Have you ever come across Mixed Spice? It is the British equivalent of a warming spice blend, like American Pumpkin spice, and blends for Dutch Speculaas, German Lebkuchen, Christollen, Persian Advieh, and more. It’s easy to make at home, but is also available store-bought in the UK.
I have a recipe for Mixed Spice in Chop Chop and I use it as one might, in drinks, bakes, pancake mix and more where aroma, fragrance, and warmth are desired. I add some to Christmas dried fruitcake mix as I soak it, and when I bake it.
You can go down several routes including using all ground spices, or combining ground and whole spices, like I did. To keep each batch fresh, it’s best to make it in small quantities. The recipe in Chop Chop calls for all ground spices but as I prepared a batch for Christmas, I was out of several ground spices so used a combination.
I measured them out into a cast iron pan, whole and ground and warmed them up to wake up, enliven the spices. Choose your path, as you desire.
Ingredients
1 teaspoon ground Ceylon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground mace
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Directions
If using all ground spices – in a container with a tight-fitting lid, combine all the ingredients. Seal and shake until well blended. Store at cool room temperature, away from light and heat, for up to 6 months.
And here’s how I went down the other route – if using a mix of whole and ground spices.
In a heavy-bottomed pan, combine the spices, and gently warm on medium heat. Stir often so the ground spices don’t burn – I was in a haste I fear, otherwise I would have toasted the whole spices and added the ground towards the end – be wise.
The good thing though is I tended over it, mother to child, and nary a burnt spot was there. After about 5 minutes, I took it off the heat, and set it on a rack to cool before transferring to the spice grinder. After zeveral grinds, it looked as fine as it would ever get.
It was time to pass it through a fine-mesh sieve to separate powder from bits – don’t discard them, they will go into a delicately spiced sugar. Spoon the mixed spice into a container with a lid. And as with the blend from all ground spices, seal and store at cool room temperature, away from light and heat, for up to 6 months.
Mixed spice sugar is the grande finale, the end of the road of the mixed spice bits that remained in the sieve. I blitz them up with sugar to make the most of it, turn the fine, almost powdered sugar into the pan used to toast the spices to pull every last bit, and that’s that. It gets used as desired.
So next Autumn, and even long before then, make this blend, and let it be the star of all your warm beverages :), move over pumpkin spice!
