Caramel Raisin Spice Cake
This Caramel Raisin Spice Cake is surely to satisfy all your warm and cozy cake needs! This moist and incredibly soft spice cake is loaded with California Raisins, tons of classic spices, and is topped off with caramel buttercream and a drizzling of salted caramel. Easy and delicious!
I want to thank California Raisins for sponsoring this recipe! As always, all opinions and ideas are 100% my own. Check out their website, californiaraisins.ca for more holiday recipe ideas!
Why you’ll love this recipe
Raisins for a sweet, chewy bite: California Raisins make the perfect addition to this caramel spice cake. The naturally sweet raisins add a delicate sweetness and texture to the moist cake!
Quick and easy-to-make cake: This spice cake is an absolute breeze to make! The batter comes together in less than 15 minutes, and the frosting is quick and easy to make as well.
Warm and cozy spices: This spice cake has all those amazing spices we all know and love: cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg.
Soft and moist spice cake: The texture of this spice cake can only be described as incredibly moist, and SO soft!
Salted caramel: Homemade salted caramel is simple to make, and really adds that extra oomph to this cake. The salted caramel is used in the buttercream and drizzled on top.
Ingredient notes
Raisins: I used classic California Raisins in this Caramel Raisin Spice Cake recipe. California Raisins are a versatile and naturally sweet ingredient that are perfect for both snacking and baking!
Salted caramel: I used homemade salted caramel (recipe below), but feel free to use store bought if you prefer! The homemade version features heavy cream and butter in the recipe.
Vegetable oil: Oil in the batter makes the cake extra moist.
Nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, ginger and cloves: These spices are the classic flavours to a spice cake, and they pair well with the salted caramel.
Sour cream: Sour cream adds additional moistness and richness to the cake! I recommend using full fat sour cream.
How to make Caramel Raisin Spice Cake
1. Combine wet ingredients: Add the brown sugar, white sugar, sour cream, oil, eggs and vanilla into a large mixing bowl. Then, using a whisk, beat ingredients together until the mixture is smooth and well-combined.
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients: In a separate mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda salt, and spices. Whisk to combine.
3. Add the dry & wet together: Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk together until smooth. Try not to overmix!
4. Fold in raisins: Add in the raisins, then quickly and gently fold them through the batter.
5. Add to pan & bake: Pour the cake batter into a non-stick cake pan, then place into the oven to bake! When done, allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.
How to make salted caramel
Start by adding sugar and water into a large pot over medium heat. Allow the sugar to dissolve in the water, then increase the heat to medium-high, letting the mixture turn a light amber colour. During this caramelization period, make sure you DO NOT stir it! Stirring the mixture can cause little sugar clumps/crystals to occur, leading to an unsmooth sauce.
After the sugar mixture has turned amber in colour, add the cubed butter, whisking as it’s added. The mixture will bubble up quite a bit, so using a big and long enough whisk is important. If the butter doesn’t seem to incorporate, continue to vigorously whisk it off the heat until it does! After the butter is well-incorporated, add the heavy cream, vanilla, and salt, then whisk until well-combined, again. Now, let the caramel cool to at least room-temperature before using!
Tips & tricks
Use room temperature ingredients. Using room temperature ingredients means that the cupcakes can bake more evenly, meaning you’ll get a softer and fluffier cupcake.
Weigh your ingredients. Weighing the ingredients will yield the best and most consistent results. Volumetric measurement can be off by significant amounts, leading to inconsistent baking.
Whip butter in buttercream until pale. Whipping the butter until it looks very pale and fluffy before adding the confectioner’s sugar is what creates that airy, fluffy, and beautiful buttercream.
Don’t overmix: The batter should only be mixed just until it becomes smooth. Overmixing will make the cupcakes dense and tough, and they won’t rise properly.
Use full fat sour cream: The fat in the sour cream adds moisture and richness to the cake.
Add confectioner’s sugar slowly: If you want a smooth frosting, it is best to add the confectioner’s sugar slowly instead of all at once.
Low and slow for the caramel: When you’re trying to caramelize the sugar for the caramel, it is important to keep the temperature lower, to ensure you don’t burn the sugar. It can be tempting to crank the heat, but I recommend not going higher than medium on your stove.
Do not stir the caramelizing sugar after it has begun to boil: You can whisk and stir the caramelizing sugar to mix it up until the point it begins to boil. Once it reaches a boil, refrain from stirring with a utensil, as it will cause clumps. If you wish to stir the boiling sugar, just use the handle of your pot to swish the mixture around.
Use a large pot for the caramel: It may seem like a small amount of caramel for such a big pot, but trust me – it’s needed! The caramel bubbles up significantly when you add both the butter and the cream, so a large pot is needed to stop it from boiling over.
Equipment required
Cake pan: I recommend using a great non-stick 9” pan, with taller sides (such as one you’d use for a cheesecake).
Stand mixer: A stand mixer or a hand mixer is essential to making the buttercream!
How to store the cupcakes
Fridge: The cake can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-6 days.
Freezer: The unfrosted cake can be placed in a freezer bag and frozen for up to 3 months.
FAQ
I do not recommend it as the fat content in the sour cream adds to the overall texture of the cake. You can use it if that’s all you have, but the texture of the cake may alter.
As a substitute for 1 tsp allspice, you can add ½ tsp cinnamon + ½ tsp ground cloves + pinch of nutmeg.
No, you can use a hand mixer for the buttercream in place of a stand mixer.
See storage instructions above!
This is likely due to too much flour being added when measuring volumetrically! I recommend weighing your ingredients for precise measurement.
If you’re in a pinch, you can use milk that has been mixed with 2 ¼ tsp white vinegar.
Unfortunately, there is no coming back from burned caramel.
This is likely caused by stirring during the caramelization process, or that you didn’t use a clean dry whisk when stirring in the butter and cream.
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Get the Recipe: Caramel Raisin Spice Cake
Ingredients
Raisin Spice Cake
- 1 ¾ cups (210g) All Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 1 ½ tsp Cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1/2 tsp Allspice
- 1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
- Pinch of Nutmeg
- 1 cup (220g) Brown Sugar
- 1/3 cup (66g) White Sugar
- 3/4 cup (110g) Vegetable Oil
- 3/4 cup (180g) Sour Cream, (full fat)
- 2 Large Eggs,, at room temperature
- 2 tsp Vanilla
- 1 cup (160g) California Raisins
Salted Caramel
- 1 cup (200g) White Sugar
- 1/4 cup (60g) Water
- 6 tbsp (85g) Unsalted Butter,, at room temperature and cubed
- 1/2 cup (115g) Heavy Cream
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
Caramel Buttercream
- 1 cup (227g) Unsalted Butter,, softened
- 3 ½ cups (420g) Confectioner’s Sugar,, sifted
- 6 tbsp (130g) Salted Caramel
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla
Equipment
- Stand mixer
Instructions
Raisin Spice Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare a 9” nonstick cake pan that has taller sides (like you’d use for a cheesecake) with baking spray and a parchment round . In a large mixing bowl, add the brown sugar, white sugar, oil, sour cream, eggs and vanilla, then beat together with a whisk until the mixture is smooth and well-combined. Set aside.
- In a separate medium mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves and nutmeg. Whisk until well combined, then pour the dry mixture into the wet mixture and whisk together until smooth. Finally, add the raisins and fold them into the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, then place into the oven to bake for 35-45 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Salted Caramel
- In a large saucepan over medium heat add sugar and water. Stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture begins to boil.
- Once the mixture begins to boil turn the heat up to medium-high and allow the mixture to boil, ensuring not to stir it, until it turns amber in color (stirring the mixture will cause crystallization, so refrain from stirring).
- Once the mixture has become amber in color, add the cubed butter and mix very vigorously to combine. (Be careful, however, because the mixture will bubble and rise up rapidly when you add the butter). If the butter seems to be separating from the caramel, remove it from the heat, then whisk vigorously until it comes together.
- Next, carefully add in the heavy cream (it will bubble rapidly again), vanilla, and salt. Whisk until smooth and well-combined. Remove the caramel from the heat, allow to cool for 5 minutes, then cover tightly, and allow to cool to room temperature before using. (Makes 1 cup)
Caramel Buttercream
- Add butter to a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high until butter is doubled in volume, and looks light and fluffy.
- Turn the stand mixer to low and slowly add the confectioners sugar. Beat until completely incorporated, then add in the salted caramel and vanilla. Beat until well-combined and fully incorporated.
- Spread the buttercream over the top of the cake, then drizzle with additional caramel, and serve.
