Toasted nut cake with wine syllabub

Toasted nut cake with wine syllabub
  • Serves icon Serves 8-10
  • Time icon Hands-on time 30 min, oven time 50 min, plus infusing

Serve this moist nut cake recipe on its own for afternoon tea or with the sweet wine syllabub as a dessert.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories
656kcals
Fat
50.5g (24g saturated)
Protein
9.8g
Carbohydrates
39.2g (31.4g sugars)
Fibre
0.4g
Salt
0.3g
Calories
656kcals
Fat
50.5g (24g saturated)
Protein
9.8g
Carbohydrates
39.2g (31.4g sugars)
Fibre
0.4g
Salt
0.3g

For 10 servings

Ingredients

  • 225g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
  • 225g mixed almonds, pistachios and hazelnuts
  • 200g golden caster sugar
  • Finely grated zest 1 orange
  • 4 large free-range eggs
  • 100g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • Icing sugar for dusting

For the syllabub

  • Pared zest 1 orange
  • 150ml sweet pudding wine (we used Brown Brothers Orange Muscat and Flora; or see tips)
  • 6 tbsp caster sugar
  • 2 tsp orange blossom water (from the world food or baking section of large supermarkets)
  • 300ml double cream
  • Squeeze of lemon (if necessary)

You’ll also need

  • 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/ gas 3½. Lightly grease and line the base of a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin. Spread the nuts out on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10 minutes or until they smell fragrant. Leave to cool, reserve 25g of them, then finely whizz the rest in a food processor (or chop extremely finely by hand).
  2. Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter, sugar and orange zest in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition (don’t worry if the mixture curdles slightly). Briefly (on a fast speed) beat through the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt, then fold in the chopped nuts using a metal spoon or balloon whisk. The mix may still look a bit curdled but it will come together in the oven.
  3. Pour the batter into the prepared tin, then bake for 50 minutes or until risen and golden, and a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven, leave to cool for 10 minutesin the tin, then turn out and leave to cool on a wire rack.
  4. While the cake is in the oven, make the syllabub. Put the orange zest into a bowl with the wine (or orange juice), sugar and orange blossom water. Infuse for 40-50 minutes, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Taste to see if you need to add a little more sugar or a squeeze of lemon juice (depending on the wine you use). Just before you’re ready to serve, strain the liquid into the cream in a large mixing bowl, then whip to soft pillowy peaks using a balloon whisk.
  5. Once the cake is just warm or completely cooled, roughly chop the reserved 25g nuts. Scatter them on top of the cake, dust with icing sugar, then slice. Serve with generous dollops of the syllabub. 

delicious. tips

  1. To make the syllabub alcohol free, use 150ml freshly squeezed orange juice (1-2 oranges) instead of the wine. The cake is best served just warm so it’s fragrant and melts the syllabub.

  2. Make the cake up to a day in advance and keep, wrapped in cling film, somewhere cool. Or wrap in cling film and freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost fully to serve (warm it in a medium oven if you like) and make the syllabub as from step 4 to serve.

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