Caraway & Orange Seed Cake

From the masterful Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall in The Guardian, a perfect cake for a rainy weekend in Los Angeles:

Caraway and orange seed cake

This simple cake is great with a cup of tea. It keeps well for a few days in an airtight tin – if anything, it tastes even better. Makes one 22cm cake.

250g butter, softened, plus a little more for buttering the tin
350g self-raising flour
½ tsp ground mace
½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
Pinch of salt
250g caster sugar
4 eggs
30g caraway seeds
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
80g candied orange peel
4 tbsp milk
4 tbsp brandy
2 tbsp demerara sugar

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Lightly grease a 22cm spring-form cake tin, line with baking parchment and butter the parchment.

Into a bowl, sift the flour, mace, nutmeg and salt. In another bowl, cream the butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in the caraway, orange zest and candied peel. Fold in the flour until just combined, then stir in the milk and brandy. Spoon into the tin and smooth with a spatula. Sprinkle the demerara evenly over the top and bake for 45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out on to a rack to cool completely.