Spice Cake with Penuche Frosting
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Spice Cake with Penuche Frosting is a delicious, old-fashioned cake with a delightful, yummy frosting.
Flavorful spices: Cinnamon, Allspice, and Cloves. Nuts. And that wonderful frosting.
Penuche is actually an Italian word that means fudge-like candy that is tan in color. Similar to caramel. Or butterscotch. Sweet and buttery. Thick and fudgy. It’s simply dreamy.
This is the type of cake to serve at a family gathering or potluck dinner. Or a chuck wagon dinner.
Spice Cake with Penuche Frosting at a Chuckwagon Dinner
The first time I served this cake was at a Chuckwagon Dinner I hosted for our family and church. I set out tables with red checkered cloth under our awning and decorated them with jars of wildflowers from our pasture. The kids ran and the adults played horseshoes in the yard.
For the meal, I served Beef Brisket, Country Biscuits, Cowboy Beans, Cabbage Bacon Salad, Fried Apples, and this cake. Then after dinner, we sat around an open fire and listened to songs on the guitar. It was a lovely evening.
It kind of reminded me of those cowboy dinner music theatres. Have you ever been to one? We have the Prairie Rose Chuckwagon Supper here in Kansas. And my husband and I attended one the first year we were married near Colorado Springs called the Flying W Ranch. I suppose that’s where I got the idea.
Ingredients Needed to Make This Cake
(See the entire recipe at the bottom of this post.)
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
- ground cinnamon
- allspice
- ground cloves
- sugar
- brown sugar
- vegetable shortening
- eggs
- orange juice
- buttermilk
- walnuts or pecans
- butter
- hot milk
- powdered sugar
Instructions for this Recipe
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cloves, cinnamon, and allspice. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, cream together shortening and sugars. Add eggs one at a time and beat for 2 minutes. Add orange juice and buttermilk alternately with flour mixture and beat for another 2 minutes. Stir in chopped nuts. Pour mixture into greased oblong cake pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Allow to cool before frosting.
To make the Penuche frosting, in a medium-sized saucepan, combine butter and brown sugar. Bring to a boil. Continue to cook and stir for one minute or until thickened. Cool for 15 minutes.
I used dark brown sugar in the main recipe picture. A light brown sugar will result in a lighter colored frosting, such as the one above.
Add hot milk and beat until smooth with a wooden spoon. Beat in enough powdered sugar to allow for creamy spreading. Spread onto cooled cake. This recipe will serve 15-18 people.
Spice Cake with Penuche Frosting. Spicy cake and buttery topping. The two go perfectly together. Yum!
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Spice Cake with Penuche Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2/3 cup vegetable shortening
- 3 large eggs
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans chopped
Penuche Frosting:
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/4 cup hot milk
- 3 1/4 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cloves, cinnamon, and allspice. Set aside.
- In mixing bowl, cream together shortening and sugars. Add eggs one at a time and beat for 2 minutes. Add orange juice and buttermilk alternately with flour mixture and beat for another 2 minutes. Stir in chopped nuts. Pour mixture into greased oblong cake pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Allow to cool before frosting.
To Make the Penuche Frosting:
- In a medium-sized saucepan, combine butter and brown sugar. Bring to a boil. Continue to cook and stir for one minute or until thickened. Cool for 15 minutes.
- Add hot milk and beat until smooth with a wooden spoon. Beat in enough powdered sugar to allow for creamy spreading. Spread onto cooled cake. Serves 15-18.
Notes
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