The recipe is filled with a delicious flavor of almonds and honey. Warning: this cake is addictive: it’s so moist due to the fact that it gets smothered in honey once it comes out of the oven. Feel free to adjust the sweetness honey level to your liking by adding more or less honey. It’s entirely up to you and your sweet tooth. The cream complements the sweet cake. Try this and enjoy. It is indeed absolute perfection and yet so simple and delicious.
with Sonia
Preparation time: 15 minutes Bake time: 25 minutes Servings makes one (8-inch) cake
Ingredients
Cake
l12 tablespoons unsalted butter softened / margerine
l1/4 cup light brown sugar
l1/2 cup honey divided, plus more for serving
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l2 teaspoons lemon zest
l11/2 teaspoons vanilla essence
l3 eggs
l3 cups all-purpose flour (sieved)
l11/4 teaspoons baking soda
l1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons almond milk (see tip below for substitute)
l1/2 cup icing sugar (sieved)
l1/2 cup almonds toasted
Strawberry Cream
l1/2 cup heavy cream
l113g buttercream (83ml of milk plus 30ml vinegar, stir in cup and set aside)
l3 to 4 tablespoons icing sugar
l1 cup fresh strawberries diced + more for topping
Method:
lPre-heat the oven to 180°C. Grease one 8-inch round cake pan / line with baking paper, butter/spray with cooking spray.
lIn a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the butter, brown sugar, 1/4 cup honey, lemon zest and vanilla until light and fluffy, for about five minutes. Add the eggs, one at time, beating after each until incorporated. Add the flour and beat until combined. Add the almond meal, baking soda and salt, beating until just combined and smooth. Pour in 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons of almond milk/ milk beat until combined and smooth. The batter should be thick.
lPour the batter into the prepared pan.
lBake for 25-30 minutes or until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Be careful not to over-bake.
lRemove from the oven and use a chopstick or fork to poke about 12 holes all over the cake. Drizzle the remaining honey over the cake and allow it to cool in the pan, at least 20 minutes.
lTo make the cream, add the heavy cream and buttermilk to a mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat on high speed until soft peaks form, about five minutes. Beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla until just combined. Stir in the strawberries.
lTurn the cake out onto a serving plate. In a bowl, mix together the 1/2 cup icing sugar with one tablespoon milk until combined. Drizzle the glaze over the cake and then drizzle with a little honey. Sprinkle on the toasted almonds. Now spread the cream over the cake and top with fresh strawberries. Enjoy with more honey for serving. The cake can be kept in the fridge for up to two days.
Sonia’s tip:
lRemember, always check a few minutes before the stated baking time, and record it so as to monitor baking time.
lAlmond milk is a fantastic nondairy alternative to regular cow’s milk. When recipe calls for almond milk, a good substitute is regular milk. You may use a simple cup-to-cup replacement in most recipes. For other recipes, a few adjustments may be necessary, but your baked goods will still taste great.
lTake your time to follow the baking steps precisely.
Avoid such thoughts and easy shortcuts: “Well, all these ingredients are going to end up in the same bowl eventually, so why not just dump them in together and mix it up?” A recipe for disaster.
It’s imperative to take the time to follow the instructions in the order they’re presented — and to carryout instruction method completely and thoroughly. Creaming together butter and sugar with a handheld or stand mixer, for example, should be done before the addition of wetter ingredients, like eggs. Why? The fat in butter holds air, and, when whipped, expands.
In the creaming process, sharp sugar granules slice through the butter, creating air pockets that ultimately give the pastry lift. Skip that step (or do it half-heartedly) and your end result will be dense and heavy.
Happy baking.
Butter and flour your pans generous happy baking!
Follow Rudo Sonia on Instagram: @soniascakes. For enquiries, email: [email protected]. Facebook handle Rudo Sonia Mudimu (Rudo Sonias Cakes)
