A smudge of spice in dessert is a win for dessert enthusiasts, in this case, cinnamon. Commonly observed in bread, bars, spiced custards, cookies, muffins, cupcakes, toppings, fruit salads and, in this case, easy and delicious loaf cake. A cinnamon swirl loaf cake is made with vanilla batter and then swirled with buttery cinnamon sugar.

A complementing sauce like caramel, frosting-like cream cheese, or a baked topping like streusel kicks it up a notch.

Like marble cakes, alternate vanilla batter with a cinnamon mixture to make the swirl. This is done in several layers then a skewer or spoon is run throughout the batter to make a swirl.

How to make Cinnamon Swirl Loaf Cake

Make the Cinnamon Swirl

To make the cinnamon swirl, you will need;

Cinnamon
Unsalted butter( room temperature)
Brown sugar
Pinch of salt
Flour

Everything is mixed in a bowl to a smooth paste. To make mixing easier, butter should be room temperature or semi-melted.

You can use any sugar; however, brown sugar increases the caramel flavour of the cake. It also melts quickly during baking; hence no gritty surprises with every bite.

Make the loaf cake

The loaf cake is a basic vanilla butter cake, and like in most cases, it’s better to observe a few things;

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy
Don’t overbeat the eggs; whip to combine
Avoid overmixing after adding the flour mixture
Properly prepare the loaf pan to avoid the cake getting stuck after baking. You can butter and flour, use baking paper or spray on the loaf pan.

Make homemade Salted Caramel sauce.

Mix water with castor sugar in a medium saucepan. Place over medium-low heat and let it cook until golden amber in colour.

Immediately stir in hot, heavy cream and cook up to 105 degrees C. Remove from heat, and let it cool to 50C then stir in room temperature butter, vanilla extract and salt, mix to an immersion until homogeneous and set aside to cool.

Tips when making Cinnamon Swirl loaf Cake.

Start checking the cake from the 25-minute mark until it begins to brown along the edges. One thing that can ruin a loaf cake is opening the oven too early or inserting a skewer into the cake, which can make it sink. The best time to check for readiness is when the cake starts to brown along the edges, primarily from around the 25th-minute mark.

Brown sugar will intensify the flavour and will melt easily in the cake during baking.

You can add different toppings like a spiced streusel or frost with cinnamon-spiced swiss meringue buttercream, or caramel chocolate ganache.

Recommended Equipment

Loaf baking pan
Thermometer
Stand mixer

CINNAMON SWIRL LOAF CAKE

Recipe by WinnieCourse: DessertDifficulty: Easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Baking time

minutes

Ingredients

280 gm All-purpose flour
120gm unsalted butter
150gm castor sugar
3 large eggs
250ml milk
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
Cinnamon swirl
80 gm butter
100gm brown sugar
Pinch of salt
60gm flour
2 1/2 tbs cinnamon
Salted caramel sauce.
150 gm granulated sugar
320 gm heavy cream
80 gm butter
1/4 tsp salt
100 ml water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Start by making the cinnamon swirl. In a small bowl, mix semi-melted butter with sugar, cinnamon, flour and brown sugar until combined. Set it aside.
Preheat the oven to 180C, butter and flour in a loaf pan, then set aside. Sift and mix all-purpose flour with baking powder. Set it aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, cream butter, vanilla and castor sugar until light and fluffy using a stand or hand mixer.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly at every addition.
Add the flour mixture in three batches alternating with the milk, and mix to combine. Scoop batter in a prepared loaf pan, alternating with the cinnamon mixture then swirl with a skewer or spoon to completely distribute the cinnamon mixture.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for up to 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Set it aside to cool.
To make the salted caramel sauce, mix sugar, salt and water in a small pan and let it cook until it turns amber in colour then pour in hot heavy cream stirring constantly.

Let it cook up to 105 degrees C then set it aside to cool. When it cools to 50C stir in unsalted room temperature butter and vanilla extract.

Drizzle over cooled cinnamon swirl loaf cake.

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