French Four-Spice Cake with Browned Butter Spice Frosting

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder 
• 0.5 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 cup brown sugar packed
• 0.5 cup butter softened
• 0.7 cup butter 
• 0.5 cup buttermilk 
• 2 large eggs 
• 1.3 cups flour 
• 2 tablespoons half-and-half 
• 0.3 cup honey 
• 1.5 tablespoons juice of lemon 
• 1 of orange zest 
• 3 cups powdered sugar 
• 0.5 teaspoon salt 
• 2 tablespoons cocoa unsweetened
• 0.7 cup walnuts toasted chopped
• 1 teaspoon quatre épices 
• 2 teaspoons quatre épices 
• 1 teaspoon quatre épices 
• 2 teaspoons quatre épices 

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• sauce pan
• oven
• blender
• toothpicks
• spatula
• serrated knife

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 35
2. Butter and flour a 9-in. square pan.
3. Make cake: Beat butter, brown sugar, and zest in a large bowl with a mixer until fluffy.
4. Add eggs and beat until well blended. In another bowl, combine flour and other dry ingredients.
5. Add flour mixture to butter mixture one-third at a time, alternating with buttermilk half at a time, and beating on low speed after each addition until blended.
6. Spread batter in pan.
7. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
8. Let cool on a rack, 10 minutes. Loosen cake from pan with a slender spatula, then invert onto a rack. Re-invert onto another rack; cool completely.
9. Make frosting: Cook butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, swirling pan occasionally, until deep golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.
10. Pour into a mixer bowl, let cool, then chill until firm enough to beat, about 30 minutes.
11. Add remaining ingredients except for nuts and beat until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes, occasionally scraping inside of bowl.
12. Split cake horizontally with a long serrated knife. Lift off top layer with 2 wide spatulas. Set bottom layer on a platter, then spread with half of frosting. Replace top layer.
13. Spread top of cake with remaining frosting, then sprinkle with nuts.
14. quatre pices