Dutch Sweet Bread - The Daring Kitchen Challenge

It's been a while since I've posted any new desserts but I think this is a great one to get back into it again. I've joined with The Daring Kitchen again and am super excited about it. I used to be a member of the Daring Bakers when I wrote another blog and loved it but life was busy and I could no longer take the time to complete the challenges in a timely manner. Let's hope I can keep up with them this time.

This month's challenge is hosted by Andrea from 4pure. She gave us three different recipes to choose from to make a Dutch quick bread called ontbijtkoek (literally translated breakfast cake) or peperkoek (pepper cake) that is very popular in Holland. I chose the Kruidkoek, that choice was made a little bit because I had the ingredients on hand already.

This is a quick bread and not a yeast raised bread so it tends to be a little heavier. I wasn't surprised when I took my first bite and it was sweet and a little chewy, but I really do like this bread. My husband says it would make perfect french toast because you wouldn't need any syrup. I put a little bit of butter on my piece and it has such a lovely cinnamon flavor that I could eat half the loaf.

Dutch Sweet Bread (Kruidkoek)

4 cups (960 ml) (17-2/3 oz) (500 gm) all-purpose (plain) flour
1½ teaspoons (7 gm) baking powder
2½ cups (600 ml) (17-2/3 oz) (500 gm) brown sugar, firmly packed
2 teaspoons (10 gm) ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons (10 gm) ground nutmeg
2 cups (500 ml) milk
Directions:
Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4 and line a 30cmx12 cm (12“x5“)  baking tin with parchment paper.
Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl
Put the milk in a small saucepan and warm until it almost comes to a boil. Remove from the heat
add the sugar and whisk until the sugar has dissolved.
Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients whisk (by hand or using a machine) until the batter is totally smooth.
Pour into the baking tin and bake in a preheated moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4 oven for 90 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean
Take the cake out of the oven, allow it to cool in the pan for 5 minutes
After the 5 minutes take the cake out of the pan and let the cake cool down to room temperature before serving.

 This recipe is from 4pure