Macadamia Cake with Lime Syrup

                   


I swear everyone who cooks this recipe falls in love with it. 

Toasty, buttery macadamia with sweet lime. Perfect for a beautiful sunshine-filled day. 

A little goes a long way and it keeps well - check it out and let me know how you go!


Macadamia cake with lime syrup 

CAKE
200 g (7 oz/11/4 cups) macadamia nuts

185 g (61/2 oz/11/2 cups) self-raising flour

 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

200 g (7 oz) unsalted butter, softened

230 g (81/2 oz/1 cup) caster (superfine) sugar

 4 large eggs

 1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract

2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest

 80 ml (21/2 fl oz/1/3 cup) milk

LIME SYRUP 170 g (6 oz/3/4 cup) caster (superfine) sugar

 3 teaspoons finely julienned lime zest

80 ml (21/2 fl oz/1/3 cup) lime juice

 1 tablespoon rum, optional

serves 10–12

Preheat the oven to 160°C (315°F/Gas 2–3). Grease a 25 cm (10 inch) wide, 9 cm (31/2 inch) deep, non-stick bundt tin or other scalloped-edge ring cake tin.

Very finely grind the macadamias in a food processor or in several batches in a blender, then tip into a mixing bowl. Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda over the top and combine well.

Beat the butter and sugar using electric beaters until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and lime zest. Mix in half the flour mixture, then half the milk. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and milk, until all the ingredients are well combined. Spoon into the prepared tin and smooth over. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the cake is dark golden and comes away slightly from the side of the tin. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean.

Allow the cake to rest in the tin on a wire rack for 10 minutes, before inverting onto the rack to cool completely. (If you tip the cake out of the tin before this time it may collapse.)

To make the lime syrup, put the sugar, lime zest, lime juice and 125 ml (4 fl oz/1/2 cup) water in a small saucepan and stir over high heat until the sugar has dissolved. Boil for 5 minutes, or until slightly syrupy. Lift out the lime zest with a fork and set aside as a garnish. Take the syrup off the heat and stir in the rum, if using.

Brush the syrup evenly over the entire cake surface. Decorate the top of the cake with the reserved lime zest and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. This cake keeps well — wrap it thoroughly in plastic and store at room temperature for a few days, or refrigerate for a week (or even freeze for up to 1 month).

Recipe from Grub - Favourite Food Memories by Jane Lawson. Published by Murdoch Books. Image by Photographer Steve Brown.