Sick Day Spice Cake

Ever felt like you need a slice of cake to make your sick day better? Writer Julia May Jonas certainly did. She’d whip up a warmly spiced, tender cake inspired by the McCall’s Best Spicecake that appears in a copy of McCall’s Cook Book that was passed down to her. Then she’d wipe all evidence of it before her family came home. Fragrant with cloves, black pepper, cinnamon, and vanilla, the spices lend warm and sweet notes without overpowering the light, buttery crumb of the cake. The cinnamon-scented buttermilk glaze adds a bit of sweet tang to the top.