Spice Loaf Cake (AD – Gifted) – What Jessica Baked Next

This moist spice loaf cake is a new family favourite and a wonderful alternative dessert to enjoy over Easter.

I was kindly sent a few of Freshly Spiced’s spice blends to bake with. I wasn’t contracted to write a blog post and all views and opinions are my own.

Happy Friday! I have the perfect weekend bake with this deliciously moist and flavour-packed Spice Loaf Cake.

The lovely people over at Freshly Spiced recently got in contact with me and offered me the chance to try out some of their spice blends in my baking.

With Easter less than a month away now, I’m on the lookout for some new desserts I can serve for my friends and family for when we meet. At this time of year spices are often used in bakes like traditional hot cross buns, I love the aroma the hot cross buns but I’m not overly keen on dried fruit. This loaf cake combines all the delicious spices found in hot cross buns minus the fruit.

I started to brainstorm recipes and remembered spotting a nice cake in SWEET by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh and thought that would be a great bake to showcase Freshly Spiced’s Sweet Spice Blend.

Freshly Spice’s Sweet Spice Blend is an aromatic combination of 9 ingredients (brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, mace, allspice berries and rose petals).

It offers a different take on a mixed spice and creates a unique Middle Eastern mixed spice with hints of Turkish and Indian inspiration. The spice blends all come already toasted, which means these spices will have more of an intense flavour.

The spice blends I received were 100% vegan and gluten-free, which is reassuring if you have certain allergies or an intolerance.

I’m working my way through the Sweet Spice Blend that I used in this cake recipe and cannot wait to try the Turkish Drinking Spice Blend, which I’m looking forward to adding to hot chocolate and I’m excited to taste the Sweet Treat Spice Blend too by mixing that into my morning porridge.

I paired a slice of this loaf cake with Greek yoghurt and fresh blackberries and raspberries, but I also thoroughly enjoyed it just buttered. Either way it’s going to make a fabulous breakfast, afternoon treat or dessert. This cake reminded me of cakes I’ve had before in Cyprus and takes me back to one of my favourite travel destinations.

(Serves 10-12)

Ingredients:

180g butter (salted or unsalted), softened

160g dark brown sugar

160g light brown sugar

Zest from one large orange

3 large free-range eggs

120g sour cream

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon mixed spice – I used Freshly Spiced’s Sweet Spice Blend

220g plain flour

3/4 teaspoon salt (only add a pinch if using salted butter)

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (or malt vinegar)

Method:

Preheat oven to 190°C / 170°C Fan / 375°F / Gas Mark 5. Grease a 900g/2lb loaf tin and line with parchment paper, set aside.
Place the butter, sugar and orange zest in a large mixing bowl. Cream until lightened and smooth, you don’t want to aerate the cake too much.
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the sour cream and vanilla and whisk again until combined.
Sift the mixed spice, flour and salt together into a separate bowl and set aside.
Add the dry ingredients a third at a time along with a third of the egg and sour cream mixture and mix until completely incorporated.
Stir the bicarbonate of soda with the vinegar in a small bowl – it will fizz up a little. Add this mixture to the cake batter and mix until combined. Transfer the cake batter into the loaf tin and bake for 50-55 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack and leave it to cool completely before slicing.
The cake will keep stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Recipe Notes:

I used just light brown sugar in my cake, I have written the recipe down as it is in the cookbook using both dark and light brown sugar.
This recipe states that the cake should take roughly 50-55 minutes to bake, however mine took about 15 minutes longer – all ovens are different, but this might be not be the case for you.
I recommend to leave this cake overnight before slicing as the flavour will intensify.
The cake itself is delicious served plain, spread with a generous helping of butter, with Greek yoghurt or with a scoop of ice cream and fresh berries.