Spice Cake With Brown-Butter Frosting

This fine-grained 3-layer cake, fragrant with notes of cinnamon and ginger, captures all the best flavors of the holidays.

Serves: 16
Work Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes plus cooling

Cake:

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup margarine or butter (2 sticks), softened
5 large eggs
1 cup milk

Brown-Butter Frosting:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), no substitutions
1 box (16 ounces) confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup walnuts, toasted and finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with waxed paper, grease paper. Dust pans with flour. In medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and cloves.

2. In large bowl, combine both sugars, breaking up any lumps of brown sugar. Add margarine or butter and, with mixer at low speed, beat until blended, scraping bowl often with rubber spatula. Increase speed to medium, beat 4 minutes or until light and creamy, occasionally scraping bowl. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. At low speed, alternately add flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beat until blended.

3. Pour batter into pans and spread evenly. Stagger pans on 2 oven racks, so layers are not directly above one another. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of each layer comes out clean. Cool layers in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Run small metal spatula or knife around edges of pans to loosen layers, invert onto wire racks and remove waxed paper. Cool layers completely.

4. Prepare Brown-Butter Frosting: In small skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat and cook until butter is golden-brown, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour butter into large bowl, cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

5. To cooled butter, add confectioners' sugar, milk, and vanilla. With mixer at medium speed, beat ingredients until smooth. With mixer at high speed, beat frosting until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Makes about 2 1/3 cups.

6. Place 1 cake layer, rounded side down, on cake plate, spread with scant 1/2 cup frosting. Top with second cake layer, spread with another scant 1/2 cup frosting, then top with remaining cake layer. Frost top and side of cake with remaining frosting. With hand, press walnuts around side of cake. Refrigerate if not serving right away.

Each serving: About 525 calories, 6 g protein, 73 g carbohydrate, 24 g total fat (7 g saturated), 1 g fiber, 85 mg cholesterol, 370 mg sodium.