Ethereal Spice Cake

Well, we've stumbled our way into June, and along with the (mostly) warmer climate and ever growing garden comes the inevitable BBQs, picnics and late-night study (or report-writing) sessions. The coffee maker in the staff room has been getting a lot of use lately, and while there's never a shortage of doughnuts or cookies on the table, sometimes it's nice to have a homemade cake alongside the mugs of caffè crema and (my favourite) French vanilla.

I can never wait to get into the kitchen, and this time I went armed with a jar of aquafaba and the leftovers of both a block of cream cheese and my Scented Cinnamon Honey Butter. The contents of my spice cabinet and a cup of buttermilk soon followed, and eventually a rock sugar-crusted Bundt cake was stinking up the kitchen something fierce. The combination resulted in a soft, tender and exotically spiced cake, which needed nothing but a dusting of cinnamon and icing sugar to top it all off. 

Upon arriving in the staff room, half of the cake went like wildfire, enjoyed with the morning break routines. The rest of it was packed up and sent home with one of my teacher-parent-friends to enjoy over the weekend with her family!

Ethereal Spice Cake
Makes one 9" Bundt, 16 slices
 

Spice Mixture
1 tsp allspice
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cardamom
¾ tsp ginger
¼ tsp white pepper
1⁄4 tsp nutmeg
¾ tsp salt

Cake
¼ cup shortening
¼ cup Scented Cinnamon Honey Butter
¼ cup cream cheese
1 tbsp vanilla
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
½ cup aquafaba
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup cornstarch
½ tbsp baking powder
¾ tsp baking soda
2 tbsp rock sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9” Bundt pan.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the Spice Mixture. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl cream together the shortening, Scented Cinnamon Honey Butter, cream cheese, vanilla and sugar until well combined.
4. Add the egg and aqafaba, followed by the Spice Mixture, beating well.
5. Beat in the all-purpose flour, followed by all the buttermilk.
6. Beat in the whole wheat flour, cornstarch, baking powder and baking soda until smooth.
7. Fold in the rock sugar.
8. Pour into the prepared pan and tap on the counter to remove air bubbles.
9. Bake for 45 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.
10. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 152.4
Total Fat: 6.3 g
Cholesterol: 20.1 mg
Sodium: 150.9 mg
Total Carbs: 20.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.2 g
Protein: 2.2 g