Cinnamon swirl loaf cake

I find cooking or baking from a cookbook for the first time a tricky thing: if the recipe turns out good – which is the case most of the times – I feel like using that cookbook right away again, over and over, sometimes to exhaustion, but if the first recipe turns out bad I tend to put the cookbook aside. I know I shouldn’t do it because bad recipes can happen to anyone but I really can’t help it. Do you feel the same way?
After the amazing almond citrus drizzle cake I’d been meaning to use this beautiful cookbook again; the urge of baking a cake and some heavy cream about to go to waste in the fridge were the reasons I chose this cinnamon loaf: it turned out delicious, very tender and perfumed, perfect with a cup of tea or coffee – David Lesniak and David Muniz have done it again. :)

Cinnamon swirl loaf cake
slightly adapted from the gorgeous and delicious Piece of Cake: Home Baking Made Simple

Cinnamon sugar:
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (44g) brown sugar, packed
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Cake:
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (175g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream*

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 22.5x12.5cm (9x5in) loaf pan.
Cinnamon sugar: combine all the ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
Cake: in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the vanilla. On low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the sour cream in 3 or 4 additions, mixing just until incorporated – finish mixing by hand with a spatula. Pour 1/3 of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with ½ the cinnamon mixture. Cover with another 1/3 of the batter and sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon mixture. Spoon the remaining batter over it then, using a small knife or spatula, make a zigzag line from one narrow side of the pan to the other. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until golden and risen and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 15 minutes, then carefully unmold onto the rack and cool completely.

*homemade sour cream: to make 1 cup of sour cream, mix 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream with 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk until it starts to thicken. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 1 hour or until thicker (I usually leave mine on the counter overnight – except on very warm nights – and it turns out thick and silky in the following morning; refrigerate for a creamier texture)

Serves 6-8