Constant Comment Spice Cake
by sarah
I love tea. And I love spices. So it stands to reason that spice teas would be my favorite. I love the way they smell, the way they taste, the way they make me think of fall and winter and Christmas and home. My favorite tea by far is Bigelow’s Constant Comment, a soft, rich blend of orange and “sweet spice” (or so the back of the box tells me). I drink Constant Comment all year round, but as soon as the cold, rainy weather really kicks in, my consumption goes up to at least 2 or 3 cups a day. I can’t get enough of the stuff. I buy it from Amazon by the case, and I’ve actually considered setting up an Amazon subscription, to make sure I never forget to order more. Because a day without my tea? Disaster.
I love to bake too, but since learning I was gluten intolerant a few years ago, my baking has been leaning more towards the buy-a-good-gluten-free-mix-and-add-things-to-it style. I get most of my mixes from Gluuteny – they’re leaps and bounds better than anything else I’ve tried – and then mix in anything from fruit to nuts to spices, to add a little variety. I’ve had a bag of Gluuteny’s Vanilla Pound Cake mix sitting on the kitchen counter for a week, and I was suddenly inspired while making my tea the other day – if the spices in Constant Comment are so good in tea, why wouldn’t the same combination work for a cake?
So, without further ado, here is my latest creation. I used a GF pound cake mix, but for all you gluten-eaters out there, just mix it into your favorite pound cake or yellow cake recipe – as long as it’s something with a relatively delicate flavor, it shouldn’t overpower the spice mix too much. If you don’t have a favorite cake recipe, I’d recommend you consult the Joy of Cooking, or try Alton Brown’s recipe – I haven’t tried it myself, but his recipes are simple, and they’ve never failed me.
Constant Comment Spice Cake:
Prepare cake batter per your favorite recipe or mix (pound cake or yellow cake will work). Then mix in:
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/8 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. orange extract
1 tsp. fresh orange zest
Bake according to recipe. Enjoy! (I’m enjoying some right now, with a glass of eggnog. Yum!)
Great job creating a cake with the flavors of Constant Comment! Did you know that we have a recipe using the actual tea in a cake? You can find it at: http://www.bigelowtea.com/recipes/dessert/constant-comment-spice-cake.aspx
Enjoy your cake … and your tea!
-Deb for Bigelow Tea
Thanks so much for the link, Deb – I hadn’t seen that before! The hint of black tea was the only flavor missing from my cake – brewing the tea in the milk before mixing it in would be a great way to get that flavor. I’ll have to try your recipe next time!
I’ve used this recipe to make cupcakes and it’s always a hit! I make a cinnamon cream cheese frosting to go with it. The one change I’ve made is instead of plain water, I steep 3-4 black tea bag in it to give a good strong tea taste. That really adds a lot to the cake.