Homemade British Mixed Spice

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This famous British spice blend has been enjoyed in Christmas baking and beyond for several centuries.  With both sweet and savory applications, you will love this deliciously versatile homemade Mixed Spice recipe!

I’m a huge fan of homemade seasoning blends. For flavor and freshness the store-bought versions just can’t begin to compare. I’m also a fan of traditional British baking and first fell in love with it when I lived in England. I lived for nearly 7 years and continue to go back at least once every year, all the while sampling traditional bakes from the different regions in the country. Many of these bakes call for Mixed Spice, something that is very difficult to source outside the UK. Your search ends here. This wonderful homemade blend will add so much flavor and fragrance to all your traditional British bakes!

What is Mixed Spice?

The term “mixed spice” for this popular British spice blend has been referenced in cookbooks since at least the early 1800’s.  It’s especially popular in baked goods (thus also called “cake spice”) during the Christmas season where it’s used in a variety of holiday baked desserts including English Christmas pudding, thus also commonly called “pudding spice.” Mixed spice is similar to gingerbread and pumpkin spice blends in other countries in its choice of spices and has a warm and sweet-spicy flavor and fragrance.

If you enjoy British holiday baking, Mixed Spice is absolutely essential to have in your spice cabinet.  It can be challenging to find it outside of the UK and commonwealth countries.  Many people here in the U.S. for example will just substitute gingerbread spice or pumpkin spice but as I mentioned before, it is not the same.  The difference is subtle but there is a difference and if you’re after that authentic British flavor, stick with Mixed Spice.

How to Use It

Mixed Spice is used in a variety of cakes, puddings, pies, breads and buns, cookies, pancakes, cupcakes, gingerbreads, and fruit salads.  For a unique flavor boost, you can substitute this blend for anything that calls for cinnamon. You can also get creative with savory dishes like adding it to stuffing mixes for your turkey or using it as a seasoning for roast chicken. Here are a few traditional recipes that call for this blend:

• Bara Brith
• Barmbrack
• Lardy Cake
• Figgy Pudding
• Cornish Fairings

Mixed Spice Ingredients

Mixed spice commonly includes cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and/or mace, cloves, ginger and coriander. Some modern adaptations may include spices like cardamom and star anise but adding those crosses over into the territory of German gingerbread spice (Lebkuchengewuerz) which is fine, but I prefer to keep the two separate and distinct.  In other words, when I’m making traditional British baked goods for Christmas, I want them to taste distinctly and authentically British.  So I stick with the more traditional spices for this classic spice blend.

There is no standard rule for the ratios of spices in Mixed Spice.  Generally the cinnamon is slightly more prominent than the other spices but feel free to customize the ratios to feature the spices you want to be dominant in whatever particular dish you’re making.

Homemade Mixed Spice Recipe

To make this blend, simply combine all the ingredients together in an airtight container and keep it store in a dark, cool place.

Spices ideally should always be ground from whole spices that have been toasted – that will always yield a stronger flavor and aroma.  But as long as you’re using fresh pre-ground spices, you’ll have a fabulous mixed spice blend to feature in your delicious British holiday baking.

The fragile oils of spices (the source of the aroma and flavor) evaporate and weaken over time, so I usually make just enough to last me for a couple of recipes and then make another fresh batch.  It takes less than 5 minutes to make a batch, so there’s really no reason not to!

Enjoy!