Emily Laurae

SPICE CAKE
7 Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
8 Whisk together all your dry ingredients in a medium bowl – the spices, flour, baking soda and salt, then set aside.
22 Add the Challenge melted butter, brown sugar, molasses, porter, and eggs into a large bowl and whisk to completely combine. Then, add the dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
20 Add batter into your greased bundt pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, testing for doneness with a toothpick before removing it from the oven.
19 Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing them. Once completely cool you can spoon, pipe, or dollop your cream cheese icing on top before enjoying!
CREAM CHEESE ICING
2 Beat together the softened butter and cream cheese on medium speed until it’s smooth and somewhat fluffy.
3 Scrape down the sides, then add in the powdered sugar slowly and vanilla paste.
4 Add hot water one tablespoon at a time until you reach the fluidity that you prefer for glazing your cake. Then you’re now prepared to frost!
SUGARED CRANBERRIES
14 Bring water and sugar to a simmer making sure that the sugar is completely dissolved. Make sure that the simple syrup does not get too hot, otherwise your cranberries will pop open. If your syrup is too warm, set it aside and let it cool for a few moments before moving on. 
15 Add cranberries and let the cranberries sit in the sugar syrup for 10-15 minutes.
18 Remove the cranberries from the syrup and allow them to dry on a paper towel for one to two hours. Note that you can certainly use the cranberry syrup for other purposes such as a simple syrup for cocktails – there’s no need to get rid of it!
17 Coat the dried berries in granulated sugar and place on top of the finished spice cake adding pomegranate seeds and flowers for additional garnish!