Cinnamon Swirl Tea Loaf

**Made July 6**
Mmmmmm, my house smells sooo yummy right now. You wish you were here. Really, you do! Because I am making Cinnamon Swirl Tea Bread from The English Kitchen. Trying to cater to Joe, that stinker. I think he just doesn't like fruit in his baked...things. Lets see if he likes cinnamon!! This recipe is fantasticly easy (Apparently that isn't a word. Ha!) You just toss all the ingredients together and mix them! (Okay, maybe not toss...oh, you know what I mean!)

Cinnamon Swirl Tea Loaf (original recipe)
Printable Recipe

4 ounces butter, softened (1/2 cup)
2 large free range eggs
250ml of sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
7 ounces caster (superfine) sugar (1 cup)
8 1/2 ounces plain flour (2 cups)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
6 TBS soft light brown sugar, packed
2 TBS ground cinnamon
dash allspice (I didn't have allspice, so I used nutmeg)

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 by 5 inch loaf tin and line with baking paper. Set aside.

Measure the butter, eggs, sour cream, vanilla, sugar, flour, soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Beat together until combined, but do not overbeat. Stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon and allspice (or nutmeg!)

Spread half of the batter into the prepared baking tin. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Spread the remainiing batter over top. Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar. Using a round bladed knife, gently cut through the batter to swirl the cinnamon sugar through. (I over-swirled. Gently would be the key word here...)

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until well risen and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Store wrapped tightly in cling wrap. Serve cut in slices, toasted or not, and spread with butter.

Looks kinda... funky, a bit lumpy, perhaps... I prefer to think of it as Rustic!! I did over-swirl though. Be nice to your bread... I wasn't. Poor bread...

Okay, I think we can all agree this is NOT bread. This is CAKE. "Loaf", at the very least. Yum! I love cinnamon, and nutmeg, and I love all the crunchy cinnamon brown sugar crust on this loaf. But my favorite part is definitely the swirls of spicy cinnamon, melty brown sugar swirls in the moist, buttery CAKE. Huh, melty isn't a word either... what's wrong with this language... 

The boys had this wonderful cinnamon loaf for breakfast every day till it was gone! Another winner!!