Allie's Birthday Spice Cake!

We are celebrating!  It's Allie's birthday, and we are spicing it up with her favorite cake.  This spice cake has a cream cheese frosting that is sure to make for an extra Happy Birthday!

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Cake:
2 cups brown sugar
1 stick butter, room temp
1/2 cup canola oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup buttermilk
4 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp salt
parchment paper

Frosting:
8 oz cream cheese, room temp
1 stick butter, room temp
2 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Separate the eggs yolks from the whites, and set aside.  Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Lightly grease two 9 inch round cake pans and line the bottom with parchment paper.  Separate the egg whites and yolks and set aside. Cream together the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer.

Slowly add the canola oil while the mixer is running.  Add one egg yolk at a time, making sure they are well mixed.

While the mixer is still running, slowly add the buttermilk and dry ingredients--a little of each at a time, alternating between the two.  Scrape down the edges of the bowl to make sure all ingredients are well incorporated.  Transfer the batter to a separate mixing bowl.

Add the egg whites to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium/high speed until stiff peaks form.  Carefully fold the egg whites into the batter until you have a smooth, consistent batter.

Pour the batter evenly into the two greased, parchment-lined pans, and gently rap the pans on the counter to release any air bubbles.

Bake about 25-30 minutes until the center of the cakes are set and cooked through.  Remove from the oven and cool on wire racks until the cakes have cooled completely.

While cooling, prepare the frosting.  Combine the cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract with an electric mixer.  Add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until you have a smooth consistency.

Once the cakes have cooled completely, carefully slice each in half to create four thin layers. Thinly frost each layer, leaving enough frosting to fully cover the top and scarcely cover the sides. (If you aren't super confident about creating four thin layers, two regular layers taste just as delicious!)