This weeks bake is a cake I had been planning on for a while, I just wanted to find the perfect time and occasion to make one. The treacle sponge is a different style of recipe to what I usually use as you melt the butter, treacle and golden syrup and sugar rather than using the usual creaming method. Don’t be fooled but this cake it could be considered a pudding instead of a cake (I even warmed up some of the left over toffee sauce and poured it over a slice and it was so good!). This cake isn’t for the light hearted it could definitely be considered a bit of sugar overload. The cake is quite complicated as it has quite a few different parts to complete it therefore requires a bit longer to make but it’s worth it.
Ingredients for the sponge
- 200g Butter
- 250g Dark Muscavdo Sugar
- 100g Black treacle
- 100g Golden syrup
- 200ml Milk
- 100g Dates
- 2 Medium eggs
- 250g Plain flour
- 1 tsp of Bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp of Ground ginger
- 1 tsp of Ground Cinnamon
Ingredients for Toffee Sauce (There will be some left over)
- 250ml of Double cream
- 1 Tbsp of Black Treacle
- 150g of Demerara Sugar
- 100g Butter
Ingredients for Butter cream
- 200g Unsalted Butter
- 300g icing sugar
- 100ml of Toffee sauce
- 1 tsp of vanilla extract
Ingredients for Pecan Brittle
- 100g pecans
- 150g Caster sugar
Optional – 3 apples sliced
Method
- First chop the dried dates up into small pieces and leave to soak in boiling water for 10 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 160 degrees celcius, then line and greese three 18cm sandwich tins.
- Melt together the butter, sugar, treacle and syrup, stir on medium heat until all the sugar has dissolved.
- Drain the dates from the water and mix into warm sugr mix.
- Take off the heat and add the milk and eggs one at a time and whisk until well combined. Then sift in the flour, slices and bicarbonate of soda and beat together until there are no lumps.
- If adding apples peel, core and slice the apples.
- Add the mixture evenly into the three tins, add the apple slices onto the top of the cake.
- Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until golden brown. You may need to add tin foil on top to stop it from burning.
- Whilst the cake is cooking make the treacle sauce by adding the double cream, butter, treacle and sugar and melt into the sauce pan and turn the heat up and boil until thinkens ensure that it’s turned constantly otherwise it will burn on the bottom. Then leave to cool slightly in the fridge.
- Make the butter cream but using an electric whisk or kitchen aid beat the butter until light and fluffy. Then add a vanilla extract and icing sugar and beat together until creamy. Cover and put in fridge until ready to use.
- To make the pecan brittle cover a tray with baking parchment, and spread the pecans over the tray, in a saucepan mix together the sugar with 2 tbsp of water then place on a gentle heat until the sugar has dissolved.
- Then turn up the heat and boil it without stirring until it turns a rich amber colour. If it comes up the sides use a pastry brush in water to move the sugar back into the pan. Pour the molten sugar over the pecans. Then leave to cool completely.
- Once the cake has cooled apply a thin layer to each layer of the cakes and round the edge of cakes known as a crumb coating and leave to chill in the fridge. Then apply another layer ensure smooth by using a palatte knife.
- Pour the toffee sauce into the middle of the cake and spread towards the edge of until it drips down slightly.
- Break the pecan brittle into shards and push into the cake to hold in place. Any left over pecans decorate round the edge.
Willey's Weekly Bake 