This high altitude Bavarian cream spice cake is a uniquely delicious dessert for a special occasion! Fluffy spice cake is soaked with coffee, then topped with luxurious vanilla bean Bavarian cream. The cake is moist, soft and full of warm, cozy flavors reminiscent of tiramisu.
You might also love these recipes for Bavarian cream pie, tiramisu cake, and carrot cake cheesecake.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Moist for Days. With the coffee soaking into the cake and the creamy custard, this Bavarian cream spice cake stays moist for days after baking. You’ll find that the texture is very similar to my tiramisu cake, although the flavor of the space cake adds much more depth than just a vanilla cake.
Not too Sweet. If you’re someone who doesn’t like sweet desserts or buttercream frosted cakes, this cake is a really elegant option. The coffee nicely balances the sweetness of the cake and keeps it so moist, while the custard is not nearly as sweet or rich as buttercream frosting.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
What is Bavarian Cream?
Bavarian cream is a French dessert (crème bavaroise) consisting of vanilla custard or pastry cream and whipped cream. The pastry cream is made with egg yolks, sugar, cream and vanilla. It’s usually thickened with gelatin, although mine is less traditional since I thicken it with corn starch, resulting in a fluffier, softer texture that’s not so firm and mousse-like.
After chilling the pastry cream, you’ll fold in whipped cream for a very light and fluffy cream filling. You can serve Bavarian cream in dessert bowls just as it is, use it as a pie filling, or use it to fill doughnuts.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
Bavarian Cream
- Sugar. Granulated sugar adds sweetness to the filling.
- Corn Starch. This is my preferred thickening agent for pastry cream or custard.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances flavors.
- Milk. Use whole milk in the filling for a rich, creamy flavor.
- Egg Yolks. Adds richness and body to the pastry cream, as well as helps it to thicken.
- Vanilla Bean Paste. Gives the cream a wonderful vanilla flavor, and pretty vanilla bean specks throughout.
- Butter. The custard is finished with a little butter, adding richness and flavor.
- Cream. Use heavy whipping cream, not light cream or table cream.
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and stabilizes the cream.
Spice Cake
- Flour. I used cake flour for today’s spice cake. With its lower percentage of protein than all purpose flour, it makes a lighter, fluffier cake.
- Sugar. Granulated sugar adds sweetness and moisture.
- Baking Powder. Leavening agent.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavors.
- Spices. A blend of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice and nutmeg adds coziness and warmth.
- Eggs. Add moisture and strength.
- Milk + Vegetable Oil. Moisture.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
Coffee
- For the espresso, I combined warm water with a little granulated sugar and instant espresso powder.
- You could also simply use some strong brewed coffee, but do add a little sugar, so the strong coffee doesn’t add a bitter flavor to the cupcakes.
Instructions
Bavarian Cream
- In a saucepan, whisk together the sugar, corn starch and salt, then slowly whisk in the milk, egg yolks and vanilla bean paste. (Note: The process photos below show 4 egg yolks, for a double batch of the custard. Today’s recipe is scaled down and only uses 2 egg yolks.)
- Over medium heat, cook the custard while whisking constantly, until the custard starts to bubble and thicken; this should take about 8-10 minutes. Once it begins to thicken, continue to cook and whisk for 1 1/2 minutes.
- Remove the custard from the heat and stir in the butter. Pour the custard through a mesh strainer to strain out any bits of cooked egg, into a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap resting right against the surface of the custard, and refrigerate for 3 hours, or overnight.
- When you’re ready to assemble your cake, use an electric mixer to whip the cream and powdered sugar on medium speed for several minutes, until thick fluffy peaks form that hold their shape.
- Add about 1/3 of the whipped cream to the chilled custard, folding it in with a spatula to loosen up the custard until smooth. Add the rest of the whipped cream, folding it in until you have a fluffy, creamy filling.
Spice Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray the bottom of one 8-inch cake pans with non-stick baking spray.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices.
- Separately, whisk together the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk just until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean, and the top of the cake springs back when gently touched.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack and let cool for 30 minutes.
Coffee
- While the cake is cooling, make the coffee. Combine the water, sugar and espresso powder, stirring until dissolved.
- If you don’t have espresso powder, you can replace the water and espresso powder with very strong brewed coffee.
Assembly
- Gently turn the warm cake out of the pan, and set it on a serving plate. Use a chopstick or wooden skewer to poke holes in the cake, then brush the coffee over the cake.
- Cover the cake with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours, until well chilled.
- To finish, spread the chilled Bavarian cream on top of the cake.
- Serve the cake immediately, or keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftover cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
If you don’t drink (or like) coffee, you can simply use milk instead.
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High Altitude Bavarian Cream Spice Cake
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Electric Mixer (Stand or Hand-Held)
- 8-inch round cake pan
Ingredients
Bavarian Cream
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- â…› tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp whole milk
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 1 ½ tbsp cold unsalted butter
- ½ cup cold heavy whipping cream
- 1 ½ tbsp powdered sugar
Spice Cake
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp cake flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
- â…› tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg white (save the extra yolk for another use)
- â…“ cup whole milk
- â…“ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Coffee
- ¼ cup warm water
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp instant espresso powder or instant coffee
Instructions
Bavarian Cream
- In a saucepan, whisk together the sugar, corn starch and salt, then slowly whisk in the milk, egg yolks and vanilla bean paste.
- Over medium heat, cook the custard while whisking constantly, until the custard starts to bubble and thicken; this should take about 8-10 minutes. Once it begins to thicken, continue to cook and whisk for 1 1/2 minutes.
- Remove the custard from the heat and stir in the butter. Pour the custard through a mesh strainer to strain out any bits of cooked egg, into a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap resting right against the surface of the custard, and refrigerate for 3 hours, or overnight.
- When you're ready to assemble your cake, use an electric mixer to whip the cream and powdered sugar on medium speed for several minutes, until thick fluffy peaks form that hold their shape.
- Add about 1/3 of the whipped cream to the chilled custard, folding it in with a spatula to loosen up the custard until smooth. Add the rest of the whipped cream, folding it in until you have a fluffy, creamy filling.
Spice Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray the bottom of one 8-inch cake pans with non-stick baking spray.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices.
- Separately, whisk together the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk just until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean, and the top of the cake springs back when gently touched.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack and let cool for 30 minutes.
Coffee
- While the cake is cooling, make the coffee. Combine the water, sugar and espresso powder, stirring until dissolved.
- If you don't have espresso powder, you can replace the water and espresso powder with very strong brewed coffee.
Assembly
- Gently turn the warm cake out of the pan, and set it on a serving plate. Use a chopstick or wooden skewer to poke holes in the cake, then brush the coffee over the cake.
- Cover the cake with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours, until well chilled.
- To finish, spread the chilled Bavarian cream on top of the cake.
- Serve the cake immediately, or keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
I love your recipes and can’t wait to try this one! I need a dessert for a neighborhood Oktoberfest party and would like to take this to sit beside all of the German chocolate cakes that will be shared by others. Do you have any advice on how to expand this recipe to fit a 9×13 pan? Would tripling it be the right amount or too much?
For a 9×13 pan, I would triple the cake recipe, but probably only double the Bavarian cream recipe. That sounds like the perfect dessert for an Oktoberfest theme!