Finnish Spice Cake (Maustekakku)

From: https://sisuhomemaker.com/finnish-spice-cake/

Ingredients

For the cake:

  • 1 Tbsp soft butter for the pan
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour 250 g
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg optional
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt 210 g
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, melted 226 g/2 sticks
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup granulated sugar 200 g

For the optional cream cheese whipped cream frosting:

  • 8 oz full fat cream cheese 227 g, room temperature
  • 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted 120 g
  • pinch sea salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cup heavy cream 360 g, very cold

Instructions

  1. Grease your bundt pan well with about 1 Tablespoon of soft butter and set aside. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
  2. In a microwave safe small bowl, melt butter (if not done already) and set aside to cool slightly.
  3. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves & nutmeg if using. Set aside.
  4. Add eggs and yogurt to a large bowl and whisk until mixed well. Add vanilla and melted butter to the egg mixture and mix well, then add sugar and whisk thoroughly again.
  5. Gradually add the dry ingredients, whisking well. Your end result will be a thick batter.
  6. Scoop the batter into your prepared pan. Gently smooth the top of the batter. 
  7. Bake 50-55 minutes. The cake will have risen in the pan, be browned and look set.
  8.  Let the cake cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, on a cooling rack or just on the stove, then place a large plate over the bundt pan and flip the cake onto the plate. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. Dust the whole cake with a light layer of icing sugar prior to slicing. If you want, proceed with the frosting instructions below!
  9. Make the frosting: Beat the cream cheese with a handheld electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
  10. Add the powdered sugar (sifted always works best!) and continue to beat until all the sugar is incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl a couple of times with a spatula.  Add the sugar slowly & slow down the mixer speed to avoid powdered sugar explosions.
  11. Add the pinch of salt and vanilla extract and beat well briefly until combined. ​
  12. With the mixer running, slowly & steadily add in the heavy cream. Continue to beat as the cream incorporates until you have a light, fluffy frosting that forms stiff peaks
  13. . You can frost the top of the entire cake once it's cooled if you wish or simply give guests the option of adding a dollop of frosting to their individual slice! 

Notes

  • You can add ground cardamom, 1/2 tsp or 1 tsp, to the spice mixture for this cake if you want! oddly enough, I don't find that it adds much to this particular recipe, but you can absolutely add it.
  • -Some people like to add raisins to this cake- you can mix in one cup of raisins after the dry ingredients are fully incorporated.