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Almond loaf cake

Cook Time 45

Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Servings 8

Ingredients

175 g/6oz + 1tbsp golden caster sugar
150 g/5oz butter softened
2 eggs
½ tsp almond essence
4 tbsp milk
125 g/4½oz plain flour
1½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
150 g/5oz ground almonds
50 g/2oz dark chocolate

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 175ºC/325°F/Gas mark
Grease a 450g/1lb loaf tin
Cream the butter and sugar together
Beat in the eggs one at a time until well combined
Stir in the almond essence and the milk
In another mixing bowl, sieve together the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt
Stir this into the wet ingredients in three batches, stirring well after each addition
Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf tin, levelling out using a spatula or back of the spoon
Sprinkle the tablespoon of sugar evenly over the top
Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes away clean
Allow to cool in the tin for at least half an hour
Break up the chocolate into a small heat-proof bowl
Melt in a bain-marie or in 10-second bursts in a microwave
Make a piping bag out of a triangle of parchment paper, fill with the melted chocolate and zig-zag over the top of the cake
Serve

Keyword almond, cake, loaf cake

When this image of Domestic Sluttery’s delicious looking Hazelnut fig frangipane cake appeared on Facebook, I immediately pinned it to our Cake! Pinterest board.

Justin loves frangipane and I’ve never used it in a recipe before. The idea of frangipane, figs and runny honey… in a cake… IRRESISTABLE!

We happened to already have all the ingredients in the store cupboard. We used soft dried figs instead of fresh or tinned as the original recipe calls for – they worked a treat!

Hazelnut and fig frangipane cake

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Ingredients

for the cake
100 g hazelnuts
140 g butter softened
140 g golden caster sugar
3 large eggs
60 g ground almonds
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ nutmeg finely grated
60 g self raising flour
6 soft dried figs
for the syrup
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp hot water
Icing sugar and a few rough chopped hazelnuts to decorate (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 160ºC /325ºF/Gas mark 3
Grease a 23cm/9inch round, loose-bottom cake tin
Put the hazelnuts in a dry, heavy-bottomed saucepan and set over a medium heat to toast for around 5 minutes, shaking every so often to make sure they don't burn
Tip out onto a clean tea towel and rub vigorously to remove the skins
Using a mini food processor or similar, finely grind the hazelnuts and set aside
Cream together the butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy
In a small measuring jug, gently whisk the eggs before adding them to the butter & sugar in three stages, mixing after each addition
Add the ground hazelnuts, almonds, vanilla and grated nutmeg
Gently fold in the flour until just combined
Spoon the mixture into the greased cake tin and level out with a spatula
With a pair of scissors, remove the hard stalk from the figs and press each gently into the mixture
Sprinkle the top of the cake with a little caster sugar
Bake for 40 minutes until a skewer inserted comes away clean
Cool in the tin on a wire rack for a few minutes
Dilute the honey with the teaspoon of hot water
Poke a few holes in the cake whilst it's still warm and spoon over the syrup evenly over the top
Remove from the tin, dust with icing sugar and a few chopped, toasted hazelnuts and serve warm with mascarpone or Greek yoghurt and a nice cup of tea!