Spice Cake & Toasted Walnut Cream Cheese Frosting

For the cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Using cooking spray (I used a coconut oil spray), grease two round 9 inch pans.
3. In a large bowl using an electric mixer, mix the butter and brown sugar until completely combined and creamed together.
4. Add the vegetable oil and mix until incorporated.
5. Separate the eggs and set aside the whites. Add egg yolks into the mixing bowl one at a time, mixing before adding the next.
6. In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt.)
7. A little bit at a time, add the dry mixture and the buttermilk into the batter. Mix well after each addition.
8. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. After peaks form, fold them gently into the batter.
9. Pour the batter into the cake pans and bake for 30 minutes. They are done when a toothpick or fork comes out clean after inserting it into the center.
10. After they are done, remove them from the oven and let them cool completely in the pans. It will simply ruin dessert as you know it, if you don’t.
11. While the cakes are cooling, lower the oven to 325 F and toast the walnuts on a foiled lined baking sheet for 15 minutes, mixing them a bit up on the baking sheet halfway through.
12. After the cakes have cooled, invert each cake on a plate in preparation for assembly.

For the frosting:
1. In a mixing bowl using an electric mixer, blend the butter, cream cheese, vanilla extract then mix in powdered sugar a little bit at a time until fully incorporated. Add milk as needed to reach spreading consistency.
2. Roughly chop up the toasted walnuts and set aside 1/4 cup of them. Fold the remaining nuts into the frosting.

For the assembly:
1. Put your first cake onto a cake platter. Add a healthy layer of the frosting to the top of the cake, add the other cake on top, and frost all the way around gently. The more tender you are with the cake, the less breaking and crumbling will happen!
2. After the cake is frosted all the way around both layers, sprinkle the remaining walnuts all over the cake.