Gifting Seasonal Sweets

Holiday gatherings and gifting may look a bit different this year, but we've rounded up some of our favorite recipes to bake with lots of love and deliver to those we wish we were celebrating with. While we certainly still love a good holiday cookie boxes, this spiced loaf cake is so packed with delicious flavor that it could stand alone as the show-stopping treat. And as an added bonus, you can gift them a beautiful vintage loaf pan along with the cake. Either way, any of the recipes below are sure to bring plenty of extra joy to end your gift recipient's year on a high note.

Spiced Pumpkin & Persimmon Cake

Inspired by the recipe by Claire Saffitz in her new book Dessert Person.

Ingredients:

4 1/2" x 8 1/2" loaf tin

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup grape seed oil

2 large eggs

1 tsp orange zest

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 Fuyu persimmon (sliced very thinly to garnish)

Demerara sugar

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease the loaf tin and line with parchment paper.
Mix dry ingredients - whisk together the flour, 5-spice powder, salt, and baking powder.
Mix wet ingredients - whisk together the pumpkin, sugar, oil, eggs, orange zest, orange juice, and vanilla.
Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, just until your batter is mixed well and evenly.
Pour the mixture into your lined loaf tin, and smooth out the top so the top is even. Arrange the thinly sliced persimmons along the top, then sprinkle the top with Demerara sugar.
Bake for about 60-70 minutes until the cake has risen and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake. Let cool in the pan (about 30 minutes) then loosen sides of the cake from the tin and use the parchment to lift it out. Place on a wire rack to let completely cool before slicing.