Spice Cake

[ButterSticks]

Makes a 8x8x2" cake
1 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoons nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350. Sift flour with baking powder, salt, and spices and set aside. Mix milk and vanilla. Cream butter until light, add sugar gradually, continuing to cream until fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk, beginning and ending with the dry and adding abour 1/3 of the total at a time.
Spoon into a ungreased 8x8x2" pan lined on the bottom with waxed paper. Bake about 45 minutes until cake pulls from sides of pan and is springy to the touch. Cool upright in pan on a wire rack 10 min, loosen edges, and invert on a rack. Peel off paper, turn right side up and cool. Frost or not as desired. About 200 calories for each of 12 servings.

Variations:
Spice layer cakes: Double the ingredients, prepare batter as directed, and bake in 2 ungreased 9" layer cake pans lined on the bottom with wax paper about 45 min. at 350.
Lemon-Spice cake: Prepare as directed but add 1 teaspoon lemon extract and the finely grated rind of 1 lemon along with the egg.
Raisin-Spice cake: Add 1/4 cup seedless raisins to batter with final addition of flour.