Recipe: Spice Cake

Spice Cake

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 t. baking soda

1 1/4 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground nutmeg

1/4 t. ground cloves

1/4 t. ground mace

1/4 t. ground allspice

1/2 t. salt

1/3 cup molasses

1/3 cup boiling water

4 T. unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

Powdered (confectioner's) sugar, optional

Preheat oven to 350.  Butter and flour an 8-inch square cake pan.

Combine the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt; set aside.

Stir the molasses into the boiling water until dissolved; set aside to cool. 

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add the eggs to the creamed mixture and beat well.  Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, alternating with the molasses/water mixture.

Transfer the batter to the prepared baking dish and bake 30-35 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Sprinnkle top with confectioner's sugar.

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My substitutions: Instead of sprinkling the sugar on top, I made an icing using powdered sugar and a little milk.  I didn't have ground mace but the cake turned out fine without it.