It’s a lumberjack cake and it’s OK!
Warm lumberjack cake and icecream – a perfect apple season treat.
Photo supplied
By Liz Douglass
The origins of this recipe are a mystery, but it has been a family favourite for over 20 years.
Originally bought at a school fête, a request for the recipe produced an anonymous handwritten note.
Cooking time and results can be variable, but anywhere on the cake–pudding spectrum, this is delicious.
Feel free to add more apple but check that the inside of the cake is cooked through.
Hot from the oven or warmed through, serve this cake with cream, icecream, custard or all three for a substantial winter dessert.
Equally good when cool, lumberjack cake is just as good for afternoon tea and as it travels well, it is a great cake to bring along on holidays and picnics.
During cooking, apple syrup and the topping can ooze out of a cake tin with a loose base, so put a tray underneath, just in case.
Ingredients
2 medium to large apples, any variety
200 g dates, stones removed
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
1 cup boiling water
125 g butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs lemon juice
Topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
60 g butter
1/3 cup milk
60 g shredded coconut
Method
Line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper.
Chop dates into small pieces and put into a heat proof bowl with the bicarbonate soda
Pour boiling water over the dates. Leave until lukewarm.
Peel and chop apples into 1–2 cm pieces and toss in lemon juice.
Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix well.
Sift flour with salt and add to mix, alternately with dates and apples. Stir well.
Pour into cake tin and bake in a moderate oven at 180°C for 60–80 minutes until just cooked. Test with skewer at intervals.
While cake is baking, combine topping ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat through, stir until combined and keep warm.
When cake is just cooked, spread the topping over the top of the cake and continue to bake for another 15–20 minutes until golden brown on top.
