Buttermilk Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

I normally don't like to write a post if my photos totally suck but the fact is, this cake was so darn delicious that I took a couple of crappy photos in bad evening light and...well..here they are.  I wanted everyone to have this wonderful spice cake recipe that I came across on the blog:

The Hungry Mouse

This recipe is easy to throw together and results in a tender, very flavorful, not too spicy cake.  I made a double recipe and ended up with a very full 13x9 inch pan AND a 6 inch round cake pan. The cake is delicious by itself but the cream cheese icing really compliments it well and made it that much better.  I skimped a bit on the spices in the cake because it sounded like so much spice.  I barely put any cloves in because it's such a strong spice.  I put half the amount of ginger in because I ran out but the rest of the spices were the correct amounts.  

Buttermilk Spice Cake

2 cups cake flour
3/4 cups sugar
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cloves
2 Tbls. ground ginger
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
8 Tbls. butter, softened at room temperature
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs

Old-Fashioned Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 pound cream cheese
12 Tbls. butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 pound powdered sugar


Set oven to 350 degrees
Spray 8x8 inch pan with oil

Toss all of your dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir thoroughly.
Add butter & buttermilk.
Beat to incorporate & mixture becomes fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time.
Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 50-55 minutes or until tests done with a toothpick.

For the icing, mix all of the ingredients in a bowl until smooth. (I added whole milk to my icing because I wanted a thinner consistency). The hungry mouse gives icing directions in better detail.