Without question, this is the most commonly requested recipe in my repertoire, and I am so excited to finally be sharing it on the blog. It’s a recipe scouted by my sister, Kathryn, that everyone in the family now makes. I gave it an extra fancy name to appeal to all you foodies, but really it is the cinchiest recipe of all time, and, let’s just be clear, we are using the term ‘bread’ loosely here. This, my friends, is C-A-K-E.
The recipe:
1 1/8 cups vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 tablespoons poppyseeds
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
3 cups flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Mix wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients gradually. Pour into 2 greased bread pans and bake at 350° for one hour.
For the glaze, mix the following and pour over partially cooled bread:
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Notes:
*Rather than two large bread pans, I typically opt for eight small pans (this is a small loaf in these photos). The baking time is more like 45 minutes. I set a timer for 40 and then check back until I get that nice bounce back you look for with cake.
*I like this parchment, twine, and rosemary look, but often opt for the simpler disposable pans and then just toss the loaf (still in the pan) in a cellophane bag with ribbon. You can get the aluminum kind at almost any grocery or dollar store, and I found some really darling cardboard ones at Target this year.
*The glaze gets nice and crusty from the granulated sugar (which you can see below). Most people LOVE that, but if you (like my husband) do not, you can experiment with powdered sugar for a different texture.
*If you don’t have or don’t care for poppyseeds, this bread is equally fantastic without them. My mom almost never includes them and just calls it ‘almond bread.’ Chopped almonds make a fun addition to the glaze, if you are a nut fan.
Let me know if you have any questions. This is such a quick recipe and you can knock eight neighbor Christmas gifts out in one batch! Happy baking!
Share this:
Comments