A space cake (or cannabis cake) is precisely what it sounds like: a delicious cake infused with cannabis. Available in dispensaries nationwide, space cakes have become immensely popular for cannabis consumers with a sweet tooth. Space cakes are delicious, discreet vehicles used to reach an out-of-this-world high (pun 100% intended).

While many space cake recipes exist, each boils down to combining the same materials. A space cake is simply a cake recipe of the user’s choice made with cannabutter or another cannabis-infused fat such as coconut oil.

Here we’ll break down a popular space cake recipe so you can whip up the tasty cannabis treat in the comfort of your own home. But first, let’s answer some common questions about dosing. 

How long do the effects of a space cake last?

Space cakes are edibles, which means the THC takes a lot longer to kick in than with other cannabis consumption methods. It’s always smart to start with a small serving and wait for one to two hours to evaluate the high’s effects before taking more. Remember: you can always eat more, but you can’t eat less.

Why do edible highs end up feeling more potent than vaping or smoking highs? Well, when you ingest cannabis, the THC in the edible converts to 11-hydroxy-THC in the liver, which is notably more potent. Edibles take longer to process, too, as the THC has to travel through your digestive system to kick in.

How do You calculate the dose per serving?

To find out the dose of one serving of your space cake, you need to do a little math. Start by finding out the THC percentage of the flower you’re using to bake with. So, for example, if you start with 1 g of flower containing 20% THC, that would leave you with 200 mg of THC total. After decarbing the flower, you’ll lose roughly 10% of that THC (200 x 0.9), leaving you with 180 mg of THC total. Following the extraction in oil or butter where you lose another 40% of the THC (180 x 0.6), you will have 108 mg of THC in that oil.

If you cut your space cake into eight even pieces, each one will have about 13 mg of THC, which is a fairly potent dose for most people. If you’re a new or low-dose cannabis consumer, consider lowering the ratio of cannabutter to regular butter in your recipe or slicing your space cake into much smaller servings.

Ingredients:

• 1 gram of cannabis flower 
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter (plus more if you’re using a ratio of cannabutter to regular butter)
• 1 3/4 cups of flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1.5 tsp of baking powder
• 1 cup of sugar
• 3/4 cup of milk
• 2 eggs
• Chocolate chips (optional)

Materials:

• Double boiler
• Thermometer 
• Metal mesh strainer
• Cheesecloth
• Spatula/other utensils
• Mason jar
• Oven
• Cooking spray
• 9” x 9″ cake tin
• Electric mixer (optional)
• Mixing bowl
• Grinder

With all your ingredients assembled, it’s time to begin baking.

How to make a space cake

Step 1: The first step to making a homemade space cake is to decarboxylate your cannabis (convert the THCA into THC) and make infused cannabutter. If you already have cannabutter prepared, skip ahead to step 5.

Step 2: To decarboxylate your weed, preheat the oven to 220 degrees Fahrenheit and weigh one gram of cannabis flower. Use a grinder, scissors, or your hands to evenly break apart your flower and sprinkle it on top of a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake your flower in the oven for approximately 40 minutes, making sure to flip your flower halfway through the cooking period.

Step 3: While your weed is cooking, set up a double boiler and warm the butter to 220 degrees Fahrenheit. When your marijuana is finished baking, pour it into the melted butter and stir well. Allow the weed butter mixture to sit at 220 degrees for 45 minutes, occasionally stirring with a spatula.

Step 4: Remove the butter from the stove and filter the plant materials through a fine-mesh strainer lined with a double layer of cheesecloth. Squeeze the plant matter into a bowl or mason jar to strain most of the butter. Place the butter in the refrigerator to cool slightly and solidify while prepping your space cake mixture.Step 5: Set your oven’s temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Use cooking spray to grease your cake tin and sprinkle it with flour, as this will make it easier to remove the cake when you’re finished.

Step 6: Figure out how much cannabutter you want to use. If you’re an experienced cannabis consumer with a high tolerance, feel free to use the full half-cup of cannabutter. If you’re a new or low-dose cannabis consumer, use ¼ cup cannabutter and ¼ cup regular, non-infused butter. You could even use one tablespoon of cannabutter and 7 tablespoons of regular, non-infused butter to ensure the potency isn’t too high. 

Step 7: Grab the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, eggs, milk, softened cannabutter, and regular butter if necessary. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix until the dough is smooth and combined, and pour in chocolate chips if desired.

Step 8: Spoon the space cake batter into the cake pan and spread it evenly. Place your mixture in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. You’ll know your space cake is done when you poke it with a toothpick, and it emerges clean. If the toothpick has some residue, keep baking for three more minutes and recheck.

Step 9: When your space cake is done baking, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Then remove the space cake from the pan and allow it to cool on a wire rack completely. Cut your cake into eight equal servings and voila: you’ve created your very own space cake. Enjoy with caution!

Store your space cake in an airtight container and place leftovers in the freezer for up to one month. It’s always a good idea to label your space cakes, especially if you have roommates. Keep out of reach from pets and children.

If you’d like to make a semi-homemade space cake, you can always use a store-bought cake mix that calls for butter or oil. Swap out the regular butter or oil with the appropriate ratio of cannabutter to regular butter and follow the instructions on the box.

The Best Space Cakes:

A space cake is as awesome as it sounds. Imagine your favourite cake, but infused with the unbridled and buzzing power of cannabis! Pretty much ever coffeeshop in Amsterdam will offer space cakes in one form or another, and they have become increasingly popular with those who want to reach that high, but in a discreet and tasty manner.

With this in mind, we have put together an out-of-this-world space cake recipe so that you can make your very own.

• 8 grams of cannabis bud, or the equivalent strength in either cuttings or hash.
• 1 ¾ cups of flour
• 1 cup of non-salted butter
• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• ¾ cup of milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 ¾ teaspoons of baking powder
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• Any other ingredients you want to improve the cake with, such as cocoa powder, vanilla extract, dried fruit, icing/frosting, buttercream, chocolate chips, or anything else – your imagination is your only limit.

Equipment:

• A grinder
• A mixing bowl
• Spatula or mixing spoon
• A cake oven tin
• Non-stick spray or lining paper
• An oven
• A microwave
• A small bowl
• A skewer
• Optional: A wire rack
• Preheat your oven to somewhere between 104°C and 113°C. Place your weed (grinded) in an oven safe container. Heat it in the oven for 30–40 minutes. This will decarboxylate your weed, meaning that all cannabinoids become bioavailable.
• Pre-heat your oven to 190 degrees Celsius.
• Put your butter in a bowl and place it in the microwave for 20 seconds. You want it to melt into a gloopy, pasty consistency.
• Mix your freshly ground up cannabis into the butter.
• Add all of the sugar, flour, milk, cannabis butter, eggs, plus anything else you want to your mixing bowl. Mix everything together until you get a batter with a nice even consistency. This may take a few minutes, but it will ensure your cannabis is spread evenly as possible throughout the cake mix. Note: if the mix is a little bit too dry, add a splash of extra milk; if it is too wet, add some extra flour.
• Grease your cake tin with non-stick spray, or line it with non-stick baking paper.
• Carefully pour your cake batter into the tin, spreading it around so that it is evenly distributed.
• Place your tin in the oven and leave for 25 minutes to bake.
• After 25 minutes, stab the centre of the cake with a skewer. If it comes out clean, it is ready, if batter sticks to it, leave the cake in the oven for another 5 minutes.
• Allow the cake to cool for about 20 minutes in the tin; then place it upside down on the wire rack and remove the tin, allowing it to cool for a further 30 minutes.
• Once cooled, decorate the cake with anything you want. 

Enjoy!