Birthday Cake - Spice and Lemon

Birthday follow-up!

Sorry it's late - we went to Seattle this past weekend and I am suffering from a smoked salmon hangover.

Worth it.

But if I think back a week in time I remember my beautiful birthday cake!

On my birthday I like to make things I like, including things other people think are gross.  One of those things is spice cake.

Why does everybody hate spice cake?

You don't hate spice cake???  WE ARE FRIENDS.

Everybody has time for carrot cake (gross) but nobody has time for spice cake.  What a world.

All right I'm done being a spice cake martyr.  The other thing this has is lemon frosting.

Because I don't like the cream cheese frosting that usually comes with spice cake (this is also what puts me off from carrot cake, incidentally) I wanted something else with a tang.

Lemon!  And cinnamon!  Together at last and doing the tango.

Happy birthday to me indeed!  Parte deux!  NEVERENDING BIRTHDAY

Cocoa Citrus Spice Cake with Lemon Frosting
adapted from Joy the Baker

makes two 9" round cakes (I used a slightly smaller circumference yet deeper dish for a taller cake, I think it's something like 8" round and 3" deep)

4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cocoa
1 1/2 cups butter
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons lemon zest
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease cake pans.

Mix together dry ingredients: flour, soda, salt, cocoa, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.  Set aside.

Cream butter, zest and sugar together until well-blended, about 3 minutes.  Add eggs one at a time, blending well between each addition, about 1 minute.

Add dry mixture to wet in 3 batches, alternating between it and the buttermilk until all is added.  Turn off mixer and finish mixing together by hand.

Pour into greased pans and bake - 45 minutes for a 9" cake, 25 minutes for cupcakes, an hour for a tall cake like mine.

Lemon Frosting

1 cup butter
3 - 4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon extract
3 tablespoons milk

Blend together butter and sugar until well-blended, about 3 minutes.  Add in zest, extract and milk and beat 1 minute more.  Frost over cake as desired.