Tag Archives: cake

Rhubarb and Apple Spice Cake

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This recipe was given to me by my friend Fiona.

She has made it many times and had success with several variations, such as using pears poached in red wine – drained and cut into chunks – instead of the apples. When she made it for our French group lunch she used poached quinces instead of apples and it was delicious. So as I had some poached quinces in the freezer which needed using up that’s what I did. Feel free to try other combinations.

1 tea bag (English breakfast or similar)
3 Tbs boiling water
A generous half cup of raisins or sultanas
2 cups caster sugar
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla essence
300g plain flour (2 and 2/3 cups)
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp each cloves, nutmeg and mace
4-5 stalks of fresh rhubarb, cut into 2cm lengths
2 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 cup walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped
To serve:
Rhubarb compote (optional)
Whipped cream, thick pouring cream or sour cream (shown in photo)

In a small bowl, pour boiling water over tea bag, press to release the flavour, then remove the tea bag. Add the raisins, mix to cover, then leave for half an hour. Drain raisins, discarding the liquid.

Meanwhile preheat oven to 160°C. Grease a 25cm springform pan and line with baking paper. Place eggs and sugar in an electric mixer and whisk until thick and pale. Add the oil and vanilla essence and mix well for a minute or two. Place a sieve over the bowl then measure the flour, salt and spices and add them to the mixture through the sieve. Fold in the rhubarb, apple and nuts. Make sure there are no pockets of flour. The mixture will be quite stiff.

Bake for an hour and 3/4 or until golden brown and firm on top. Ovens vary so start checking after an hour and a half. Cool in the tin for half an hour then remove. Store in an airtight tin when cold.

The cake should have a crunchy top and a chewy centre and improves after a day or two of storage.

Serve with rhubarb compote and cream as a dessert.

Serves 12

Variations: I didn’t have any mace so I added more cinnamon. Use poached pears or quinces in red wine instead of the apples.

Upside-down Mandarin Cake

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This week’s recipe for a gluten-free, dairy-free cake using mandarin oranges which are now in season makes a sumptuous crowd-pleasing dessert.

The upside-down mandarin idea came from a recipe on a website I subscribe to called Delicious. However, the cake mixture in that recipe included flour and I needed to make a gluten-free, dairy-free dessert to take to a dinner party.

So I used a different recipe for an orange cake which uses almond meal instead of flour, used mandarins instead of oranges and combined the two recipes into one. Best served on the day it’s made, this cake is delicious.

Topping:
8 mandarin oranges
2 Tbs runny honey
Cake:
3 mandarin oranges
6 large eggs at room temp
1¼ cups sugar
1½ tsp baking powder
4 cups almond meal (bought or made in a food processor)
To serve:
2 Tbs sugar
250ml mascarpone
½ cup thick cream

Topping: Grease and line a 22cm (9 inch) cake pan with baking paper. Drizzle the honey evenly over the bottom. Finely grate the peel from 4-5 of the mandarin oranges and keep for the cake. Peel the 8 mandarin oranges, discard the peel and arrange the segments in circles in one layer over the base of the cake tin.

Cake: Preheat oven to 160° C. Place the 4 mandarins in a saucepan, cover with water then bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Drain and cool.

Make almond meal in a food processor by processing shelled almonds until very fine. They can be blanched almonds or not. Measure 4 cups and keep any excess for another use. Place the cooled mandarins in food processor (no need to wash it after processing the almonds) and process for a minute or two. Add remaining ingredients, including the almond meal and the grated rind you reserved earlier.

Scrape into the cake pan. Bake for 60 minutes or until well-risen, golden brown, firm to the touch and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool thoroughly in the tin.

To serve: Carefully tip cake out of pan and remove paper. If liked, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar over the mandarin segments which are now on the top of the cake and use a blowtorch to brown the top. Not essential but looks nice.

Mix mascarpone with cream and serve with the cake.

Serves 12-16

Carrot Cake

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This is Matthew’s favourite cake and he complained that I didn’t make it very often. The reason is that it’s rather a big cake so I only made it when we had guests, then he would finish it off over the following week.

To keep him happy I now make half the recipe in a large loaf tin which takes about 45 minutes to cook rather than an hour. The quantities for half the recipe are in brackets.

The carrots and cream cheese make this a moist cake which will keep in a tin with a lid for up to a week, refrigerated in warm weather.

Carrot Cake4 eggs (2)
1¾ cups sugar (just over ¾)
1½ cups vegetable oil (¾)
2 cups self-raising flour (1)
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (1)
2 tsp cinnamon (1)
1 tsp salt (½)
½ tsp ground cloves (optional) (¼)
1 cup chopped walnuts (or ½ cup walnuts and ½ cup raisins) (½ total)
400g coarsely grated carrots (about 4-5 big carrots) (200g)
Icing:
250g cream cheese at room temperature (not the spreadable kind) (125g)
1-2 cups icing sugar, sifted (¾ to 1 cup)
1 tsp vanilla essence (½)
25 walnut or pecan nut halves

Preheat oven to 180ºC. Peel carrots then grate in food processor if you have a grating attachment or by hand. With electric beaters, beat eggs and sugar until thick and creamy and tripled in volume. Gradually beat in oil, fold in sifted dry ingredients, then walnuts (raisins) and carrots. Pour into a 25 cm (9”) square tin, greased and bottom-lined with greaseproof paper, and smooth the top. You can use a round tin if preferred, but I like the way a square cake can be cut into lots of small servings.

Bake for an hour in the middle of the oven, or till a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool 10-15 minutes in the tin then turn out, cool thoroughly and remove paper. Ice the top only and decorate with 25 walnut halves, 5 down one side and 5 down the other, then fill in the gaps like a chess board. Cut cake into 25 squares. Keeps for several days in a tin.

Icing: Place cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla in food processor and mix until light and fluffy, stopping once to scrape down the sides. Don’t over-mix or it will go thin and runny. If preferred mix the icing by hand. If using a softer, spreadable cream cheese definitely mix by hand.

Cuts into 25 squares

Danish Lemon & Almond Cake

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When we were living in Copenhagen from 2003 to 2006, we were often served lemon cake by the locals. I came away with this recipe from a Danish friend called Hanne, whom I met at the dog park. Sadly Hanne is no longer with us, but I still make her delicious lemon and almond cake.

My local supermarket sells 250g packets of marzipan in the section where they have all the cake ingredients.

We don’t like things too sweet, so I only made half the icing recipe. If you’re feeling indulgent, serve with a dollop of cream!

1 cup almonds, blanched or not, it doesn’t matter
200g butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
250g marzipan
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
Grated zest 1 lemon
1½ cups plain flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
Juice of 1 lemon
Icing:
2 cups icing sugar
1 Tbs lemon juice
1-2 Tbs boiling water
To garnish:
Lemon slices (glacé or fresh)

Preheat oven to 170°C. Place almonds in food processor and process till they look like fine breadcrumbs. Tip out.

Place butter (cut into pieces) and sugar in food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the marzipan. When thoroughly incorporated add the eggs and lastly the sifted flour, baking powder, ground almonds, salt and lemon juice.

Grease a 22cm cake pan. I used a fluted ring mould and sprayed it with canola oil, but an ordinary round cake pan lined with baking paper will do. Scrape the cake mixture into the pan, then bake for 45 minutes, or until well-risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Ovens vary so it may take a bit longer, but don’t overcook. Cool the cake, tip it out of the pan, then spread with the icing, allowing it to drizzle down the sides. Garnish with thin slices of fresh lemon.

To make the icing, sift icing sugar into a bowl. Add the lemon juice and one or two tablespoons of boiling water – enough to make a thick but spreadable consistency. Note: photo shows cake with only half the icing recipe.

Serves 12

The Olympic Chocolate Muffin that went Viral

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Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen uploaded a TikTok reel reviewing the meals in the Olympic village in Paris. There was pain au chocolat, pesto pasta, pork skewers, shrimp dumplings and chicken gyoza, all of which he gave average ratings.

However, when he gave the chocolate chip muffins a glowing 11/10 it went viral, and everyone went crazy for this chocoholic’s dream. Some of Christiansen’s muffin videos had over 10 million views and soon earned him the nickname The Olympic Muffin Man.

These little cakes, called Muffins Chocolat Extrême, are made in Paris by a company called Coup de Pates. A lot of people have been trying to replicate them and the photos I saw online all looked delicious. I thought I would have a go.

Use top quality Dutch cocoa and high quality dark chocolate for the best result. Use chocolate chips or just roughly chop a bar of dark chocolate to make chunks. The trick is not to overcook the muffins. The chocolate ganache which you squeeze into the middle after they’re cooked is optional, but very nice.

Definitely worthy of a Gold Medal 🥇

Muffins Chocolat Extrême - the Olympic village sensation

¾ cup milk
¼ cup water
2 tsp instant coffee
½ cup cocoa powder
½ cup dark chocolate chips or chunks
125g butter
2 cups plain flour
1 Tbs baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ cup firmly packed soft brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks
A few extra chocolate chips or chunks to go on top
Chocolate ganache filling:
½ cup cream
¼ cup chocolate chips or chunks
Pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a 12 hole muffin pan with muffin paper liners.

Place milk, water, coffee and cocoa powder in a medium to large saucepan and heat, stirring, to dissolve. Add the butter and chocolate chunks and when melted turn off the heat. Add the brown and white sugar, the oil, salt and vanilla. Leave to cool for a few minutes, then add the beaten eggs, the sifted flour and baking powder and the 1/3 cup chocolate chips or chunks. Don’t over mix, just enough to combine.

Spoon mixture into the muffin liners, filling them level with the top of the paper. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with a few extra chocolate chips or chunks and push them in a bit. Bake for 15 minutes or until well-risen and firm to touch. As soon as they’re firm to touch they’re ready. Overcooked muffins will be dry.

For the filling, heat the ingredients in a small saucepan and mix. When smooth leave the ganache to cool a bit, then put it into a piping bag with a nozzle. Squeeze a bit into the centre of each muffin through the top.

Serve the muffins while they are still warm, or zap them in a microwave for 20 seconds the next day.

Makes 12 large muffins

Gluten Free Dairy Free Fruit and Nut Loaf

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I don’t have a Thermomix, but my friend Rosi has one she she sent me this recipe. I have adapted it by using my Magimix food processor to chop everything very finely for the paste.

This delicious cake is perfect with a cuppa and would make a welcome addition to packed lunches this week. A yummy treat which is gluten free, dairy free, not to mention healthy.

Nut Paste:
200g shelled almonds
50g pumpkin seeds
50g sunflower seeds
50g sesame seeds
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs sweetener (sugar, honey or maple syrup)
2 Tbs oil (vegetable, nut oil or olive oil)
Cake mixture:
120g pitted dates
70g dried figs or dried apricots
1 tsp fennel seeds (optiona)
4 eggs
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 Tbs cider vinegar
1 cup walnuts, macadamias or pecans (optional)
Sliced or slivered almonds to decorate (optional)

Nut Paste: place all ingredients except the oil in food processor and process for 1-2 minutes or until very finely chopped. Add the oil and continue to process until the mixture starts to stick together. Scrape out into a bowl. No need to wash the food processor.

Preheat oven to 150°C. Grease and line a loaf pan with baking paper.

Place dates and figs or apricots in food processor with the fennel seeds, if using, and process to chop coarsely. Add eggs, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar and mix. Add the nut paste and mix well, stopping to scrape down the sides. If using, add the cup of nuts now, leaving them whole or in large pieces.

Scrape into the loaf pan, smooth the top, then sprinkle with the almonds, if using, and press them lightly into the mixture. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Don’t overcook – mine was ready in 40 mins. Cool, remove from tin and serve in thick slices, plain or buttered.

Makes 1 loaf

Variations: use raisins or sultanas instead of the dates or figs. Use walnuts instead of almonds in the nut paste.

Tea Cake

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The proper name for this old Welsh recipe is Barra Brith. In our house it’s always called Tea Cake, because it’s made with cold tea. In the good company of the Date and Walnut Loaf, this cake is simple, quick to make and it keeps for a week in an airtight tin. I used to use half a cup of sugar, but I cut it down as the dry fruit provides quite a lot of sweetness. Try leaving the sugar out altogether – there’s plenty of sweetness from the dried fruit.

2½ cups mixed dried fruit (raisins, chopped dates, currants,) and nuts if you like (walnuts, pecans)
1 cup cold tea, including leaves
¼ cup brown sugar (optional)
1¾ cups self-raising flour
1 large egg
1 tsp cinnamon or mixed spice
4 Tbs oil
2-4 Tbs milk

Soak fruit (and nuts if using) in tea overnight. Preheat oven to 170°C. Mix in remaining ingredients. If the mixture is rather dry add one or two tablespoons of milk. Scrape into a loaf tin approximately 12 x 25 cm, greased and bottom-lined with baking paper. Or use a silicone pan which doesn’t need greasing or lining – you can see mine in the photo. Smooth over the top with a knife. Bake for 45 minutes or until well-risen and browned and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Don’t overcook or cake will be dry. Leave in tin 5 minutes then turn out and cool on a rack. Keep at least a day before using. Serve sliced, either plain or buttered. Keeps for about a week in an airtight tin.

Sticky Ginger Cake

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Auntie Vina and Uncle Hector lived at Hill House, a busy dairy farm on the moors of County Durham, where I spent many summers as a child. The farm hands all came into the farmhouse for meals, so Auntie Vina and her daughter in law Little Mary spent a lot of time cooking. She taught me all her basic cake recipes, such as sponge cake, chocolate cake, ginger cake and fruit cake.

Times have changed and most recipes using ginger now call for the fresh kind rather than dried. I decided to do some research online, looking for ginger cakes which use fresh ginger, or a combination of ground and fresh. I then adapted Auntie Vina’s recipe, using some of the new ideas I had found online. This is the result which I served as a dessert with Mangoes in Ginger Wine. If mangoes are in season where you live, give this quick and easy recipe a try.

Sticky Ginger Cake

250g unsalted butter
½ cup water
¾ cup treacle (or molasses)
¾ cup golden syrup (or honey)
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
3 cups self-raising flour
½ tsp salt
3 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ cup milk
2-3 Tbs finely grated fresh ginger (to taste)

Preheat oven to 165°C. Butter and line a 22cm baking pan – round or square. I chose a ring tin – always a bit risky because being fluted you can’t line it, but fortunately the cake came out in one piece.

Place butter, water, treacle, golden syrup and brown sugar in a mixing bowl then heat in the microwave (covered to stop it spattering everywhere) for a minute or two until melted. Alternatively heat in a saucepan over moderate heat.

When cooled a bit, beat in the eggs with electric beaters or a hand whisk. Add the sifted flour, salt and spices, the milk and lastly fold in the fresh ginger. Scrape into cake tin and bake for 40-60 mins. Cooking times vary depending on your oven and the cake tin you use. If you overcook the cake it won’t be sticky, so as soon as the top is firm and springy to the touch it’s ready. Remove from the oven and when cool remove from the tin.

Serve as a dessert with whipped cream with a little rum or brandy added and some stewed fruit. Or serve with Mangoes in Ginger Wine as shown in the photo.

Or serve as a cake dusted with icing sugar or drizzled with lemon icing (1 cup sifted icing sugar mixed with 2 Tbs lemon juice).

Serves between 12 and 20 depending on serving size

Note: if you don’t have self-raising flour use plain flour and 2 tsp baking powder

Cumquat and Almond Cake

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When a dessert comes into fashion you see it everywhere – in food magazines, on restaurant menus and served up by friends who entertain. A few years ago chocolate fondants – those tricky little puddings which are all about timing – were very much in vogue. A pool of delectable melted chocolate pours out when you stick your spoon into the middle – well that’s the theory. If you’ve managed to over-cook them, as I’ve done on more than one occasion, they’re still delicious. One of my all-time favourite desserts.

Turn the clock back even further to the 1970s and 80s and everyone was making Orange and Almond cake, where you boil two whole oranges until soft, whizz them to a purée, then add them to the cake mixture. I believe this cake made its debut in Australia in Claudia Roden’s Book of Middle Eastern Food, but recipes were soon popping up everywhere. Some versions don’t use any flour, making them good for celiacs.

Once again we have a huge crop of cumquats, so I decided to make this cake using cumquats instead of oranges and it was a great success. If preferred use two oranges or even mandarins.

Cumquat and Almond Cake

Cake:
About 300g cumquats (or 2 oranges)
2 cups ground almonds (or grind your own from whole or slivered blanched almonds)
125g butter at room temperature
1 cup caster sugar
5 eggs
½ cup self-raising flour, sifted
2 tsp baking powder
Syrup:
2 Tbs cumquat juice (or orange juice)
½ cup caster sugar
½ cup water
2 Tbs whisky (optional)
To serve:
Icing sugar

Preheat oven to 180ºC and line the base of a 22cm cake pan with baking paper and grease the sides. Place cumquats in a pan and just barely cover with water. Simmer for 10 mins or until soft then cool. If using oranges they will take 20-30 mins. Drain the cumquats (discarding the water), cut in half and remove seeds.

If you need to grind the almonds, do them first in the food processor, then add remaining ingredients for cake, including the cooked cumquats, skin and all. Mix until smooth, stopping once to scrape down mixture from the sides. Tip mixture into cake pan and bake for an hour or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Ovens vary so start checking after 45 mins.

Meanwhile make the syrup – place all ingredients in a small pan and simmer for 5 mins. Make holes over the top of the cake with a metal skewer and spoon the warm syrup over as soon as it comes out of the oven. The syrup will be absorbed.

Serve dusted with icing sugar, either warm or at room temperature, with a dollop of thick cream.

Serves 8-10

Variations: use macadamia nuts or pine nuts instead of almonds

Note: to make a flourless version suitable for anyone who is gluten intolerant, replace the flour with an extra half cup of ground almonds

Kien’s Dutch Apple Pie

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Many years ago my Dutch friend Kien gave me this recipe for Dutch Apple Pie.

Using shortbread instead of pastry and an apple filling spiced with cinnamon and rum, this cake is delicious with a cuppa or served as a dessert, with ice cream or cream.

Shortbread:
250g plain flour
150g self-raising flour
200g sugar
300g butter at room temperature
Filling:
125 sultanas
125g currants or raisins
750g peeled and sliced green apples
¾ cup rum
125g sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
½ cup apricot jam

Soak dried fruit in rum, preferably overnight. Pre-heat oven to 160C. Mix butter and sugar until light and fluffy in food processor or with electric beaters. Mix in flour until well mixed and sticking together. Tip out, form into a log and refrigerate for about 30 mins wrapped in plastic wrap. Cut log into three. Cut off slices and use about one third to press all over the bottom of a buttered 30 cm spring-form pan. Bake for 20-30 mins till golden then cool.

Filling: Turn oven up to 170°C. Mix apples with sugar and cinnamon. Line sides of cake tin with about another third of the shortbread. It’s difficult to roll out, so the easiest way is to cut off thin slices and press them onto the sides of the tin like a jigsaw puzzle. Drain dried fruit (keep rum), mix with apples and spread evenly into tin. Use remaining shortbread to make strips and form a lattice to cover apples. You will need to roll out the dough for this. Pinch edges of the lattice onto the sides of the pie so it all joins up. Bake for 1¼ hours or until light golden over the top. Spoon rum through holes between the lattice. Paint lattice with heated and sieved apricot jam, using a pastry brush. Cool thoroughly before removing sides of tin. Serve with whipped cream, pouring cream or vanilla ice cream.

If you make the cake the day before and want to serve it warm, don’t put the apricot glaze on. Next day reheat in a low oven for about 20 minutes and then brush with the apricot glaze. Reheating is optional – it’s perfectly nice at room temperature.

Serves 12