Hibiscus Loaf Cake
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Sweet almond cake is layered with a sweet and tart hibiscus stripe that’s topped off with lightly flavored hibiscus glaze.
I was recently looking through one of my food magazines and I saw the top 10 flavors of the year. Of those ten there were five that I knew I wanted to find recipes for.
One of those flavors was hibiscus. In the past I’ve used hibiscus tea but I’ve never used it in any other form. I started looking at my options and I found that Selefina Spices sells hibiscus powder.
Hibiscus flower powder is a bright magenta color and can add a nice pop to foods as well as adding a slightly sour taste and lightly fruity aroma. It is often used to add color and flavor to foods.
I wanted to make a recipe that showcased both the flavor and the color of the hibiscus. I finally found a recipe for a loaf cake that had a gorgeous hibiscus stripe in the middle as well as a pretty pink glaze on top.
Ingredients:
- all purpose flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt (I like using sea salt but table salt works too)
- butter (I like using salted butter to balance out the sweetness but you can use unsalted)
- sugar
- eggs (at room temperature)
- almond extract paste (I like using the paste because I can better control the flavor but you can use regular extract)
- sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
- hibiscus powder
The recipe is a basic cake recipe that’s made in a loaf pan. You use one cake batter and then flavor it with almond and hibiscus.
I used almond extract paste to flavor the cake because I feel that it has a better flavor and it’s easier to control the flavor. If you don’t have almond paste you can use almond extract in place of it.
I was hoping for a bright pinkish red stripe in the middle of the cake. Unfortunately after baking it was more of a purple color than a pink color but the contrast between the two types of cake was still well defined.
Can I bake this in a cake pan?
While I’m sure you can bake it in a cake pan I have not tried it and cannot suggest a temperature or a time for the cake to bake if you make it in a cake pan instead of a loaf pan.
What can I use instead of hibiscus powder?
You can use a hibiscus tea bag and brew it with 1/4 cup of boiling water for 5 minutes. Use 2 tablespoons in the cake to flavor the hibiscus part and add an additional 2 tablespoons of flour. Use 1 Tablespoon of hibiscus tea in place of 1 Tablespoon milk in the glaze.
Can I use substitute something for the almond extract?
If you don’t like almond extract then you can use vanilla extract instead. I would double the amount when adding vanilla as it is not as strong of a flavor.
Can I freeze this cake?
You can! If you want to freeze the cake do not glaze it. After the cake has baked allow it to cool completely. Wrap it in plastic wrap and then in foil and place in a freeze bag. Freeze for up to 6 months. You can also slice the cake and wrap the individual slices and freeze for up to 3 months.
Once the cake was cooled I made a simple glaze to put on top of it. It was made of powdered sugar, lemon juice, water, and hibiscus powder. It turned a deep pinkish red color.
I poured it over top of the cake and let some of it drip over top of the sides. It really helped to finish the look of the cake and I knew it would add more bold hibiscus flavor.
More Loaf Cake Recipes:
- Fig Almond Tea Cake
- Copycake Starbucks Lemon Loaf
- The Best Grapefruit Cake
- Pumpkin Peekaboo Cake
- Blood Orange Loaf Cake
Once I cut into the cake I loved the look of it. The deep pink of the glaze with the white of the cake and the purple layer in the middle was so pretty.
This cake is really yummy. I wasn’t sure what it was going to taste like but the sweet almond cake with the tart hibiscus glaze made for the perfect bite.
If you’ve tried my Hibiscus Loaf Cake or any other recipe on Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. I love hearing from you! You can FOLLOW ME on:
Hibiscus Loaf Cake
Sweet almond cake is layered with a sweet and tart hibiscus stripe topped off with lightly flavored hibiscus glaze.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 1/2 c. flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 c. (1 stick) butter
- 1 c. sugar
- 1 teaspoon almond extract paste
- 1/2 c. sour cream
- 2 Tablespoons hibiscus powder
For the glaze:
- 1 c. powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons hibiscus powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan (8 x 4 ) with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar.
- Add in the eggs and almond extract and mix well.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until combined.
- Stir in the sour cream and mix well.
- Remove one cup of batter to a small bowl. Add the hibiscus powder to the batter and mix well.
- Pour half the almond batter in the loaf pan. Add the hibiscus batter on top of the almond batter. Pour the remaining almond batter on top.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
- To make the glaze whisk together all ingredients. Pour over top of the cake and let set 15 minutes.
- Slice and serve.
Notes
Recipe adapted from CH Sugar
