Aww look, it’s fun-sized!
Spice up your life
I was in fourth grade when the Spice Girls hit the scene. My friend Jackie got their album for Christmas, and we’d dance around the house to it, wearing crazy outfits and hairdos. (One of the songs was called “Naked.” Jackie’s mom made sure we always skipped over it!)
Fun-sized Spice Cake
Today’s recipe was inspired by my Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars.
Initially, I’d aimed to make a maple version of the bars. However, the first attempt lacked any maple flavor whatsoever, and so I decided to make spice bars instead. In reaching for a new baking dish (for attempt #2), I happened upon a mini springform pan. And thus, this little spice cake was born. As I tried to think of a name, I kept going back to the fact that it’s a baby spice cake—just like the singer! (For those of you who weren’t teens in the 90s, that would be Emma Bunton, also known as “Baby Spice.”)
What singers or bands were popular when you were growing up?
I was a teen in the 90s, so groups like Blink 182, N’Sync, and the Backstreet Boys played at my middle-school dances. Oh, and Britney Spears, Hanson, and the Spice Girls.
I never got caught up in the Hanson craze, but a few of the girls in my class wanted to marry those boys! And my friend Robin actually bought the Spice Girls movie. (One of only three copies sold?) She made me watch it with her; as expected, it was awful! Aliens abducting the main characters? Really?? Someone thought that was a good idea?
Many of you will appreciate that this recipe is fat-free.
I didn’t actually set out to make it that way. But the batter looked too gooey, after I put in all the applesauce, to add any more liquid. Luckily, this doesn’t taste fat-free (especially when it’s frosted). But you can always replace some of the applesauce with oil if you so desire.
Eggnog “Baby Spice” Cake
(Makes 2-4 servings)
- 1/2 cup spelt or all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch stevia or 2 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tbsp agave or pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp milk of choice, such as almond milk or even vegan eggnog!
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- optional: raisins, walnuts, pecans, etc.
Combine dry ingredients and mix very well. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients (including applesauce), then pour dry into wet. Stir until just combined, then pour into a greased pan (I used a mini springform, but a 4×7 would also work), and cook at 350 F for 20-25 minutes, depending on the depth of your dish. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing the springform.
Frost with: Creamy Dreamy Frosting.
For fun, I added a tiny bit of rum to the frosting. But you can opt to leave it out or even use rum extract. And feel free to use a different frosting recipe if you’d prefer. Or you could always opt to pay tribute to the UK, home of the Spice Girls, and top this cake with Marmite. But I wouldn’t recommend that. No, not at all!
I just tried to make whipped topping yesterday and it worked quite well. Recipe is simple:
Ingredients:
1 cup chilled milk or milk replacement (I want to try it out with juice though, it seems like something that will work)
1 tsp of guar gum (or xanthan gum, but guar gum is cheaper)
1.5 tbsp sugar (I omitted because the soy milk I used was already sweetened)
Directions:
Put all ingredients in a bowl and WHIP IT. Start out with medium speed for 2 min and high speed for 5-6 mins until you reach the consistency you want. I used a kitchenaid mixer… it worked quite well.
I read somewhere the recipe was originally for vitamix, so I assume it’ll work for the vitamix or any super powerful blender. I don’t have one, but it worked well with a mixer. I wouldn’t dare do it by hand…
Also, a tip… It may work better if the bowl and whip were chilled as well. Just keep everything cold!
I put this here because I thought it’ll go well with the cake… it’s definitely light and airy.
Oh, wow; I haven’t seen the Spice Girls movie in ages! I think I was in third or fourth grade when they came out. I used to love them the Backstreet Boys, Destiny’s Child, Christina Aguilera, Janet Jackson, TLC… a whole lot of everything.
I grew up with Hilary Duff, Lindsay Lohan and especially the Olsen Twins (loved them since I was 4!!!) I never knew spice girls though!
I LOVE egg nog and I LOVE spice cake. This looks fantastic. Maybe I’ll skip Christmas cookies this year and make some eggnog spice cake instead 🙂
I just made this cake! It came out delicious! Thanks Katie! I always make your recipes =)
Wow, I’m so excited you already made it! You’re fast! 🙂 🙂
Yep, Nsync was pretty popular but none of the girls my age got into the whole boy band thing…. I think we were always listening to songs from about three years earlier. Nothing too good was out when I was in jr high.
That looks so great! And I’ll take some rum in my frosting!
Hi Katie! I am obsessed with your blog. So far, I’ve made the blondies, the cookie dough dip, the fudge, and the whipped cream (all in about a week!), and they’ve turned out awesome. Do you have any ideas for a vegan christmas dinner?
Maybe some of these? https://lett-trim.today/2011/11/23/healthy-thanksgiving-ideas/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> (Last year, I made the polenta casserole for Christmas.)
Or, my mushroom stroganoff is another idea. I really need to post some more savory recipes, huh? 😉
My friends and I were obsessed with the spice girls! We also got dressed up, and we would each be one of them and make up coordinated dances to go with out amazing lip synch.
‘Naked’ was a song about baring your soul, not necessarily your body. :/ Parent shouldn’t mollycoddle their children so much. Apart from that, this cake looks delicious. <3
You know, I don’t think I ever actually heard the song! I doubt my friend’s mom did, either. She was WAY overprotective. My friend wasn’t even allowed to have sleepovers!
I agree with you completely. My mom was very easygoing about things… I think if moms are too overprotective, the kids often end up acting out in rebellion. (Obviously, these are just my opinions lol.)
I had a friend who wasn’t allowed to go to sleepovers once she got into high school because her mom didn’t trust her. The mom had gotten pregnant in high school so she assumed her daughter might as well (she even made her take birth control!) In my opinion, when parents are like that that it just shows they are insecure about their parenting.