Cakes Recipes

1 Cup butter
3 Cups white flour
1-2 Cups sugar
1 Cup flaked coconut
4 eggs
1 Cup chopped walnuts
1/2 Cup orange juice
8 ounces chopped dates
1 teaspoon baking soda

Grease well and lightly flour two 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pans. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
In a large bowl cream butter and gradually beat in sugar. Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each.
Sift together flour and baking soda. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture in three parts, alternating with the orange juice. Mix nuts,coconut and dates and fold gently into batter.
Pour batter into greased pans and bake for 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until golden brown. Mix together 1/2 Cup of orange juice and 1 Cup of powdered sugar and pour over cakes in pans while still hot. Cool inpans on racks. Wrap in aluminum foil when cool and freeze if possible.
Makes two loaves.

Note:

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
7 eggs, separated
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 pounds diced yellow, green, and red candied pineapple (about 3 cups)
1 pound red and green candied cherries (about 2 cups)
1/4 pound diced candied citron (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 pound golden raisins (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 cups pecan halves
1 cup black walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Additional candied fruit and nuts (optional)
1/4 cup brandy
Additional brandy

Make a liner for a 10-inch tube-pan by drawing a circle with an 18-inch diameter on a piece of brown paper. Cut out circle; set pan in center, and draw around base of pan and inside tube. Fold circle into eighths, having the drawn lines on the outside.
Cut off tip end of circle along inside drawn line. Unfold paper; cut along folds to the outside drawn line. From another piece of brown paper, cut another circle with a 10-inch diameter; grease and set aside. Place the 18-inch line in pan; grease and set aside.
Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating well at medium speed of an electric mixer. Stir in flavorings. Beat egg yolks; alternately add yolks and 3 cups flours to creamed mixture.
Combine candied pineapple, cherries, citron, golden raisins, pecans, and walnuts in a bowl; dredge with 1/2 cup flour, stirring to coat well. Stir mixture into batter. Beat egg whites (at room temperature) until stiff peaks form; fold into butter.
Spoon batter into prepared pan. Arrange additional candied fruit and nuts on top of batter, if desired. Cover pan with 10-inch brown paper circle, greased side down. Bake at 250 degrees for about 4 hours or until cake tests dones. Remove from oven. Take off paper cover, and slowly pour 1/4 cup brandy evenly over cake; cool completely on wire rack.
Remove cake from pan; peel paper liner from cake. Wrap cake in brandy-soaked cheesecloth. Store in an airtight in a cool place up to 3 weeks; pour a small amount of brandy over cake each week. Yield: one 10-inch cake.

Note:

100 g Flaky pastry (3 1/2 oz)
Grated rind of 1 lemon
30 g Raspberries (1 oz)
Caster sugar
110 g Sugar (3 3/4 oz)
Icing sugar
75 g Ground hazelnuts (2 1/2 oz)
Slivered almonds
2 x Egg whites

Puree the raspberries in a liquidiser with 35 g ( 1 1/4 oz) of the sugar,then pass the mixture through a tamis.
Prepare a macaroon paste by mixing, with a spatula, the rest of the sugar,the ground powered nuts, the egg whites and lemon rind.
Roll out the pastry to a thickness of 2-3 mm ( 1/8 in) and line an 18 cm (7 in) tart tin with a removable base. Prick it all over with the prongs of a fork (Put it in a refrigerator if you are not going to bake it at once).
Pre-heat the oven to 220 oC/425 oF.
Lightly sprinkle caster sugar over the uncooked pastry, then spread the raspberry puree over it in a smooth layer.
Spread the macaroon mixture over the raspberry, smoothing the surface with the help of a spatula.
Cook the cake for 40 minutes in the pre-heated oven. Reduce the heat to 180 oC/350 oF after 20 minutes if it is browning too quickly. Take it out and leave it to cool a little.
Scatter the slivered almonds over the top of the cake while it is still warm. Sprinkle the cake with icing sugar then put it under hot grill for just long enough to caramelise the sugar lightly. Take care, as this takes barely a minute.
Let the cake cool, then take it out of the tin.
Servings: 6

Note: