Honey Spice Cake

Directions

1. To prepare cake, preheat oven to 350F. Grease two 8-inch cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ground ginger and nutmeg.
3. In a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, beat together two sugars, oil, honey and egg. Scrape in seeds from the vanilla bean. Continue beating until mixture becomes light in color.
4. Add sour cream and continue mixing until incorporated.
5. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and mix until just blended.
6. Divide batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cakes cool completely.
7. Run a pairing knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Peel off the parchment paper circles.
8. To prepare honey caramel, cook honey, butter and sugar in a saucepan on medium-high heat while stirring constantly. Bring the mixture to a boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Mix in heavy cream thoroughly. Let it cool to lukewarm.
9. To prepare cream cheese frosting, place cream cheese and butter in a mixing bowl. Beat until soft and well incorporated. Add powder sugar and vanilla. Continue beating until light and fluffy.
10. To assemble the cake, sandwich cake layers with the cream cheese frosting. Top the cake top with another layer of frosting. Smear the excess frosting around the sides of the cake to create the look of a naked cake.
11. Slowly spoon the honey caramel over the top of the cake.
12. Cover and refrigerate the cake. Leave cake in room temperature for at least an hour before serving.