I wanted to make a different type of fruitcake for Christmas this year after finding an old piece of paper with a recipe for a fruitcake. Mum had given me the recipe after clearing out her cookbook cupboard, she never made the fruitcake herself but thought I might like to try it… mum hoards recipes too! Called a Palestrina (an area in Italy) Christmas Cake, this fruitcake is packed with nuts, some dried fruit, dark chocolate and candied orange peel, all bound together with a honey and sugar syrup. I guess you could call this a panforte, a renowned speciality fruitcake in Siena, Tuscany. It is best to buy a good quality candied orange peel for this recipe and if you have difficulty finding some, try making your own homemade candied orange peel… it’s not difficult. Continue reading “Italian Christmas Fruitcake – Panforte”
Tag: baking
Orange Ricotta Cake with Walnuts
There are times when I prefer baking homely cakes without the added fussiness of rich fillings and toppings. Who can resist a nice thick slice of homemade cake, to be enjoyed anytime of the day with a nice cup of freshly brewed coffee or tea, or put into lunch boxes and taken to work. Months have passed since I mentioned in an earlier post that I would share the recipe of a delicious cake I enjoyed while staying at the Tas Otel in Alacati. As the recipe for the orange cake “Lorlu Portakalli Tas Otel Keki” was printed in Turkish, the staff kindly penciled in the english translation. Continue reading “Orange Ricotta Cake with Walnuts”
Date and Walnut Cake in a Nut Roll Tin
When I rerurn from holidays it takes a few days to get back into the usual swing of things. Un-packing, laundry, house chores and the food shopping! Once all the mundane stuff is out-of-the-way, the home cooking aromas wafting through the house make me feel… truly back home. Craving a bit of old-fashioned baking, I turn to my nut roll baking tins. Cakes baked in these cylindrical tins are lovely and moist, cut well and are delicious when spread with butter… if you don’t mind the extra calories.
I first came across nut roll cakes in an old Australian Women’s Weekly Cookbook some years back and was sold on the novel shape of the cake tin (the cakes looked good too), cylindrical with removable lids at both ends. But finding one of these baking tins… that took time. Eventually a kind student studying in Australia managed to find me one, so thank you Razan 🙂 Over the years I’ve had a few disasters with these baking tins, batter leaking from the bottom, cakes breaking when turning out, not every cake recipe works with these tins.
Looking out for another tin found a pink cylindrical biscuit tin which was exactly the size that I needed and it has worked a treat as my second baking tin. Most nut roll recipes require two nut roll tins. Have since seen them on eBay or you could use cylindrical biscuit tins instead. I always line the inside of the nut roll tin/biscuit tin with non stick baking parchment as it’s easier to remove the cake. As the biscuit tin has no removable lid at the base, line the base with a disc of non stick baking parchment cut to size. Date and walnut cake spiced with fresh and powdred ginger… delicious!
Date and Walnut Cake in a Nut Roll Tin
Recipe adapted from the Australians Women’s Weekly “Cooking for Friends”.
Ingredients:
- 225g soft brown sugar
- 175g of seeded dried dates, coarsely chopped
- 50g butter
- 2 tablespoons of golden syrup
- 6fl oz water
- 300g self-raising powder
- 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoon finely grated fresh finger
- 1 egg
- 25g walnuts, roughly chopped
How to make: Preheat the oven to 360°F/180ºC/160ºC Fan/Gas 4. Grease the insides and lids of two 8cm x 17cm nut roll tins. Line the insides of the tin with some non stick baking parchment. If using a biscuit tin line the base with a disc of non stick baking parchment. Place the bottom lid on each nut roll tin.
Add the brown sugar, dates, butter, golden syrup and water into a medium saucepan. Over low heat stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves, bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let the mixture cool. Sieve the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ground ginger into the cooled mixture; add the fresh ginger, egg and walnuts and stir everything together until combined.
With the help of two spoons, spoon the mixture evenly into both tins. Place the top lids on both tins. Stand tins on an oven tray and bake upright in the oven and for about 40 to 45 minutes. Remove tins from the oven and leave the loaves to cool (without removing the lids) for about 15 minutes to firm up before trying to remove the cakes. Cool the cakes on a wire cooling rack.
Tip: When the baking time is almost finished and you need to check if the cake is done, remove the cake tin from the oven and remove the top lid. Test the cake with a skewer, if further baking is required, place the lid back on and bake for a further few minutes.
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