Friday, February 25, 2011

Mincemeat and marzipan cake


I was going to call this cake 'leftovers' cake seeing as it is made with Christmas leftovers but it struck me that, as a title, it didn't sound too appetising. But appetising it is in a 'slice with a cup of tea' sort of way. Loaf cakes are my favourite kind of cakes to bake, largely because there is minimal margin for error and no need for artistic decoartion. It is in the nature of a loaf cake to look pleasingly plain. This doesn't mean that it need taste plain however. This little loaf is packed with fruity, almondy flavour - all the more welcome now that we're somewhat distanced from the onslaught of such things in December.


Like many of my favourite recipes, this one is from BBC Good Food. It doesn't seem to be on the website - I found it in a little book that I have called '101 Cakes and Bakes'. It is a handy little book with sections on 'fresh fruit cakes', 'tray bakes' and 'muffins and cookies' amongst others. This, from the 'loaf cake' section, is an easy cake to make and you don't need any special equipment - two bowls, a whisk, wooden spoon and loaf tin. The smell as it bakes is particularly tempting and once it was out of the oven, I have to confess that I didn't manage to wait until it was cool to try a slice. I should have waited though as the marzipan was a little chewy whilst still hot - it had a better texture when cool. My only criticism would be that the chunks of marzipan sunk to the bottom of the cake. Next time I will cut them slightly smaller perhaps. Otherwise, this is a definite 'bake again' cake. It would be good spread with a little butter too, like a tea-bread. I made one minor alteration - the recipe suggest sprinkling with flaked almonds prior to baking and then dusting with icing sugar whilst still warm. I didn't have any flaked almonds (and, truth be known, don't really like them) so I simply sprinkled the top with demarara sugar which gave a nice crunchy crust to the loaf. My version is here...

Mincemeat and marzipan cake
From '101 Cakes and Bakes' by BBC Good Food

Ingredients:

200g self-raising flour
100g cold, diced butter
85g soft brown sugar
85g marzipan
2 large eggs
300g mincemeat
2 tbsp demarara sugar

1. Pre-heat oven to 170C. Butter and line a 1kg/2lb loaf tin or use a handy loaf tin liner such as these ones from Lakeland. Love them!

2. Tip flour and butter into a large bowl and rub together until you have the consistency of fine crumbs.

3. Cut the marzipan into small cubes, approx 1cm square (no bigger). Stir these into the crumbs, along with the soft brown sugar.

4. In another bowl, lightly whisk the eggs and then stir in the mincemeat. Pour this mixture into the flour mix and stir gently until combined. The batter will be quite thick.


5. Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin. Level the top as best you can and sprinkle with the demarara sugar. Bake for 1 hour, or until the loaf is golden brown and a skewer comes out clean.

6. Place tin on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes and then tip out onto the rack until completely cool.

Notes: this teabread keeps well (4-5 days) as long as it is tightly wrapped.


7 comments:

Helen @ Fuss Free Flavours said...

Looks lovely Antonia.

I have cranberry sauce in the freezer for a planned recipe that I need to make and then save until Dec before I publish it.

I am very jealous of all your lovely Emma Bridgewater china.

Chele said...

I LOVE your teapot!!! I know that isn't the purpose of the post but I do have a small fixation with these useful items lol. Great idea for teh cake too, I have some mincemeat that needs using up!

Abitofafoodie said...

Helen - thank you. I am lucky to have all the lovely Bridgewater china - most of the pieces are seconds picked up at sales over the years, but you'd never know!

Chele - thank you - I love my teapot too!! It was a wedding present - one of my favourites!

Caroline said...

Sounds like a lovely cake - loaf cakes are great to keep around for cut and come again purposes! I've still got mincemeat to use up too...

Brownieville Girl said...

I also have some mincemeat to use up, hubbie will be delighted with this cake.

Love the Emma Bridgewater pieces too!!

Lucy said...

I can never resist bakes with marzipan and this looks delicious! Very tempting :)

amish baby crib said...

This is a perfect pair for my afternoon coffee! It looks perfect.