To celebrate the fact that I now have internet at home (it's only been 15 months without) I thought I'd post the recipe for one of my favourite cakes. This one takes a bit of effort, but is definitely worth the sweat. The cake is more difficult to make in winter as the frozen cranberries freeze the batter making it very difficult to spoon into a cake tin. Note, this recipe uses many bowls.
Preparation: approx. 40 minutes
Baking: 1 hour
Flour 295g plus extra to toss
Dark brown treacle sugar 125g
Salt 3/4 t
Cinnamon 1 + 1/2 t
Pecan nuts 3/4 cup (toasted & chopped)
Butter 160g
Baking powder 1/2 t
Bicarbonate of soda 3/4 t
White sugar 100g
Eggs (large) 2
Sour cream 1 cup
Vanilla extract 1 t
Frozen cranberries 250g
Icing sugar 1/3 cup
Maple syrup 3T
Method:
- Pre-heat oven to 170°C and grease a 24cm bundt tin
- Toast chopped pecan nuts in the oven - do not burn!
- Bowl 1: Combine 50g flour, 125g dark brown treacle sugar, ¼ t salt and ½ t cinnamon. Add the (cooled) toasted pecans and 50g butter and rub with your fingers to form 'breadcrumbs'. Set aside
- Bowl 2: Sift the remaining flour (245g), salt (½ t) and cinnamon (1 t) with the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda
- Bowl 3: Toss the cranberries with 3 T of flour. Set aside
- Bowl 4: Cream the remaining butter (110g) until light, then add the white sugar and continue beating. Add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the sour cream and vanilla extract. Mix well
- Add the sifted ingredients (bowl 2) to the buttery sugar mixture (bowl 4). Then fold the tossed cranberries (bowl 3) into the batter.
- Pour a third of the cranberry batter into the tin (bowl 2, 3 & 4 mixture). Top with half the pecan crumb mixture (bowl 1), then half the remaining cranberry batter, then the rest of the pecan crumb mixture and end with the remainder of the cranberry batter.
- Bake for 1 hour on 170°C, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Remove from tin and cool on a wire rack
- Once the cake is cool, sift the icing sugar and mix with the maple syrup to make a runny glaze and drizzle over the cake.
Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from a cake featured in a Woolworths Taste magazine many years ago.