Nigel Slater’s recipes for a teatime fruit cake and an orange and almond layer cake

It’s time to celebrate whatever you fancy with a lovely slice of cake

 

 

Nigel Slater

Published in The Guardian Sun 10 Nov 2024 10.30 GMT

Last modified on Mon 11 Nov 2024 10.55 GMT

 

An urgent need for cake. An old-fashioned one, studded with dried fruit, or perhaps a slice of something more frivolous, with a citrus filling and iced top and sides. A birthday-style cake looking for a birthday.

Rarely does an afternoon go by without a piece of something sweet on a plate eaten with a cup of tea. This week, a wedge of simple fruit cake. Not as extravagant as the recipe for Christmas cake, this one is more cake than fruit, but has the same deep butterscotch notes from dark muscovado sugar and a comforting whiff of nostalgia. It is the sort of cake no one bakes any more, and it is good to see it again.

 

The layer cake I made at the same time was as much dessert as cake. A frosting of orange curd and mascarpone; a scattering of flaked almonds toasted until crisp, this felt like a cake for a special occasion, which made its presence on a dull, between-the-seasons week in November even more of a treat. We celebrated even though there was nothing much to celebrate, other than the fact we had cake.

The sponge cake is made in small round tins, so should be gone quickly, but its cream cheese and curd filling won’t come to too much harm if you refrigerate it overnight. It is worth bringing it back to room temperature before eating.

A clear, green or fruit tea works wonderfully with a rich recipe such as this. It slices through the sugar and flatters the citrus notes. My choice was lemon verbena but we could have had Earl Grey with its subtle notes of bergamot.

A teatime fruit cake

This cut-and-come-again cake will keep for several days in a cake tin or airtight container. It is less densely fruited than a Christmas cake, its texture more akin to a traditional tea-time fruit cake. I use a mixture of raisins, dried cherries or cranberries and golden sultanas, but you could introduce candied peel or chopped, dried apricots if you fancy. The cake needs no further embellishment, but you could stud the surface with whole almonds before baking. Serves 12 or more. Ready in 2 hours

caster sugar 150g
dark muscovado sugar 65g
butter 125g
eggs 2, large
self-raising flour 280g
kefir 100ml
dried fruit assorted 400g

You will need a deep cake tin, 20cm in diameter.

Line the cake tin on the base and sides with lightly buttered baking parchment. Preheat the oven to 160C/gas mark 4.

Put the caster and dark muscovado sugars in the bowl of a food mixer fitted with a flat paddle beater. Cut the butter into small pieces, add to the sugars, then cream them for about 5 minutes until light and coffee-coloured.

Break the eggs into a small bowl and beat lightly with a fork or small whisk until well mixed. Introduce the beaten eggs to the butter and sugar a little at a time, beating well between additions. Incorporate the flour and kefir, in two or three stages.

Stir in the dried fruit, then transfer to the lined cake tin and lightly smooth the surface with the back of a spoon. Bake the cake for about 70 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a metal skewer into the cake. If it comes out with any raw mixture attached, return the cake to the oven for 10 minutes longer then check again. Set the cake to cool in its tin, then remove and leave until cold.