Cakes & Bakes: Sticky date cake

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 30

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

Cakes & Bakes: Yorkshire tea loaf

This week’s Cakes & Bakes features a traditional Yorkshire tea loaf – packed with fruit. We often sit down for a break at about four in the afternoon – and absolutely love this kind of thing as an accompaniment to our brew. Sweet, sticky and full of good things to give you a mid-afternoon energy boost.

There’s a very simple list of ingredients.

It’s vital that you soak the dried fruit in tea overnight – it makes a big difference to the end result, so don’t be tempted to skip this stage!

It’s everything in one bowl method.

Preparation is easy, so you can’t go wrong!

The loaf keeps well for up to 2 weeks, but it probably won’t hang around that long though.

It’s delicious served on its own or with a thin scrape of butter (thick scrape in Justin’s case).

Even just looking at it in pictures, we’re tempted to get the kettle on!!

Click here to pin the recipe for later!

Yorkshire tea loaf

Clandestine Cake Club

The perfect accompaniment to a cup of afternoon tea!

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Course Tea

Cuisine British

Ingredients

350 g mixed dried fruit currants, sultanas, raisins, mixed peel. Try adding a tbsp of crystallised ginger
350 ml strong tea brewed for 3-4 mins
2 eggs
200 g brown soft sugar
270 g self raising flour

Instructions

Brew a large, strong mug of tea (we usually use loose Yorkshire tea... of course! But any strong breakfast or afternoon tea will do!)
Put the mixed dried fruit into a medium mixing bowl
Allow the tea to brew and cool slightly before pouring it into the mixing bowl (it should just about cover all the fruit
Cover with cling film/Saran wrap for a few hours, ideally overnight, to allow the tea to plump up the fruit
In the morning, preheat the oven to 170ºC/340ºF/Gas mark 4
Grease 2 x 450g/1lb loaf tins (or 1 x 900g/2lb loaf tin)
In a measuring jug, lightly beat the eggs before adding them to the mixed fruit and any un-soaked liquid
Add the sugar and combine well
Pour evenly into the loaf tins and bake for 40-50 mins or until an inserted skewer comes away clean. If you're using a 900g tin, baking will take about 60-75 mins
Leave the loaves in their tins to cool completely before turning them out
They'll keep for a couple of weeks if wrapped in baking parchment and kept in a cool, airtight container

Keyword fruitcake, loaf cake, tea loaf

Cakes & Bakes: Paul Hollywood’s malt loaf

We’re big fans of the Great British Bake Off, so we tuned into the recent inaugural series of Paul Hollywood’s Bread (and put his accompanying book into our Amazon wish-list) with great interest.

One of the recipes he did which I’ve never attempted before is malt loaf. Whenever I’ve eaten shop bought (and there seems to be just the one brand available in supermarkets!) I’ve always found it a dry, chewy and not very tasty. I thought I’d give it a try – surely I could do better!

I wasn’t wrong! Mr Hollywood’s version is far superior (in my humble opinion). Perfect with just a scraping (or lashings, if you prefer) of butter. Serve it as part of a special afternoon tea with homemade sweet scones, jam and clotted cream… cucumber sandwiches… you know, that kind of thing

Paul Hollywood’s malt loaf

Paul Hollywood

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Prep Time 2

Cook Time 30

Total Time 2 30

Course Tea

Cuisine British

Ingredients

1 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp malt extract
2 tbsp black treacle
25 g/1oz butter plus extra for greasing
350 g/12oz strong white bread flour plus extra for flouring
100 g/3½oz strong wholemeal flour
pinch salt
14 g/½oz fast action yeast
225 g/8oz sultanas
250 ml/9fl oz warm water
1 tbsp warm honey to glaze

Instructions

Place the sugar, malt extract, treacle and butter in a pan and heat gently until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Leave to cool.
Mix the flours, salt, yeast and sultanas in a mixing bowl.
Pour in the cooled malt syrup mixture and the warm water. Mix thoroughly; the mixture will be soft and sticky.
Turn the mixture onto a floured surface and knead gently for a few minutes to bring the mixture together.
Grease two 450g/1lb loaf tins and divide the mixture between them. Smooth the mixture with the back of a spoon so that the top is smooth and level. Cover each tin with a reusable food cover so that it's loose and not touching the top of the tin. Leave for a couple of hours, or until the dough has risen to the top of the tins.
Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/Gas mark 5. Remove the plastic covers and bake for 30-40 minutes. If the top of the loaf starts to brown too quickly, cover with a sheet of foil and continue baking.
Remove from the oven and brush the top with warm honey to glaze. Cool on a wire rack.
Slice and eat with butter.

Keyword cake, loaf cake, malt loaf, tea loaf

H is for Home Harbinger

Tag: fruit cake

Cakes & Bakes: Sticky date cake

Sticky date cake

Ingredients

Instructions

Cakes & Bakes: Yorkshire tea loaf

Yorkshire tea loaf

Ingredients

Instructions

Cakes & Bakes: Paul Hollywood’s malt loaf

Paul Hollywood’s malt loaf

Ingredients

Instructions