Baking With Holiday Spices

Twinkling lights and Christmas carols tell us the holidays are on the way. So do the lovely smells emanating from our kitchens. Spices like cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg are especially delicious this time of year.

If you're in the mood to bake, keep reading to learn more about holiday spices, along with a few mouth-watering recipes to try yourself.

Holiday Spices: What's What

How much do you know about spices? Here's a quick rundown on the spices most commonly used in baking. Most grow in tropical areas of southeast Asia.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon comes from the bark of two types of tropical evergreen trees. The cinnamon that's probably in your cupboard is cassia tree cinnamon, which comes primarily from Indonesia. While cinnamon is often used in baking here in the US and in Europe, it's frequently used to season meats and fish in Asia.

Nutmeg

Nutmeg also comes from a tropical evergreen tree. Grating the seed of the fruit of a nutmeg tree produces nutmeg powder. Mace is another spice that comes from the nutmeg tree; it's ground from the covering of the nutmeg seed.

Cloves

Cloves are actually dried flower buds from the clove tree. Interestingly, a clove tree must grow for 20 years before it begins to produce buds. Use them whole to season meat or ground in baking.

Allspice

Allspice is not a combination of spices, as people might assume from the name. In fact, allspice trees are native to the Caribbean and now grow in Central America as well. The spice comes from dried berries. Use it either whole or ground.

Star Anise

Star Anise comes from the dried fruit of yet another tropical evergreen tree. Like cloves, it takes several years of growth before harvesting star anise fruits for drying. Use it whole like a bay leaf (remove it before eating) or ground in baked goods.

Holiday Spices: Recipes to Try

Ready to cook with these spices? Here are a few recipes that go beyond cinnamon rolls and gingerbread cookies.

Chocolate Star Anise Cake

This decadent chocolate cake from Jane Lawson's cookbook Spice Market, found on Two Coffee Beans, is practically flourless and filled with flavor. You will need a kitchen scale, since most ingredient quantities are in metric format.

Nutmeg Cake

This nutmeg cake recipe we found on Saveur calls for more nutmeg than we've ever used before, along with a healthy teaspoon of cinnamon. If you like nutmeg, this cake may be your new favorite. Definitely get a cake stencil and dust the top with powdered sugar for a finishing touch.

Chocolate Kahlua Cake

Finally, we love this chocolate Kahlua Bundt cake recipe from Eat the Love, which combines cinnamon and cloves with chocolate, orange and Kahlua. Such a great blend of flavors, and perfect for the holidays. The recipe calls for a 12-cup Bundt pan, but you can use a 9- or 10-cup Bundt pan. Just keep pouring batter until the pan is three-quarters full. Then use the rest of the batter for cupcakes or bundtlettes.