Join me for Tea – Spice Cake

Tomorrow it will be six weeks since I moved into the Home by the sea and I haven’t really cooked a lot since then. Besides working and unpacking, and showing visitors around my new home, I haven’t found time to do any leisure baking. By that I mean more than what is required to sustain life!

I travel a long way to work so I often get back home late in order to avoid the peak hour traffic jams. On those nights, the MotH [Man of the House], improvises or uses the spouse-approved, (and proven), C.Y.O. method. Read: (cook your own).

First cake in the New Home

Having a quiet morning this week, meant I was ready to bake something and Ju-Lyn, over at All Things Bright and Beautiful, provided the final piece of motivation I needed to get me started, posting her Honey Spice cake recipe, (which she had adapted from Anita Bean).

I was determined to try it this morning. The MotH loves having a morning tea with freshly baked treats to the point that morning tea, with him, has become something of an art form.

Sitting together over a cuppa gives us a good chance to talk in a way that we don’t do, for the rest of our busy day – he is often at the hardware, Hi-fi shop, or pet store and I am busy pottering about getting the house in order, if I am not at work.

So back to the delicious cake. It was a throw-it-all together kind of recipe – they are really the best kind, aren’t they? No stress and it cooked beautifully in my new Westinghouse oven. [smile]

I was a little short of ground almond for this recipe, so I topped the measure up with a little extra flour. The recipe adapted beautifully.

With a light dusting of vanilla or icing sugar on top, to serve, this Spice Cake is light and tasty and just the perfect accompaniment for tea.

Ju-lyn had topped the cake with lemon icing, whereas I added a dollop of home made lemon butter, on the side, for a decadent indulgence.

As the recipe worked so well, I was thinking I could even be a little adventurous and add walnuts, next time. Or even try a gluten free version for my diet conscious son.

Will you try it?

Morning Tea Spice Cake Recipe

Adapted from Ju-Lyn’s Honey Cake which was adapted from Instagram @anitabean1

Ingredients

• 165g self-raising flour
• 60g ground almonds
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 50g brown sugar
• 50g runny honey
• 100ml olive oil
• 2 eggs (mine were 700 grams each)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp milk
• glace icing (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Line a 20cm baking tin, I used one with a hole in the middle.
3. Mix all the ingredients until well combined.
4. Spoon the mixture into the tin and smooth surface with spatula.
5. Bake in oven 20-25 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
6. Leave the tin to cool for at least 15 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool.
7. Dust top with icing sugar and serve with a dollop of cream, or lemon butter.

I have got to go have another piece now. Join me for morning tea at the Home by the Sea. I will begin posting weekly morning tea recipes.

Will you join in – posting a recipe? #joinmefortea