Honey Spice Loaf

My sister Penelope made this moist and flavourful loaf for the Easter meal. Celebrity Chef Anna Olson is the original source of the recipe. No sugar or eggs involved, but lots of spices.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (150 g) whole wheat flour
• 1 cup (150 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 ½ tsp (7.5 g) baking powder
• ½ tsp (2.5 g) baking soda
• ½ tsp (2.5 g) salt
• ½ tsp (1.5 g) ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp (1.5 g) ground anise seed
• ½ tsp (1.5 g) ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp (1 g) ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp (1 g) ground cloves
• 1 ½ cups (375 mL) 2% milk
• 1 cup (300 g) honey
• Finely grated zest of 1 orange
• ¼ cup (60 g) unsalted butter, melted

Honey Glaze:

1 Tbsp honey, 1 Tbsp butter, 1 cup  (130 g) icing sugar, sifted

Methods:

Preheat your oven to 350 ºF and grease a 9-x-5-inch loaf tin.

Measure the whole wheat flour into a large mixing bowl and then sift in the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and all of the spices. Add the milk, honey and orange zest and whisk until smooth, then whisk in the melted butter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about an hour, until a skewer inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean. Let the loaf cool in its tin for 30 minutes and then turn it out to cool completely on a rack.

For the honey glaze, stir the melted butter and honey together and then stir in the icing sugar, adding water if needed to achieve a glaze consistency.