set
- Cuisinart Chef's Classic Nonstick Bakeware 9-½-Inch Fluted Cake Pan
"Hot Toddy" Spice Cake
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 3 cups all purpose flour, plus more to dust your bundt pan
- 2 ½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. fine salt
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- ½ tsp. ground cloves
- ½ tsp. ground allspice
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar lightly packed
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup honey
- ⅔ cups strong black tea
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 2 large lemons zested and juiced
- ½ cup good bourbon like Maker's Mark
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter and flour a 10-inch bundt pan.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, clove, allspice. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fixed with a paddle attachment, mix together eggs, sugar, light brown sugar, vegetable oil, honey, tea, vanilla, lemon juice, lemon zest, and bourbon. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add in the flour mixture, scraping the sides of the bowl as you go. The batter will be runny.
- Pour the batter into the bundt pan and bake, rotating once, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 55 minutes to an hour. Cool in the pan 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
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