Wanting to create a cake with a bit of French flair for a Bastille Day dinner last month, I adapted this lovely recipe from Helen Goh and made it gluten-free, of course.
The prunes and walnut pieces provide interesting texture and the combined flavours, with the Cognac, make for a rich dessert cake. Serve it with lots of cream, or ice cream, and a petite glass of the Cognac. You might find yourself singing La Marseillaise.
Caren
WALNUT, PRUNE AND COGNAC CAKE
Serves 10-12
Start this recipe the day before to macerate the prunes.
Prunes
250 gm pitted prunes, halved
100 ml Cognac, brandy or Armagnac
1 orange, zest only
Combine the prunes, Cognac and zest in a non-reactive bowl and macerate overnight.
Filling
60 gm brown sugar
50 gm shelled walnut pieces, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Combine all the filling ingredients and set aside.
Cake
300 gm Revenge Almond Gluten-free Plain Flour (see below)
50 gm ground walnuts
1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
1 teaspoon bi-carb soda
½ teaspoon salt
200 gm unsalted butter, at room temperature
200 gm caster sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
250 gm crème fraiche
Icing sugar, optional
Whipped cream or ice cream
Preheat oven 175°C. Line the base of 23cm spring-form tin, grease the sides and dust with 2 teaspoons of gluten-free flour.
Thoroughly combine the flour, ground walnuts, baking powder, bi-carb and salt. Set aside.
Place the butter and sugar in an electric mixer and mix until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract, then the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
At low speed, add half the flour/nut mix, then the crème fraiche and then the last of the flour/nut mix.
Fold in the prune mix, ensuring it is evenly distributed.
Spoon half the cake mix into the prepared tin and then sprinkle over the filling mix. Top with the remaining cake mix.
Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Rest for 10 minutes before turning onto a cake rack.
Dust with icing sugar if using and serve with whipped cream or ice cream.
REVENGE GLUTEN-FREE ALMOND PLAIN FLOUR MIX
280 gm almond meal
210 gm besan flour
280 gm fine white rice flour
175 gm corn flour
Mix up a batch and store in the fridge