Caramel walnut tea cake
This is the perfect afternoon teacake. Actually, it’s the perfect breakfast, brunch, and afternoon teacake. And it’s perfect, not because it’s moist and sweet with a hint of zing, nor because it will stay moist for days after you’ve baked it, but because it’s uber easy to make and comes together in minutes. What’s more you don’t need fancy equipment to make it, and best of all, of course, it’s supremely delicious.
Ingredients
4 eggs (59g each)
200g castor sugar (1 cup)
25g vanillin sugar (1 packet)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
125mls oil (1/2 cup)
250mls freshly squeezed orange juice (1 cup)
10grams (3 teaspoons) baking powder
210g plain flour (1 ½ cups)
Method
Preheat the oven to 170C
Sift plain flour and baking powder into a bowl and set aside.
In a separate bowl, with a hand held mixer or an egg beater, mix together
the eggs, vanilla extract, castor sugar, vanillin sugar and oil until combined.
Stir in orange juice, add sifted flour and baking powder and mix until batter is lump free. It should take a minute.
Thoroughly oil (be generous) a 32cm x 11cm x 5 ½ cm rectangular cake tin. Or you can use a 21/22cm round cake tin.
Pour cake batter into tin and bake for 40-45 minutes or until skewer inserted into the centre of the cake it comes out clean.
Topping ingredients
1 cup roughly chopped nuts of your choice (I used walnuts)
¼ teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
Caramel sauce
50mls water
200g caster sugar (1 cup)
125mls pouring cream (1/2 cup)
80g butter
Method
While cake is baking make the caramel sauce.
Over medium-high heat stir the sugar and water until sugar has completely dissolved and mixture begins to bubble.
Lower the heat to low and cook for 7-9 minutes or until the colour changes to a light golden brown. Remove from the heat, stir in butter then cream, (be careful because the sauce will spatter when you add the butter).
Allow caramel sauce to cool down, pour into a jar and set aside.
In a small bowl mix nuts with cinnamon.
Pour roughly ½ a cup of caramel sauce into nuts and cinnamon mixture and stir making sure nuts are covered in caramel. Spoon nut mixture in a straight line along the top of the cake. Serve with coffee or tea.
Enjoy
