“This cake is based on a recipe cooked by my friend Alex from 26 Grains,” explains food writer Anna Jones “For days after eating this cake, I could think of very little else.
“This is my version. It makes a large loaf and is quite rich, so you’ll get a lot of slices out of it.”
Honey, almond and cardamom drizzle cake recipe
Makes one loaf
Ingredients
For the cake
200g light spelt or plain flour
150g ground almonds
2tsp baking powder
250g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
200g demerara sugar
150ml honey or maple syrup
Zest of an unwaxed orange
Zest of an unwaxed lemon
4 medium organic eggs
For the drizzle
4 cardamom pods
4tbsp honey or maple syrup
1tsp orange blossom water
2tsp toasted sesame seeds
1tsp fennel seeds
1tsp coriander seeds
To serve
A good drizzle of honey or maple syrup
Plain yoghurt of your choice
Method
1. Heat the oven to 170C/150C fan/gas 3.
2. Grease a 900g loaf tin and line with baking paper. Put the flour, almonds, baking powder and a good pinch of sea salt into a large mixing bowl and whisk until there are no lumps of baking powder. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or with an electric hand whisk, beat the butter, sugar and honey until creamy and combined.
3. Add both orange and lemon zests, then the eggs one by one, mixing well between additions.
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4. Add the dry ingredients a large spoonful at a time, again mixing between additions. Tip the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth out the top with the back of a spoon. Bake for 55 minutes to one hour, until the cake is dark golden on top. It will sink a little in the middle.
5. Take the cake out of the oven and leave in the tin. Bash the cardamom pods in a pestle and mortar to release the seeds, then put the seeds into a small saucepan with all the remaining drizzle ingredients. Bring to a simmer and reduce to a thin syrup – it will thicken a little more as it cools.
6. Prick the cake a few times with a skewer and pour over the syrup, then leave the cake in the tin until cooled completely. Serve in thick slices, with yoghurt mixed with honey.
‘One: Pot, Pan Planet’ by Anna Jones, photography by Issy Croker, is published by Fourth Estate priced £26. Available now.
