Spice Cake

Have you noticed? I am only baking pound cakes.
And here comes the next one. I don't know how this happened, but this is absolutely my favorite one.
It bursts of all the Christmas flavors you will ever know.

After I had this cake in my oven, the whole apartment smelled like Christmas in person. I don't even know how exactly the "Christmas-person" looks, besides Santa, but if that person had it's own smell, it would smell exactly like this cake.

There are so many different flavors that represent Christmas but this recipe combines all of them. It holds oranges, hazelnuts, cinnamon, cloves and allspice. I mean more Christmas flavors can't you find anywhere....
If this cake would have a fan club, I would be the first person joining.
Enjoy!!

Spice Cake

Serves one 9 x 5-inch loaf

Ingredients:
1 cup butter softened (230g)
one organic orange and organic lemon
3/4 cups packed brown sugar (150g)
1 tsp vanilla
1 pinch salt
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour (125g)
1/3 cup cornstarch (50g)
2 tsp baking powder
2/3 cups ground hazelnuts
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground allspice
4 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 F and grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment cream the butter. Under hot water wash the lemon and the orange, dry them with a paper towel and grate off the zest.
Add the sugar, vanilla, salt, grated zest and eggs. Cream until the batter is light in color.
Sift the flour and cornstarch over the batter. Mix in hazelnuts, baking powder, spices and orange juice.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the oven for 40 minutes.