I grew up with spice in my baking. In Germany, the moment the weather turns, the kitchen fills with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, and it stays that way until January. Then I moved to London and met sticky toffee pudding for the first time, and something clicked. That dark, buttery toffee sauce felt like it had been waiting years to meet the spiced cakes I grew up with.
This spiced toffee cake is what happened when the two finally met. Three soft, warmly spiced sponge layers, a rich homemade toffee sauce spread between each one, and a silky cinnamon buttercream over the top. It tastes like a British pub pudding and a German autumn afternoon at the same time, which, it turns out, is exactly what I want to bake and eat during autumn.
Why This Spiced Toffee Cake Works So Well
Most spiced cakes are either dry or heavy. This one is neither, and that comes down to three things in the batter: oil, Greek yoghurt and buttermilk. Oil keeps the crumb soft for days rather than hours, the yoghurt adds a slight tang and a tender texture, and the buttermilk reacts with the bicarbonate of soda to give you lift. The result is a sponge that stays moist well into the week.
The spice is warm rather than loud. Pumpkin pie spice gives you cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and a hint of clove in one measure, and it sits behind the toffee rather than fighting it. If you can’t find it in the UK, mixed spice with an extra pinch of cinnamon gets you almost exactly there.
The toffee sauce works as a filling rather than a drench. It’s spread between the layers while it’s cool and thick, so it stays put when you slice, and the cinnamon buttercream over the top is what ties the two together. I always use my signature Swiss Meringue buttercream recipe, so it’s silky and not too sweet, with just enough cinnamon to notice. Simply make a batch of the vanilla version and add 2 teaspoons of cinnamon.
And a word on the tins. Three 6-inch layers give you a tall, slender cake with toffee running through every slice. It looks far more impressive than two larger layers and you get more filling per mouthful, which is the whole point.
A Note on the Toffee Sauce
If you want to lean into the autumn of it all, a few small tools take this cake somewhere special. I colour a portion of the cinnamon buttercream with Colour Mill Orange, which is oil-based and blends into buttercream without streaking or thinning it, and gives you a soft, warm pumpkin shade rather than anything neon. Add it a drop at a time and let it sit for ten minutes, as the colour deepens as it settles. For the pumpkins themselves, a large open star tip like a 6B is what you need (you can also use 8B for larger pumpkin shapes of 4B for slighlty smaller ones). Position the piping bag perpendicular (at a 90-degree angle) just above the surface of your cake. Pipe a small blob, pull the tip up sharply and you get that ridged, rounded pumpkin shape in one go. A small star tip works for a piped border around the base or the top edge, and a little of the extra toffee sauce drizzled over the finished cake ties everything together.
Decorating this cake for autumn
Please make your own. It takes five minutes, needs four ingredients, and the difference between this and a jar of shop-bought caramel is enormous. Light brown sugar gives a gentle, buttery caramel that lets the spice come through. If you want something deeper and more treacly, closer to a classic sticky toffee sauce, swap in dark brown sugar.
Make it before anything else. It needs to cool completely to reach a spreadable, set consistency, and it thickens noticeably as it cools. If you use it warm it will slide straight out of the cake. I usually make a double batch so there’s extra for drizzling over the top and a small jug on the table for people who want more, which is everyone.
Notes & Tips
- Make the toffee sauce first, every time. It needs to be completely cool before it goes anywhere near the cake.
- To get 84g of egg, whisk two large eggs in a small bowl and weigh out what you need. The leftover is breakfast.
- Room temperature yoghurt and buttermilk mix into the batter more evenly than fridge-cold ones.
- Cool the layers fully before assembling. A warm sponge will melt the buttercream and loosen the toffee.
- If your buttercream looks split or grainy, keep beating. It usually comes back together after another minute or two.
- The cake keeps in the fridge for up to 4 days. Take it out 30 minutes before serving so the buttercream softens and the sponge comes back to life.
- Bake the layers the day before if you can. Wrap them tightly once cool and assemble the next day. The crumb actually improves overnight.
Spiced Toffee Cake Questions, Answered
What is pumpkin pie spice and what can I use instead in the UK? Pumpkin pie spice is an American blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and either allspice or cloves. Mixed spice is the closest UK equivalent, and adding an extra ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon gets you almost the same result. You can also make your own with 1½ tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp nutmeg and ¼ tsp ground cloves.
Can I make this cake in different sized tins? Yes. The batter works in two 8-inch tins for a two-layer cake. Start checking for doneness at around 22 minutes, as wider, shallower layers bake a little faster. Sandwich with the toffee sauce and frost as normal.
Why does the recipe use both buttermilk and yoghurt? They do slightly different jobs. The buttermilk reacts with the bicarbonate of soda to give the sponge lift, while the yoghurt adds moisture, a little tang and a softer crumb. Together they’re what keep this cake tender for days rather than drying out.
Can I use shop-bought toffee or caramel sauce? You can, but most jarred sauces are too thin to hold between cake layers and will leak out when you slice. If you do use one, chill it well first and use a thinner layer. The homemade version takes five minutes and is worth it.
Why is my toffee sauce runny? Either it hasn’t cooled for long enough, or it didn’t simmer for the full 2-3 minutes. The sauce thickens considerably as it cools, so give it at least 30 minutes at room temperature, or pop it in the fridge for 15 minutes if you’re in a hurry. If it’s still loose, return it to the pan and simmer for another minute.
Can I make this spiced toffee cake ahead of time? Yes, and it’s better for it. Bake the layers up to two days ahead, wrap tightly once cool and keep at room temperature. The toffee sauce keeps in the fridge for a week. Assemble and frost on the day, or the evening before.
Can I freeze the cake layers? The unfrosted sponge layers freeze well for up to a month. Wrap each one tightly in cling film and foil, then defrost at room temperature for a couple of hours before filling and frosting.
How should I store the finished cake? In an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Bring it to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. The buttercream firms up when chilled and is at its best once it has softened slightly.
Can I use butter instead of oil in the sponge? You can, but the texture changes. Oil is what keeps this sponge soft and moist for days. Melted butter will give you a slightly denser crumb that dries out faster, though the flavour will be a little richer.
Spiced Toffee Cake with Cinnamon Buttercream
Recipe by Sarah Arnold
Three soft, warmly spiced layers filled with rich homemade toffee sauce and covered in silky cinnamon buttercream. Inspired by sticky toffee pudding and the spiced cakes of a German autumn, it's an easy oil-based sponge that stays moist for days and looks like it came from a bakery window.
8-10
servings40
minutes25
minutes40
minIngredients
- Toffee Sauce
100 g 100 light brown sugar
50 g 50 unsalted butter
75 ml 75 double cream
1/2 tsp 1/2 vanilla extract
pinch of salt
- Spiced Cake Layers
360 g 360 plain flour
4 1/2 tsp 4 1/2 pumpkin pie spice (or mixed spice plus ½ tsp extra ground cinnamon)
2 tsp 2 baking powder
1/4 tsp 1/4 bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp 1/2 fine sea salt
175 ml 175 neutral oil (sunflower, vegetable or light rapeseed)
380 g 380 caster sugar
3 large 3 eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp 1 1/2 vanilla extract
155 ml 155 buttermilk (or 150ml milk plus 2 tsp lemon juice, left to stand for 5 minutes)
220 g 220 plain Greek or natural yoghurt
- Cinnamon Buttercream
my signature Swiss Meringue buttercream (linked above)
2 1/2 tsp 2 1/2 ground cinnamon
Directions
- The Toffee Sauce
- Put the brown sugar and butter in a small saucepan over a gentle heat. Stir occasionally until the butter has melted and the mixture is bubbling.
- Stir in the double cream and salt, then simmer for 2-3 minutes, stirring, until slightly thickened and glossy.
- Take off the heat, stir in the vanilla and pour into a heatproof bowl. Leave to cool completely while you bake. It will thicken to a spreadable consistency as it cools.
- The Cake Layers
- Preheat the oven to 175°C conventional / 160°C fan. Grease and line the bases of three 6 or 7-inch round cake tins.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt until evenly combined.
- In a larger bowl, whisk the oil, caster sugar, eggs, vanilla, buttermilk and yoghurt until smooth. It will look slightly thin at this stage, which is fine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and fold together with a spatula until you can no longer see streaks of flour. Stop as soon as it's combined. Overmixing is what makes an oil cake tough.
- Divide the batter evenly between the three tins. Weighing the tins helps if you want perfectly even layers.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the tops spring back lightly and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. The kitchen will smell of brown sugar and cinnamon long before they're ready, so go by the skewer, not the smell.
- Leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Don't go near them with buttercream until they're fully cold.
- Assemble
- Place the first cooled layer on a cake stand or plate. Spread a generous layer of the cooled toffee sauce over the top, keeping it about 1cm from the edge so it doesn't squeeze out.
- Add the second layer, spread with more toffee sauce, then top with the third layer.
- Chill the stacked cake for 10-15 minutes so the toffee firms up and the layers don't slide while you frost.
- Cover the whole cake in cinnamon buttercream. Smooth the sides with a palette knife for a clean finish, or leave it rustic with visible swirls. Both look lovely. Optional: Add little buttercream pumpkins with piping tips 6 or 8B.
