There must be some cosmic alliance at work for all my husband's team mates to be born Gemini, the third astrological sign in the Zodiac .
Think about that for a moment.
They are all men.
They are all born in that time period between May 21st to June 22nd.
And they all work together.
If there is no such thing as coincidences in this world then that must mean........Well, in time there may be a story to tell. Maybe. Maybe not.
But fact remains we have birthdays that need celebrating, not least of which is Mr. Hubby's. But instead of a cake especially for my very special hubby, here is one that's going to be shared. As soon as he hauls it to work.
As you know, I regularly send in baked goodies with Mr. Hubby to work much to the delight of his fellow team mates.
But this week it can't be bars or loaves or biscuits, it's got to be cake. The usual parameters however still apply - must be able to withstand the morning commute & must do so without curdling, souring, squishing and being a general prima donna of cakes. In short, frosty fru-fru barbie cakes are out the window.
Not to mention, that Mr. Hubby specifically mentioned that the cake should be 'masculine'. This being communicated with adequate hand gestures and the ever slight scrunching of the nose.
And so after much perusing around through my old tattered cook books by Nika Hazelton, Mary Berry & Delia Smith who are like old best friends for ever loyal and present in my kitchen, I found this delightful cake by Delia Smith.
Having run down the ingredient list with Mr. Hubby and receiving his nod of approval, it received mine too. It has all the ingredients for a good ole English cake - loads of dates, almonds, walnuts, brown sugar, very little butter and a lemony sugar glaze which is not only delicious but I think will survive the commute quite well since it hardens once poured.
Mind you, I almost had to make another batch as I couldn't stop licking the friggin' spoon! Howz that for control?
As cakes go, here's one that's delicious, very non-fru-fru-like and almost 'masculine' - don't you think?
{psst....do you think I emasculated it with that flowery touch?}
Gather the ingredients: Measurements by weight so please use a kitchen scale
Cake: 6 oz pitted dates, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 oz softened butter, 8 oz all-purpose flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp pumpkin spice or mixed spice, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, 1 large egg, 5 oz dark brown sugar, 1 tsp pure vanilla extract, 3 oz almonds (to be ground) & 3 oz chopped walnuts
Lemon Icing: 5 oz icing sugar or confectioners sugar, zest of 1 lemon, 2 tbs fresh lemon juice, 1/2 oz melted butter, 3 to 4 tbs half & half or heavy cream (to achieve a pourable consistency.
Adjust the oven rack to the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.
- Chop the dates and place in a small bowl. Pour 8 fl oz (225 ml, approx 1 cup) boiling water over the dates.
- Add the bicarbonate of soda, then the butter and stir until the butter has melted. Leave to cool.
- Meanwhile, sift the flour with the baking powder, salt and spices.
- Grind the almonds to a fine powder in a food processor. Chop the walnuts and set aside.
- Measure the brown sugar and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl or a bowl of an electric stand mixer, if using, crack an egg discarding the shell.
- Beat the egg and add the sugar and beat well again, then add the cooled date mixture and all the other cake ingredients. Add the flour in 2 batches.
- Stir or beat to thoroughly combine.
- Line a 9" diameter non-stick spring foam pan with parchment paper. Spray the wall with non-stick baking spray.Pour the cake batter into the pan.
- Bake the cake about 50-60 minutes until the top is nicely browned, the center feels springy and skewer comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake.
- Allow the cake to cool for a couple of minutes and then remove the sides of the pan. Set aside on a wire rack to cool.
- Zest a lemon in a medium mixing bowl. Juice the lemon for 2 tbs lemon juice. Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl.
- For the icing, combine all the ingredients in the mixing bowl. Combine with a whisk. Add the cream slowly and as needed to achieve a pourable consistency.
- Place the cake on an upturned plate or cake stand and pour the icing over the top of the cake.
- Let it spread itself evenly over and dribble lavishly down the sides. Add a few walnut halves round the top to finish it off beautifully.
- Leave it to set for atleast an hour and refrigerate till ready to serve.
- Good to know: Moving or lifting the cake once the glaze is poured and before it has thoroughly set will create a crack through the glaze which can be quite unattractive so leave it be once the icing is poured for an hour or two.
What an easy to make cake and the tangy lemon in the icing is what really finishes off the cake beautifully contrasting with its spiciness.
Recipe for
Date & Walnut Cake with Lemon Icing
Recipe from Delia Smith's Book of Cakes.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Baking time: approx 1 hour
Resting time: 1 hour
Makes 1 qty 9" cake
Shopping list
Gather the ingredients: Measurements by weight so please use a kitchen scale
Cake: 6 oz pitted dates, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 oz softened butter, 8 oz all-purpose flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp pumpkin spice or mixed spice, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, 1 large egg, 5 oz dark brown sugar, 1 tsp pure vanilla extract, 3 oz almonds (to be ground) & 3 oz chopped walnuts
Lemon Icing: 5 oz icing sugar or confectioners sugar, zest of 1 lemon, 2 tbs fresh lemon juice, 1/2 oz melted butter, 3 to 4 tbs half & half or heavy cream (to achieve a pourable consistency.
Adjust the oven rack to the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.
Method:
- Chop the dates and place in a small bowl. Pour 8 fl oz (225 ml, approx 1 cup) boiling water over the dates. Add the bicarbonate of soda, then the butter and stir until the butter has melted. Leave to cool.
- Meanwhile, sift the flour with the baking powder, salt and spices. Grind the almonds to a fine powder in a food processor. Chop the walnuts and set aside.
- Measure the brown sugar and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl or a bowl of an electric stand mixer, if using, crack an egg discarding the shell. Beat the egg and add the sugar and beat well again, then add the cooled date mixture and all the other cake ingredients. Add the flour in 2 batches. Stir or beat to thoroughly combine.
- Line a 9" diameter non-stick spring foam pan with parchment paper. Spray the wall with non-stick baking spray.Pour the cake batter into the pan.
- Bake the cake about 50-60 minutes until the top is nicely browned, the center feels springy and skewer comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake.
- Allow the cake to cool for a couple of minutes and then remove the sides of the pan. Set aside on a wire rack to cool.
- Zest a lemon in a medium mixing bowl. Juice the lemon for 2 tbs lemon juice. Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl.
- For the icing, combine all the ingredients in the mixing bowl. Combine with a whisk. Add the cream slowly and as needed to achieve a pourable consistency.
- Place the cake on an upturned plate or cake stand and pour the icing over the top of the cake. Let it spread itself evenly over and dribble lavishly down the sides. Add a few walnut halves round the top to finish it off beautifully.
- Leave it to set for atleast an hour and refrigerate till ready to serve.
- Good to know: Moving or lifting the cake once the glaze is poured and before it has thoroughly set will create a crack through the glaze which can be quite unattractive so leave it be once the icing is poured for an hour or two.
Cut into slices and enjoy!
