Delia Smith is probably my favourite ‘celebrity chef‘. I think it’s because she’s really down to earth and no-nonsense – and so are her recipes. Easy to follow recipes that result in simple, hearty, tasty food.

This week’s recipe is a case in point, her sticky date cake. Delia calls it a ‘boil and bake’ cake – not terribly enticing I admit, but bear with me.

It’s quick to mix but takes up to 3 hours to bake in a low oven. The result is a big, unctuous, flavourful fruit-filled cake. The original recipe calls for a dollop of orange marmalade – which we never have in the house – so I substituted it for some of my lime marmalade that I made a while ago.

The taste and texture of this cake make it like a cross between a sticky toffee pudding and a Christmas cake.

Try this sticky date cake with vanilla ice cream, thick pouring cream and a splash of brandy or rum for a festive flourish!

Sticky date cake

Delia Smith

Somewhere between a Christmas cake and a sticky toffee pudding!

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Cook Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Ingredients

  

• 225 g/8oz chopped dried dates
• 175 g/6oz sultanas
• 110 g/4oz raisins
• 110 g/4oz currants
• 27 g/10oz margarine
• 275 ml/½pt water
• 1 tin condensed milk a vegan version is available
• 150 g/5oz plain flour
• 150 g/5oz wholemeal flour
• ¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• pinch of salt
• 1 generous tbsp chunky marmalade

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 170ºC/325ºF/Gas mark 3
• Grease & line a 20cm/8-inch square cake tin
• Place all of the dried fruit in a large saucepan together with the margarine, water and condensed milk and bring to the boil
• Stir frequently to avoid sticking
• Simmer the mixture for exactly 3 minutes and stir occasionally
• Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and allow to cool for half an hour
• While it's cooling, weigh the flours and sift them into a bowl together with the salt and bicarbonate of soda. (When sieving wholemeal flour, you often find small quantities of bran left in the sieve; these can be tipped on to the already sieved flour)
• When the mixture has cooled stir in the flour mix and add a good round tablespoon of marmalade
• Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake on the centre shelf of the oven for 2½-3 hours. (Take a look at the cake about ¾ of the way through the baking time and, if the top looks a bit dark, cover it with a double square of greaseproof paper to prevent further browning)
• After removing the cake from the oven, let it cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack

This is quite a large cake which will keep well for several weeks in an airtight tin

Keyword cake, dates, fruitcake