Mulled Wine Cake

For mulled wine: In a large Dutch oven, bring wine, cinnamon, cloves, and anise to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil until wine is reduced to ¼ cup, about 20 to 30 minutes, stirring frequently during last 5 minutes of cooking. (The mixture will be thick and syrupy.) Let cool completely; discard spices. Stir in preserves. Set aside.

For streusel: In a medium bowl, stir together flour, almonds, sugar, and salt. Drizzle with melted butter, and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Crumble with your fingertips until desired consistency is reached.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with baking spray with flour. Line pan with parchment paper, letting excess extend over sides of pan.

In a large bowl, stir together butter and sugar until almost smooth. Whisk in milk and eggs. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt until smooth. Place 1 cup batter in a small bowl, and stir in mulled wine. Pour half of plain batter in prepared pan. Pour wine batter on top. Pour remaining plain batter on top. Swirl batters together with a knife. Sprinkle with streusel.

Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes, covering with foil after 30 minutes of baking to prevent excess browning, if necessary. Let cool completely in pan. Using excess parchment as handles, remove from pan.