Image is for illustrative purposes only.
This is the warm spice blend that gives gingerbread its character: cinnamon and ginger up front, cloves and nutmeg for depth, and fennel, coriander and anise underneath to round everything out and carry the flavour long after the first bite. Ground together and kept in a sealed jar, it is ready whenever you need it.
Use it in gingerbread dough, spiced biscuits, fruit cakes, honey cakes and Christmas baking generally. A small amount goes a long way, so start with a teaspoon or two per batch of dough and adjust to your own taste. Because the blend is all dry ground spice, it keeps well, but it is at its most fragrant in the first few months.
Ingredients
The weights in the recipe table below will yield the following 'weight per unit' and 'number of units'. If you would like to change the recipe to cater to a different 'weight per unit' and/or 'number of units',
you can use the Recipe Calculator Tool below the ingredients table.
Note: The Recipe Calculator Tool is available to subscribers.
Weight Per Unit: 150
Number of Units: 1
Unit Size: jar of spice mix, about 150 g
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WEIGHT
(grams)
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ALTERNATIVE METRIC
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INGREDIENT
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IMAGE
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CONDITION
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A
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35 |
1.2 ounces
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Cinnamon
Cinnamon (/ˈsɪnəmən/ sin-ə-mən) is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods. While Cinnamomum verum is sometimes considered to be "true cinnamon", most cinnamon in international commerce is derived from related species, which are also referred to as "cassia" to distinguish them from "true cinnamon".
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ground |
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B
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15 |
0.5 ounce
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Nutmeg
Nutmeg is the seed kernel of a tropical fruit, warm and sweetly fragrant when grated. Freshly grated nutmeg is far more aromatic than pre-ground, which loses its perfume quickly.
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ground |
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C
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10 |
0.4 ounce
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Cloves
Cloves are the dried flower buds of a tropical evergreen tree, sold whole or ground. The ground form is intensely aromatic and slightly numbing, so it is always used in small amounts.
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ground |
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D
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15 |
0.5 ounce
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Ginger
Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) is a flowering plant, in the family Zingiberaceae whose rhizome, ginger root or simply ginger, is widely used as a spice or a folk medicine.
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ground |
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E
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25 |
0.9 ounce
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Fennel Powder
Fennel powder is dried fennel seed ground to a fine powder. It has a mild, sweet aniseed flavour and is used in spice blends for baking as well as in savoury cooking.
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ground |
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F
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25 |
0.9 ounce
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Coriander
Ground coriander is made from the dried seed of the coriander plant, not the leaf. It is warm, citrusy and slightly sweet, and it softens and rounds out stronger spices such as clove and ginger.
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ground |
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G
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25 |
0.9 ounce
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Anise
Ground anise is made from aniseed, a small seed with a sweet liquorice flavour. It is a traditional baking spice in European gingerbreads and spiced biscuits.
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ground |
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150
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Recipe Calculator Tool
Using this tool, you can alter this recipe for your own requirements. Use the two fields below to generate new weights for the ingredients above.
STEP 1. Enter your Custom Weight Per Unit
The 'Custom Weight Per Unit' is already loaded with the weight per unit for this recipe but can be changed if required. If all you wish to do is change the number of units (or servings), just leave the current weight per unit.
STEP 2. Enter your Custom Number of Units
This is the number of units (or servings) you want this recipe to yield.
STEP 3. Click Calculate
The new weights for your adjusted recipe will be displayed in the table above.
Method
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STEP
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ACTION
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DETAIL
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CONDITION
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1 |
Weigh |
Weigh A, B, C, D, E, F and G (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, fennel powder, coriander and anise) separately into a bowl. |
All spices finely ground; grind any whole seeds first |
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2 |
Sift |
Sift all the spices together through a fine sieve into a second bowl. |
No lumps or coarse pieces left behind |
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3 |
Mix |
Whisk the sifted spices together thoroughly so the colour is completely even. |
Uniform tan-brown powder with no streaks |
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4 |
Store |
Transfer to a clean, dry airtight jar and label it. |
Kept away from heat and light |
Important Notes
The scaled recipe makes about 150 g of spice mix, enough for several batches of gingerbread dough or spiced biscuits. Use roughly 1 to 2 teaspoons per 500 g of flour as a starting point and adjust to taste. Keep the mix in an airtight jar in a cool, dark cupboard; it will stay usable for a year but is at its best in the first three to six months. If you grind your own whole spices, grind and sieve them before weighing so the blend stays even. The spreadsheet gave no finishing notes for this recipe.
Tools & Arrangements
Digital scales, fine sieve, mixing bowls, whisk or spoon, spice or coffee grinder if grinding whole spices, airtight jar with label
