This cake recipe was handed to us by Ruth Barry, a great chef and founder of the Berlin-based Black Isle Bakery. It’s quite simple to prepare and would make a great addition to any weekend breakfast.
Preheat the oven to 170°C/ 340°F. Grease and line a 25 cm loaf pan with parchment paper.
Cream the butter and mix with caster sugar until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, ensuring each one is completely beaten into the mixture before adding the next. You can add a teaspoon or so of flour at the same time to avoid curdling the eggs.
Mix the flour and baking powder and then sift into the butter, sugar and egg mixture. Add the ground fennel seeds and fold everything together gently. Add the marmalade and fold through until everything is completely mixed in. You might want to beat the marmalade with a spoon for a few seconds before adding it to the cake mixture. This will just smooth it out and make it a little easier to blend into the mix.
Place the chopped prunes into the bottom of the loaf pan. Spoon the cake mixture over and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake in the oven for around 45- 50 mins or until the cake springs back and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
While the cake is baking, mix the brandy, marmalade and fennel seeds in a small pan and bring to a boil. Take off the heat. Once the cake is fully baked, stab the top all over with a skewer and evenly pour over the brandy, marmalade and fennel seed syrup.
Allow the cake to cool in the tin for at least 5-10 mins before turning it over and serve. Enjoy!
175g unsalted butter, softened
175g caster sugar
3 eggs at room temperature
200g all purpose flour
2 tsps baking powder
3 tbsps orange marmalade
½ tsp Fennel Seeds, freshly ground
250g prunes, stoned and roughly chopped
1-2 tbsps marmalade
2 tbsps brandy
½ tsp Fennel Seeds, roughly ground
Daphnis and Chloe is a herb and spice company dedicated to cooks who are looking for Mediterranean ingredients of the finest quality
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