Spice Cake with Apple Cider Buttercream

It's really here--the chill in the air, the crisp winds, the different position of the sun in the sky. Finally. It's time for roasted dinners, fires in the first fireplace I've had since I was a child, and cups of spicy apple cider.
It's also time to make all sorts of yummy, spicy, Fall-ish things, and Spice Cake is one of my faves. I tried a new recipe today, because it's a special day--the Irish/Celtic festival of Samhain.
Samhain was, of course, the precursor to Halloween. And yes, Halloween is over, but every year, about a week later, the sun's position in the sky becomes what's called a cross-quarter point--it's halfway between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice. Without getting too deep into things, I'll relate to you that the ancients of many cultures believed these days (the other one being Beltane, in May) to be a time when the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead are thin, and communication is possible. Games of divination and fortune telling were common, as was honoring your ancestors, and doing your best to keep the baddies away. Apples, long a symbol of life after death and immortality, are always featured prominently during this time, as did other traditionally harvest-themed foods.
These days, it's seen as sort of a New Year's Day for some pagans--a chance to chuck the bad things that happened, look forward to the new year, make some goals and bring some luck your way.
Although for me this is not a religious celebration, I like to stay in touch with my Irish roots and observe the day's passing. I light a few candles and think about loved ones lost. I choose to do this on the cross-quarter day, keeping Halloween a fun, American-style holiday that's a lot about my kids--the same as Christmas.
And of course, as on every Sabbat I can, I bake. This year, a new Spice Cake recipe fell in my lap from one of my favorite recipe resources. It's not like so many I'd had before--not gingerbread-y, dense, and assertive with loads of molasses. This one was a butter cake, given a healthy does of spices and just a bit of molasses. One of the reasons for its wonderfully spicy flavor is tha the spices aren't just mixed in with the dry ingredients--they're heated with a portion of the fat. Not only does heating spices bring out their flavor, nothing carries the flavor better than fat. The spices infuse it, really waking up, and they permeate the entire cake. so much better. I have substituted some oil for part of the butter here for added moistness.
Light and fluffy, and frosted with an Apple Cider Buttercream, topped with crunchy toasted walnuts, this is a perfect fit for any holiday celebration--and easy enough for a weekday dessert, on the plainest of days.
For more info on Samhain, click here.

Spice Cake with Apple Cider Buttercream

Cake:
160g (1 cup plus 2 tbsp) unbleached AP flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
pinch orange zest
1 egg plus 2 yolks, room temperature
8 tbsp butter, soft (65-70 degrees)
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp vanilla
175g ( 1 cup minus 2 tbsp) granulated sugar
1 tbsp molasses
1/2 cup (120g) plain yogurt

Prepare 1 9" cake pan with a parchment round, and spray with oil. Preheat oven to 350.
In a small saute pan, mix all spices with oil, and heat until warm. Let cool.
In a medium bowl mix together flour, soda, powder, orange zest and salt.
In a large mixer bowl, cream butter with sugar until very light and fluffy, 5 minutes. Add cooled spiced oil. With mixer on low, add eggs and yolks, scraping after each addition. Add vanilla. Add 1/2 of dry mixture, allow to incorporate, then add 1/2 of yogurt. Followed by half of dry mixture, rest of yogurt, and rest of dry mix. Beat on low until just blended, then remove from mixer and scrape a few times with spatula to combine. (My cake had a few too many holes!)
Spread evenly into prepared pan. Rap several times on counter to help eliminate air bubbles. Bake 18-22 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then turn onto a rack to cool completely.

Apple Cider Buttercream (American Style)
1 8oz bar cream cheese, soft
5 tbsp butter, soft
3 tbsp apple cider jelly
pinch orange zest (optional)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Mix butter and cream cheese together til smooth. Add jelly, and powdered sugar, and zest if using, beat til smooth.
Garnish with chopped toasted walnuts, if desired.

Last year's Samhain--Spicy Apple Quick Bread