Читать книгу Cake: 200 fabulous foolproof baking recipes - Rachel Allen - Страница 41

Date and almond honey cake

This fantastically dense, moist cake has echoes of sticky toffee pudding. It contains no refined sugar, all the sweetness coming from the honey and dates, while the wholemeal flour imparts its lovely nutty flavour.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Baking time: 45–50 minutes

Ready in: 2 hours

Serves: 6–8

100g (3½oz) chopped dates

200g (7oz) butter, softened, plus extra for greasing

200g (7oz) honey, plus

2 tbsp for drizzling

3 eggs

100g (3½oz) ground almonds

125g (4½oz) wholemeal flour

1½ tsp baking powder

25g (1oz) flaked almonds

20cm (8in) diameter cake tin with 6cm (2½ in) sides

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas mark 4, then butter the sides of the cake tin and line the base with a disc of baking parchment. Place the tin on a baking sheet, as some butter may seep out during cooking if you are using a spring-form cake tin.

Place the dates in a saucepan and pour in 50ml (2fl oz) of water. Set over a high heat and cook for 2–3 minutes or until soft, then remove from the heat and set aside.

Cream the butter and the 200g (7oz) of honey until soft in a large bowl or in an electric food mixer. Whisk the eggs together in a small bowl for a few seconds until just mixed, then gradually add them to the creamed butter and honey mixture, beating all the time.

Stir in the cooked dates, along with any remaining cooking liquid, followed by the ground almonds, then add the flour and baking powder and fold in gently to incorporate. Tip the mixture into the prepared tin, smoothing the surface gently with a palette knife, then scatter the flaked almonds evenly over the top.

Place in the oven and bake for 45–50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. It will be quite dark-looking, but don’t worry – the cake will be perfectly moist inside.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Loosen the sides using a small, sharp knife and carefully remove the cake from the tin before transferring to a cake stand or plate.

Use a skewer to pierce a few holes in the top of the cake, then drizzle over the 2 tablespoons of honey and allow to cool before cutting into slices to serve.