How to Use Chinese Five Spice Powder in Baking
Flavor Your Cookies and Fruit Desserts With an Unusual Seasoning
Sep 19, 2009
Chinese five spice powder consists of Szechuan pepper, anise, cloves, cinnamon, and ground fennel. Anise, cloves and cinnamon are fairly common seasonings in baking. Ground fennel adds sweetness to the mix, and the pepper is almost negligible in a teaspoon of Chinese five Spice Powder. Try substituting Chinese five spice instead of nutmeg. The quantities are always very small and a good exchange. Chinese Five Spice is a more complex and subtle taste than nutmeg.
Chinese five spice powder is particularly suited to use with apples. It makes a welcome change to the traditional use of nutmeg with apples. And there is certainly no reason not to use both in the same recipe. The combined quantity should not exceed the quantity of nutmeg called for in the recipe, at least until you are familiar with the taste, and want more.
Apple Cake Recipe
For the Topping
- 1/2 Cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 Cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. five spice powder
Mix all of the ingredients in a small bowl, breaking up any lumps. Set aside for later.
For the Cake
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 Cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 Cups flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp.salt
- 1/2 Cup sour cream
- 1/2 Cup apple cider
- 3 small apples, peeled and chopped
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat the butter in a large bowl, adding the sugar a little at a time. Add the eggs, one at a time and the vanilla. Stir the baking powder and soda into the flour. Stir the sour cream and cider together until well blended. Alternately add the flour mixture and the cider mixture the the butter and sugar. Gently stir in the apples.
- Spread half of the batter in a greased 9" x 13" pan. Sprinkle on half of the topping. Spread the rest of the batter in the pan and top with the remaining topping. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a skewer stuck in the middle comes out clean. This makes a wonderfully moist cake.
Suggestions for What to Flavor With Chinese Five Spice
- sugar cookies
- Greek Wedding Cookies
- spice cake
- apple cider
- apple pie
- apple mango crisp
Baking with Chinese Five Spice is not as strange as it may seem. German pfefferenusse cookies have pepper in them and would be another good place to use Chinese five spice powder. Make your Christmas cookies even more special this year. Five Spice Powder goes best with any kind of butter based cookie that doesn't contain chocolate. Enjoy your apple cake with a great cup of coffee or hot cider.
 |
