Spice Cakes

These griddle spice cakes are a heritage recipe that predates the modern pancake by a good stretch. Cooked on a hot griddle like oversized flapjacks, they get stacked high, slathered with butter between each layer, dusted with cinnamon or nutmeg, and sliced into wedges like a pie. It’s part pancake, part layer cake, and entirely its own thing.

Sour milk and baking soda work together as the leavening here. The acid in the sour milk activates the baking soda, giving the cakes a tender crumb with a slight tang that balances the warm spice. If you don’t have sour milk on hand, stir a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice into regular milk and let it sit for five minutes.

The batter is thicker than a typical pancake batter. Don’t thin it out. That thickness is what gives the cakes enough body to stack without collapsing under the butter.

Kitchen Tips

• Cook on a well-greased, properly hot griddle. If the first cake spreads too thin, your batter may need a touch more flour.
• Keep finished cakes warm on a plate in a low oven while you cook the rest. Cold cakes won’t melt the butter between layers.
• Use real butter, not margarine. The flavor is the whole point of the stacking method.
• Cut through all layers at once with a sharp knife for clean wedges.

Variations

• Gingerbread spice cakes: Add ground ginger and a splash of molasses to the batter for a warm, holiday-morning version.
• Apple butter stack: Spread apple butter between layers instead of plain butter for a fall twist.