The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word CAKES
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
C
A
K
E
S
More clues leading to the result CAKES
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "King Alfred’s spoils" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case king alfred’s spoils = cakes.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does CAKES mean?
CAKES noun- A rich, sweet dessert food, typically made of flour, sugar and eggs and baked in an oven, and often covered in icing.
- A small mass of baked dough, especially a thin loaf from unleavened dough.
- A thin wafer-shaped mass of fried batter; a griddlecake or pancake.
- A block of any of various dense materials.
- A trivially easy task or responsibility; from a piece of cake.
- Money.
- Used to describe the doctrine of having one's cake and eating it too.
- A buttock, especially one that is exceptionally plump.
- Coat (something) with a crust of solid material.
- To form into a cake, or mass.
- To cackle like a goose.