Zesty Spice Cake!

I made this "Zesty Spice Cake" for the first time this past winter. I threw the ingredients together and was really quite surprised how well the unintentional  "Zesty Spice Cake" turned out. 

The whole idea is to reduce the preparation time by using some pre-packaged items such as the Betty Crocker SuperMoist Cake Mix - Spice, Trader Joe's Organic Spiced Apple Sauce and Trader Joe's Multigrain Pancake Mix with other ingredients. I was pleasantly surprised how delicious, spicy and moist the cake tasted!

Later, I used the remaining "Zesty Spice Cake" to make a "Trifle" layered with yogurt sweetened with honey, and fruits -- strawberries, nectarines and peaches! Yummy!

I decided to post the recipe because the ladies at my Trader Joe's store and Oroweat Bakery Outlet all want to try this recipe. I told them I had to patent it first! I am sure you will all agree that it needs to be patented when you try it. 

Let me know what you think. Here we go!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist Cake Mix - Spice 18.25 oz (reserve two tablespoons for Streusel topping)
• 1/4 cup oats (reserve two tablespoons for Streusel topping)
• 1/4 cup Trader Joe's Multigrain Pancake mix (reserve two tablespoons for the Streusel topping, You can substitute another pancake mix.)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup chopped plums, apricots or dates
• 1/4 cup orange and lemon zest (reserve two tablespoons for the apple compote and Streusel topping
• 2 raw medium organic carrots, peeled and grated 
• Small piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated (about two tablespoons)
• 4 teaspoons pumpkin spice mix (comprising cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and allspice - reserve two teaspoons for apple sauce and Streusel topping. You can also make this from scratch using a coffee grinder to grind cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and allspice.)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt for apple and Streusel topping
• 3 tablespoons organic brown sugar (for apple sauce -- reserve one tablespoons for Streusel topping
• 1/2 cup melted butter (reserve one tablespoon in small bowl for the Streusel topping)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup squeezed orange juice (you can add a little lemon juice to the orange juice)
• 2 tablespoons honey 
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 -- 4oz cups Trader Joe's Organic Apple Sauce with Cinnamon (you can substitute any apple sauce)
• 1 cup apple compote (peel, core and chop two medium apples and cook it in the microwave with 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of zest, 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice and a pinch of salt). You can also use Trader Joe's Chunky Spiced Apple Sauce.

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare the chopped apple compote: peel, core, chop and cook the apple in the microwave with 2 teaspoons brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of zest and 1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice, drizzle of honey, and a pinch of salt. Allow the apple compote to cool before adding to other ingredients. Reserve some of the apple compote for serving with the cake.


2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 


3. Sift the Betty Crocker SuperMoist Cake Mix - Spice into a mixing bowl.


4. Add the dry ingredients: oats, raisins, chopped dried fruits (plums, apricots or dates), baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and orange and lemon zest; and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon, or large splatula.


5. Add the wet ingredients: spiced apple sauce, grated fresh ginger, beaten eggs, honey, melted butter, orange juice, vanilla and milk; and mix with a hand or electric whisk.

6. Fold the apple compote, grated carrots, raisins and chopped dried fruits into the cake mixture.


7. Spray two cake pans with Pam Spray or manually grease the cakes pans with butter, cooking oil, lard or other fat. To make it easier to remove the cake from the cake pan, you can sprinkle flour into the cake pan and use it to lightly coat the entire pan.


8. Pour the "Zesty Spice Cake" mixture into cake pans and top the cake mixture with the Streusel topping. See below for the Streusel topping.


9. Streusel topping: Add the reserved  Betty Crocker SuperMoist Cake Mix - Spice, oats, Trader Joe's Multigrain Pancake mix, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, orange and lemon zest, and pinch of salt to the melted butter to make the Streusel topping for the cake. The mixture should have a crumb-like texture.


10. Sprinkle the Streusel topping on the cake mixture.


11. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.To test for done-ness -- insert a bamboo barbecue stick into the center of the cake. It should come out clean.


12. Remove the cakes from the oven and cool on a wire rack. 


13. Serve the moist "Zesty Spice Cake" warm with a dollop of fresh cream and a generous scoop of the zesty spiced apple compote. You can also serve it with other seasonal fruits such as banana, strawberries, blackberries, nectarines, peaches, mango, raspberries, grilled pineapples or other summer fruits, or stewed pineapples (stew the pineapples with brown sugar, ginger and cloves).

14. Wrap the remaining "Zesty Spice Cake" with aluminum foil and place it in the freezer. To make it easier to use in the future, I suggest that you slice the remaining cake with a bread-knife first before you freeze it. It also makes sense to wrap four or five slices together so you don't have to unwrap all the slices just to take out a few.


The "Zesty Spice Cake" is great for Afternoon Tea or High Tea -- with a cup of organic Green or Black Tea or ice cold Iced Tea.


Try the "Zesty Spice Cake" recipe and give me your feedback! I would love to hear from you! Enjoy!

Calories:  The estimated calories for the Betty Crocker SuperMoist Cake Mix - Spice is 270 calories (prepared) with 120 calories from fat. The calorie count will be much higher with butter and the additional ingredients. You can substitute canola or grapeseed oil for the butter, if you want to do a lower calorie version of the "Zesty Spice Cake". However, butter makes everything taste so much better!

Another thing, do not use the Betty Crocker SuperMoist Cake Mix - Carrot. The carrot bits are made with carrot powder and coloring -- not real carrots! Not good stuff or "good eats" as Chef Alton Brown would say. Stay clear of it!

Prep and Total Cooking Time: I don't know -- maybe one or two hours! I was not keeping track or the time -- just having fun on a cold winter's night and trying to keep warm in the kitchen!

At a future date, I will post another version of the "Zesty Spice Cake" recipe with all organic and from scratch ingredients. Stay tuned!