Soooo my mom has been making spice cake since she was a teenager.  She doesn’t even remember where she got the recipe.  But it is a family favorite and she has made it for my brothers’ birthdays ever since I can remember.

This summer she entered the spice cake into the Illinois State Fair Culinary Competitions.  You see, I enter cakes and cookies every year, so this year I practically made her enter her cake.  So… she had no choice. 

But nonetheless, she received First Place! 

Note the rough-looking icing above (my mom claims it is supposed to be smoother.  She usually makes it in a one-layer sheet cake)… either way, it’s delish.

Her recipe is pretty top secret and only shared within my family. So I don’t think I can disclose the secrets ;)   BUT my favorite part about the cake is the icing.  It’s a rich caramel-like icing that is the best part if you ask me.  So I thought I would share it.  

It would be excellent on any kind of cake, cupcake, or cookie.  Use your own spice cake recipe and top it with this icing.  It would be a winner.

Caramel Frosting:

• ½ margarine
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 ¾ -2 cups sifted powdered sugar

Directions:

- Melt margarine in a saucepan over medium-low heat.  Add brown sugar and cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add milk and continue stirring until the mixture comes to a boil.

- Remove from heat and cool slightly.  Add powdered sugar to margarine mixture stirring with a wooden spoon until the right frosting consistency and smooth.  More powdered sugar needs to be added to create a thicker icing.

-  Frost the cooled spice cake.  The icing will harden as it sets. 

 

Also, this year my triple-chocolate cookies recieved a second place ribbon. 

 Click Here to check out the recipe it was inspired from!