Russian Honey Cake

by Kate | May 4, 2022 | 1 comment

Ever since we tried honey cake on a trip to the UAE, along with the rest of Dubai, we have become OBSESSED with it! The cake requires a little effort but it is beyond worth it. Layers of caramelly honey biscuit (obviously featuring the Senqu River Pistachio Blossom Honey available from our shop) are sandwiched together with sour cream. It’s rich, buttery, not too sweet and very reminiscent of Biscoff.

RUSSIAN HONEY CAKE

Prep time: 2 hours plus overnight refrigerating

Cook time: 1 hour

Makes a tall 15cm diameter cake that feeds 16 people

200g Natura Sugars Golden Caster Sugar

130g Senqu River Pistachio Blossom Honey

180g salted butter

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 

500g cake flour

¼ tsp fine sea salt

Whipped sour cream

500g sour cream

500g whipping cream (30% fat)

250g Natura Sugars Demerara icing sugar

1 x The Kate Tin Gourmet vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

Place the sugar, honey and butter in a bowl over a pot of gently simmering water. Stir until melted and hot to the touch. Whisk the eggs in a bowl and gradually add this to the hot sugar mixture, while whisking continuously. Stir the mixture until it thickens slightly – about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the bicarbonate of soda. Mix well then add the flour and salt. The dough should be very soft and sticky. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. 

Cut 14 pieces of wax or baking paper. Divide the dough into 14 pieces (80g each) and roll each piece to 1mm thin and 15 cm wide between the layers of paper. We found a tortilla press was especially useful for this! Cut each disc into a circle using a small plate or cake tin base. Bake the discs of dough at 180C for 12 minutes or until dark golden brown and crisp. Allow to cool completely. 

Whisk the sour cream, cream, sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks. Place a 15cm diameter cake ring on a cake board and line it with acetate. Place a disc of cake on the bottom and begin layering with 90g of cream for each layer. The final cake will have 10 layers and you should have 4 leftover. Refrigerate the cake overnight so the biscuits can soften and absorb the cream. Place the leftover biscuits in a blender and blend until fine. Unmould the cake and place it in a large baking tray with sides. Sift over the biscuit crumbs and gently pat the crumbs onto the side of the cake. Refrigerate if not serving straight away.

Buttered Rum Crunch Cake

by Kate | Sep 21, 2021 | 3 comments

This cake was so nice I made it twice – in three days! It has a deliciously soft and buttery crumb with a crunchy caramelised crust and a good soaking of boozy rum sauce. 

Ever since my order from Sugar Baron rum arrived a few weeks ago, I’ve been dreaming about making this cake. It appeared rather demurely on a recipe card included with my rum – with no picture or description. Yet, something told me that the recipe was special. My gut feeling was right – man, is this a delicious cake and that’s exactly why I’m sharing the recipe here – to make sure it never gets lost! 

As you can see my rum stash has taken quite the beating after making this cake twice in three days (and also because I love a glass or two while baking!). But this beautiful barrel-aged rum by Sugar Baron is the real hero in this recipe. Poured into the cake batter it makes the cake extra light and splashed into the sauce it adds a delicious vanilla-butterscotch flavour. The fact that it’s made in KwaZulu Natal is just yet another reason to love it. Supporting local while eating cake? Sounds like a win-win!

BUTTERED RUM CRUNCH CAKE

Original recipe by Sugar Baron

For the cake:

50g fine demerara sugar, for lining

125g salted butter, plus extra for lining

45ml vegetable or sunflower oil

125ml buttermilk or amasi

125ml Sugar Baron barrel-aged rum

15ml vanilla extract

6 large egg yolks, at room temperature

3 large egg whites, at room temperature

60 + 340g fine demerara sugar 

320g cake flour

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp fine salt

1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the sauce:

120g fine demerara sugar

60ml water

110g salted butter

60ml Sugar Baron barrel-aged rum

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius or 160 if you have a fan-forced oven. Position the oven rack so that the cake will be in the middle of the oven – for me, that meant moving the rack to the lower third of the oven. 

To make the cake, prepare a bundt mould by brushing with butter and coating the inside well with the fine demerara sugar. Set aside. 

Place the butter in a large measuring jug and melt in the microwave. Add the oil, buttermilk, rum, vanilla and egg yolks and whisk to combine. 

Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whisk until soft peaks form. Gradually add 60g of the sugar to form a thick glossy meringue. Transfer to a separate bowl. 

In the same bowl as you whipped the meringue, place the flour, baking powder, salt, bicarbonate of soda and remaining 340g sugar. With the whisk attachment running on medium speed gradually add the combined wet ingredients until just combined. Don’t overmix. 

Stir in a third of the meringue with a spatula then fold the rest of the meringue in carefully. Pour into the prepared mould. Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. 

While the cake is baking prepare the sauce; place the sugar and water in a saucepan and simmer until dissolved. Add the butter and stir to combine. Finally, add the rum.

As soon as the cake comes out the oven, pierce it all over using a toothpick or skewer. Pour half of the warm sauce over the cake and allow to soak. Leave to cool for 5 minutes then carefully unmould the cake and pour the remaining sauce over the top. Serve warm (or at room temperature) with double cream, creme fraiche or real homemade vanilla ice cream. 

Earl Grey Victorian Sponge with Cherry Jam

by Kate | Jun 22, 2021 | 0 comments

This cake is definitely fit for a queen and even named after one!

Named after Queen Victoria due to the fact that she was said to indulge herself in a slice of this delicious layered cake alongside her traditional English afternoon tea.

Traditionally, Victorian Sponge Cakes are made using the weight of the eggs in their shells as a ratio for the same amount of flour, sugar, and butter. This would make this cake similar to a pound cake but, the difference is the baking powder in the self-raising flour – this allows for the cake to be super light but still rich and slightly dense – perfect for sandwiching with pillows of whipped cream and tart jam! Any cake fit for a queen would be worthy of my Gourmet Vanilla Beans which you can now buy individually OVER HERE. They provide a heady fragrance to the cake and would be delicious folded through the whipped cream, too!

Find the recipe below or download the printable recipe card at the end of this post.