“This cake is based on a recipe cooked by my friend Alex from 26 Grains,” explains food writer Anna Jones. “For days after eating this cake, I could think of very little else.
“This is my version. It makes a large loaf and is quite rich, so you’ll get a lot of slices out of it.”
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Honey, Almond and Cardamom Drizzle Cake Recipe
Ingredients:
For the cake:
- 200g light spelt or plain flour
- 150g ground almonds
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 250g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
- 200g demerara sugar
- 150ml honey or maple syrup
- zest of an unwaxed orange
- zest of an unwaxed lemon
- 4 medium organic eggs
For the drizzle:
- 4 cardamom pods
- 4 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon orange blossom water
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
To serve:
- a good drizzle of honey or maple syrup
- plain yoghurt of your choice
Method:
Heat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius.
Grease a 900g loaf tin and line with baking paper. Put the flour, almonds, baking powder and a good pinch of sea salt into a large mixing bowl and whisk until there are no lumps of baking powder. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or with an electric hand whisk, beat the butter, sugar and honey until creamy and combined.
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Add both orange and lemon zests, then the eggs one by one, mixing well between additions.
Add the dry ingredients a large spoonful at a time, again mixing between additions. Tip the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth out the top with the back of a spoon. Bake for 55 minutes to one hour, until the cake is dark golden on top. It will sink a little in the middle.
Take the cake out of the oven and leave in the tin. Bash the cardamom pods in a pestle and mortar to release the seeds, then put the seeds into a small saucepan with all the remaining drizzle ingredients. Bring to a simmer and reduce to a thin syrup – it will thicken a little more as it cools.
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Prick the cake a few times with a skewer and pour over the syrup, then leave the cake in the tin until cooled completely. Serve in thick slices, with yoghurt mixed with honey.
One: Pot, Pan, Planet by Anna Jones, photography by Issy Croker, is published by Fourth Estate, available now.
What’s your favourite drizzle cake?
– With PA
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