Spice cake has sweet crispy top

I made a spice cake from scratch. I've made it before, this time I made cupcakes. The cake was perfect, but the top was crunchy and sweet with little holes. Was the butter not incorporated enough and fried the sugar into a sweet top?

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Best Answer

German Apple Cake also responds like this. Must say that I've come to adore the crunchy top! :) But yes, you are right, it doesn't really happen if you bake it as a large cake. It's mostly just along the outer edge of the cake, in my case anyway.

My reasoning is that cupcakes contain less batter per surface area exposed to the oven... I think the oven just caramelizes the sugar in the batter. Think of meringue where the sugar isn't properly incorporated... you see little holes in the surface of the meringue. I'm not saying you should dissolve the sugar better in this cake recipe, but if the crunchy (slightly holey top) isn't desirable for you, try using caster sugar which dissolves easier.

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What does spice cake taste like?

Most spice cake recipes include your traditional warms spices. It's a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. These are all of your classic spices that are perfect for fall and winter baking. Some might also add cardamom, all spice, or even pumpkin pie spice.

What makes a cake sweeter?

Sweet spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, can increase the perceived sweetness of a cake, but they will also influence the final taste. Adding fruits or sweet vegetables, like@johanna suggested, can increase the sweetness of a cake too, but I guess your cake will be quite different from the original...

Is allspice good in cakes?

Uses: Allspice is more commonly used in savoury dishes and is a popular ingredient in Jerk mixes, curry powders, meat seasonings, mulled wine spices and tagine blends. Use sparingly. Mixed Spice is traditionally used in baking and adds a delicious flavour to cakes, biscuits and puddings.

How do you make a vanilla cake mix into a spice cake?

Ingredients

1 boxed cake mix, yellow, white or vanilla.

1/2 teaspoon allspice, (see below for substitute)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon.

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg.

water, as directed on cake mix box.

eggs, as directed on cake mix box.

oil, as directed on cake mix box.

How To Make Spice Cake

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Images: Maahid Photos, Gustavo Fring, Larissa Farber, Gustavo Fring