The Best Delicious Sugar-free Spice Cake Mix In 4 Easy Steps

Last Updated on March 4, 2023

If you are looking for a new flavor-packed cake for the colder days ahead, then this easy sugar-free spice cake mix recipe is for you!

This recipe combines the ease of using a cake pre-mix with delicious flavors. Our spiced cake is easy to make, takes less than an hour, and is absolutely stuffed with winter-spiced like cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. So, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and give it a try!

What is a Sugar-Free Spice Cake Mix?

The name is pretty much self-explanatory, especially if you have strict dietary restrictions surrounding sugar. Sugar-free cakes are becoming increasingly popular. And not even just in diets!

Naturally, more and more sugar-free cake mixes started hitting the markets. So, with autumn and winter fast approaching, we decided it would be a good excuse to create a delicious sugar-free spice cake mix recipe.

However, if you aren’t a fan of using box mixes, you can always use any cake recipe and substitute the sugar with a sugar-free alternative. And, don’t forget to add the delicious spice mix we use in this recipe.

What Do You Need to Make an Easy Sugar-Free Spice Cake Mix?

Ingredients for the cake

1 box (16 ounces) Pillsbury Sugar-free Premium Classic Yellow Cake Mix
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground or grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup water, room temperature
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs, room temperature

Ingredients for the frosting

1/2 cup salted butter, softened at room temperature
3 cups sugar-free powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Equipment

Cake pans (see notes for potential sizes)
Non-stick baking paper
Non-stick cooking or baking spray
Measuring cups and spoons
Mixing bowls
Electric hand or stand mixer
Silicone or rubber spatula
Cooling rack
Offset palette knife

How to make a delicious sugar-free spice cake mix

Step 1: Make the sugar-free spice cake mix batter

To start, preheat your oven to 320ºF (160ºC) without the fan setting. Then, line the bottom of your cake pan with non-stick baking paper and spray the sides with non-stick cooking or baking spray. Alternatively, you can brush the sides with melted butter.

Then, add the sugar-free boxed cake mix into a large mixing bowl. Add in all of the ground spices and make sure that the dry ingredients are well mixed. Then, create a well in the center of the dry ingredients.

Add all of the wet ingredients inside the well. Mix the wet and dry ingredients with a whisk or fork until you get a uniform cake batter. Make sure that it doesn’t contain any lumps.

Pillsbury Moist Supreme Sugar-Free Classic Yellow Premium Cake Mix (Pack of 2)

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Step 2: Bake the cake

Pour the sugar-free spice cake mix into the lined cake pans and bake them until they are done. For two 8-inch cakes, it will take about 34-38 minutes before they will be ready to be removed. Have a look at our tips and tricks section for baking times for other cake sizes.

Before removing the cake from the oven, make sure that it has been fully baked. Use a cake testing needle or toothpick and press it into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake has been fully baked.

Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool inside the cake pan for roughly 15 minutes. Then, take the cake out of the pan and cool it on a wire rack for another 30-40 minutes, or until it has completely cooled.

Step 3: Make the frosting

To start, cream the butter until it becomes light and fluffy. This can take roughly 5 minutes. Then, add the sugar-free powdered sugar and mix until you have a smooth uniform frosting. Add 1 tablespoon of milk and mix again.

You can keep adding milk, a little bit at a time until you have the consistency that you’d like.

How much sugar is in a sugar free cake mix

Step 4: Assemble and decorate your sugar-free spice cake mix recipe

Once your cake has cooled, you can start slicing and assembling the cake. First, cut each cake into multiple layers and make sure each is level.

Then, to assemble your cake, place the first layer directly onto the cake board or stand. Add a layer of frosting between each cake layer and repeat until you have reached the top.

For the final layer, you can add buttercream in any way that you’d like. You can also coat the sides with as much or as little frosting as you’d like.

Tips and Tricks

You can choose a wide variety of cake pans and sizes for this specific recipe. Two 8-inch cakes will bake for 34-38 minutes. Two 9-inch cakes will bake for 29-33 minutes. A bundt cake will take up to 43 minutes, while 24 cupcakes will only take about 20 minutes.
Always test the doneness of your spice cake before removing it from the oven. Allow roughly 80% of the time to elapse before opening the oven door to test the cakes’ doneness.
You can play around with the spices in this recipe a lot. This will enable you to create a sugar-free spice cake mix that is suited to your pallet. And, because spices make up such a small percentage of dry ingredients, you don’t need to substitute them at all.
We like the Pillsbury sugar-free cake mix, but you can use anyone that you’d like. Just make sure that the additional wet ingredients you need to add looks similar to the above-mentioned ones. Different cake mixes may require different ingredients.
You can add spices to the frosting if you’d like, but it isn’t necessary. We enjoyed the white color contrast to the otherwise dark cake. You can also use any brand of sugar-free powdered sugar or a sugar-free frosting mix.

Keto Spice Cake

Cake recipes using monk fruit sweetener are a great way to make keto cakes. While you can make your own keto cake recipes from scratch, you can also use a box cake mix, as this will save you a lot of time. In addition, monk fruit sweeteners can be tricky to find in some grocery stores.

Monk fruit sweetener is a great alternative to traditional sugar and is keto-friendly. Monk fruit is a type of small round fruit that is native to China. It is made by crushing the fruit, extracting its juice, and then extracting the mogroside from the juice, which is the sweetest part of the fruit.

To make a keto spice cake, you can replace the sugar-free cake mix with a keto cake mix. Then, substitute the vegetable oil for coconut oil. You will need all the same equipment as you do in the recipe above.

Prepare the keto sugar-free spice cake mix as follows, which is just a slight variation of the recipe above:

Ingredients

1 box (16 ounces) Keto Yellow Cake Mix
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground or grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup water, room temperature
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 can keto frosting

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease two 8-inch round cake pans.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix and spices then mix until combined. Then make a well in the dry ingredients and add the water, eggs, and coconut oil, mixing until incorporated.
Add the cake batter to the two cake pans and bake your keto sugar-free spice cake mix for 20-30 minutes, until golden brown.
Allow the cake to cool completely on a wire rack before assembling and frosting it with your keto frosting.

This recipe allows you to make a delicious spice cake that is keto-friendly. It is easy to make and you can use any keto cake mix to make it.

It is important to note that some keto cake mixes may cause a laxative effect on people. Though this is uncommon, it generally only occurs with excessive consumption of the keto cake. However, people with stomach sensitivities or sensitivities to laxatives should take note.

In addition, some people may experience a bitter taste in their mouth after eating keto frosting. This is just a result of some of the reactions people have to sugar-free sweeteners.

Sugar-Free Spices

Cinnamon, allspice, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg are all naturally sugar-free. So, there is no worry about any sugar coming from spices in this sugar-free spice cake recipe. Most spices are sugar-free naturally, as they come from plants.

Where you have to be careful of added sugars is with seasoning mixes. Seasoning mixes contain a mixture of spices and may also contain sugar as well to enhance the flavor. Fortunately, it is easy to make your own seasoning mixes which allow you to add your own spices and sweeteners instead of sugar if desired.

How to Make a Sugar-Free Cake Moist

You may find that your sugar-free cake isn’t quite as moist as what you’re used to. If this is the case, there are a few ingredients you can add or switch in. Let’s take a closer look.

Adding ingredients such as grated vegetables or ground almonds can help. Not only do you get additional sweetness from these ingredients, but they also help to keep cakes moist too. Other options are adding ingredients like vegetable oil and using buttermilk instead of traditional milk. It’s also important to not overbake your sugar-free cake. Overbaking can lead to your cake drying out more than it usually would, so bake for the amount of time that the recipe calls for.

Is Sugar-Free Cake Sweet?

Yes, it is. While ingredients like sugar and honey aren’t included in sugar-free cakes, that doesn’t mean that they can’t still be sweet and tasty. Usually, sweeteners are added in place of sugar and instead of using ingredients like honey, you can add things like ground nuts or grated vegetables, which add their level of natural sweetness. Depending on the amount of sweetener you’ve used, your sugar-free cake may taste even sweeter than your traditional cake!

Is a Cake Baked With Splenda Actually Sugar-Free?

Yes, it is! Although Splenda is around 500-700 times sweeter than sugar, it is completely free of sugar, as well as containing no calories. As well as that, it can be directly replaced in any recipe that calls for sugar and the ratio is 1:1. For example, if a recipe needs 1 cup of sugar, you can use 1 cup of Splenda granulated sweetener.

Where Can You Buy Sugar-Free Cake Mix?

You should be able to purchase sugar-free cake mixes from almost any local grocery store. As well as this, they’re easily accessible on online stores such as Amazon. I’ve found Pillsbury’s Zero Sugar range the best when it comes to sugar-free cake mixes. They have a selection of flavors and variations of sugar-free cake mix. For example, their cake mixes include classic yellow cake mix and devil’s food cake mix. As well as this, they offer zero-sugar milk chocolate brownie mix, zero-sugar chocolate fudge brownie mix, and two flavors of sugar-free frosting (chocolate fudge and vanilla).

Are Sugar-Free Cake Mixes Good For Diabetics?

Yes. Sugar-free cake mixes are diabetic-friendly as they do not contain any sugar. Sugar-free cake mixes were predominantly made for those following a diabetic lifestyle. Diabetics can easily enjoy sweet treats without having to eat any sugar at all!

What Sweetener is in Pillsbury Sugar-Free Cake Mix?

This may surprise you but Pillsbury often works in partnership with Splenda when it comes to their sugar-free cake mixes. All of Pillsbury’s sugar-free cake mixes are sweetened with Splenda. The sweeteners used are often acesulfame K and sucralose. What’s great about these sweeteners is that they’re carb-free, meaning they’re suitable for a range of dietary lifestyles, such as keto.

How to Make Sugar-Free Cake Icing?

Making sugar-free cake icing, it’s almost identical to making traditional cake icing; it’s just the powdered sugar that differs. All you need is 3 cups of sugar-free powdered sugar, 1 cup of softened butter, 1 tablespoon of milk or cream, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Now all you need to do is add the powdered sugar and butter to a bowl and cream for around a minute. Increase the speed and keep mixing for a further few minutes. Now add your milk/cream and vanilla extract. Mix until you reach the consistency you’re looking for. Add more sugar-free powdered sugar if too thin, and more milk/cream if too thick.

Final Words

We hope that you have enjoyed this incredible sugar-free spice cake mix recipe and that you will share it with your fellow bakers. Now, you have another quick and easy hearty cake recipe for the coming cold days.

FAQs

Do they make sugar-free cake mixes?

You can easily find sugar-free cake premixes at almost any grocery store today. But, if you are struggling to find one that you'd like, go have a look at the drugstore or a health shop. Even some farmers' markets will sell these. And, you can also always look online at sites like Amazon.

Does sugar-free cake mix taste different?

Manufacturers try everything in their power to make sugar-free products, cake mixes included, to taste the same as their sugar-containing counterparts. So, no. Sugar-free cake mixes, for the most part, don't taste different from regular ones. The sugar substitutes they use are all very similar in flavor to regular sugar.

How much sugar is in a sugar-free cake mix?

Sugar-free cake mixes should contain 0 grams of sugar - that's the whole point of them being sugar-free! However, that doesn't mean that they don't still contain calories that come from the sweetener. You will have to look at your specific sugar-free cake mix to see which sugar substitute they used and how many calories it adds.

Is sugar-free cake mix keto-friendly?

A keto diet focuses on low-carb foods. You should get most of your calories from proteins and fats, and less from carbohydrates. So unfortunately a sugar-free cake isn't all that keto-friendly. The wheat used in the flour as well as the sugar alternative still adds a ton of carbs.

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Lindy Van Schalkwyk

Lindy Van Schalkwyk is a culinary specialist with a background in Advanced Cooking, Advanced Pâtisserie, Media Communications and Nutrition. She has gained invaluable experience in the culinary industry having worked in some of the top restaurants in Africa in 2016 and 2017. Her expertise in nutrition has enabled her to develop recipes for special dietary needs. In 2018, Lindy began working in the Food Media industry, focusing on recipe development, recipe writing, food writing and food styling.

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The Best Sugar-Free Spice Cake Mix in 4 Easy Steps

What is a Sugar-Free Spice Cake Mix?