Spicing up Autumn! Cake Mix Tweak #3

I took our pooch for a walk today. It's happening, folks. Autumn is coming. It's not yet cool enough to need a jacket--in fact, we might get hit with some burning-hot Indian Summer days yet--but you can smell it in the air. The leaves are trying to decide if they want to turn. Here and there you can catch a glimpse of red on the traitorous tips of the oak leaves.

I love fall. Every year, I try to decide if fall or spring is my favorite season, and I usually come out on the side of fall. I just love the crispness, and the apples, and the harvest festivals, and the fairs, and leaves, and the chilly air that makes you want to spend time outside and then come in and have some hot apple cider or stew and snuggle up on the couch watching your favorite movie.

But there is one inescapable fact about fall: it comes right before winter.

I like winter, too, more or less. I mean, I don't hate it. But in my perfect little world, it would be fall until about December 12th or so, then it would be snowy with winter until about January 12th, and then spring would sweep in and we'd be all done with the snow and the cold and the ice. We had a really mild winter last season...but that doesn't mean that I want to repeat it so soon!

Anyway, like usual, I digress. To me, fall also means the return of pumpkin and spice and apple flavors. And that brings me to Cake Mix Tweak #3--White Spice. I've got about three different cake mix tweaks up my sleeve relating to spice flavors, but I figure I won't spill them all now. For now, I'll just concentrate on White Spice.

Many of the box mixes for spice cake that you can buy at the super market are dark, heavy, and overly sweet. While I think there's definitely a place for dark spice cakes, I tend to prefer a gentler hand with the spices. For the times that I don't, I have --of course-- a darker spice tweak.

Anyway, start out with your favorite white cake mix. Mix as directed. And then--and disclaimer here, folks, I don't really measure the spices when I dump them in, so these are all just guesses--add a tablespoon of cinnamon, two teaspoons of ginger, a teaspoon and a half of cloves, up to a teaspoon of allspice, and grate in half of a nutmeg. If you don't have freshly grated nutmeg, you should get some. But seriously, if you can't get fresh nutmeg, I would guess that half a nutmeg is about 2-3 teaspoons. Mix well, and bake according to box directions.

Now, if you don't have some of these spices, don't panic. The major taste players in spice cake are cinnamon and nutmeg--and this is your cake and your taste, so do it however you want. Just remember, if you taste the batter, the finished product is going to taste more subtle than the batter does, so don't be afraid if it tastes a little strong.

And if you really want to bring the spice flavor home, you can mix a smaller ratio of the same spices into your canned frosting of choice--though I do think that vanilla, white, or cream cheese frosting is a MUCH better choice to be spiking with spice than chocolate or, say, funfetti.

If you want to impress everyone, you can make little chocolate and caramel "acorns" to top them with, too. It was difficult for me to find the packaged caramels, because we're a tiny bit out of season, but I did find the "caramel bits" near the chocolate chips and they worked fine. If you're using individually-packaged caramels, use a whole one for regular-sized cupcakes or full cakes, and cut it in half for mini cupcakes. If you're using the caramel bits, use one to six little balls.

Zap the caramel in the microwave on low heat for 5-10 seconds or just until it's malleable. Quickly roll it between your palms to create an acorn shape. Set it aside on wax or parchment paper until all acorns are complete.

Heat some chocolate chips--or better, chocolate "melties" available at candy and craft stores--in the microwave until melted. Dip 1/4 to 1/3 of the top of the acorn into the chocolate, and immediately dip and coat the chocolate tops in chocolate "jimmies"--or the chocolate sprinkles that you never knew had a name. Set aside on wax paper until set. Refrigerate if needed. Use melted chocolate (in a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off) to pipe the stem, or use chocolate or brown-tinted icing, if preferred.

And there you go--a shockingly easy, delicious, beautiful presentation for autumn-themed cupcakes--and no one ever needs to know it started in a box!

(For those of you who prefer cakes from scratch, you can still add spices to your white cake for a new flavor--it's one of my favorite kinds of cake!)

Happy baking!