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I would say 80% of the reason I like to travel is because of food. I love trying new cuisines and learning about the food culture in different places. It’s not often that you get to see a cookbook that invokes both wanderlust and hunger. For me Far Afield by Shane Mitchell transported me to the far corners of the world and made me want to not only visit but learn about the locals and their food.
My favorite part of the book has to be the photography done by James Fisher – each photo is a small glimpse into the everyday life of locals. This book is not only a wonderful cookbook but a fabulous coffee table book as well just based on the photography!
Each recipe in the book is attached to a tradition of a local group of people. From Rajasthan, India to Iceland – you can try the recipes in the book to transport yourself around the world!
I decided to try to make Icelandic Spice Cake aka Farmhouse Spice Cake. I know spice cakes are usually made around fall/winter, but I was in the mood for a spice cake so I went for it!
The cake recipe is from a family in Fornihvammur, Iceland and this cake is usually baked around winter (when the sun barely comes out) and taken to a gathering where people come together to drink strong coffee and eat home-baked goods.
I added vanilla and salt to my cake since I like to do that with almost everything I bake. The recipe calls for an 8-inch springform pan, but I had mine in the dishwasher and out of pure laziness I used my 9×5 loaf pan. The baking time for a loaf pan is a little longer. The spice cake is dense yet moist.
This spice cake would compliment a cup of chai or coffee any morning. Since it’s the summer I enjoyed it with a cup of iced coffee and, man, it was perfect. Give this recipe a try and be sure to check out Shane Mitchell’s book, Far Afield!
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Icelandic Spice Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups milk
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan with butter and set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl. I set mine to medium speed and let is mix for 3 minutes until it was white and fluffy.
- While the butter is creaming, add flour, cocoa powder, spices, baking soda, baking powder and a pinch of salt to a mixing bowl and whisk together.
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the butter and beat for 1 minute.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in 3 increments, mixing well in between each batch.
- Set the mixer on low speed and slowly drizzle in the milk. Scrap down the bowl and mix until you have a smooth, homogenous batter.
- Pour the batter into the grease loaf pan and smooth it out with a spatula. Bake for 75 – 90 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center! Cool the cake and serve with coffee or tea!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: one 9x5 loaf
