For the longest time, I’ve been a fan of Belinda Jeffery and this caramel butter crunch cake is adapted from the recipe found in her classic baking book, Mix and Bake. Belinda’s cake was baked in a Bundt tin but I was keen to make my version in a loaf tin, in particular the
USA Pan Pullman loaf pan. The tin was originally used in the compact kitchens of Pullman railway cars to make a sandwich loaf, hence the lid. I was keen to try out the tin because it has straight edges unlike most loaf tins which are tapered.
The USA Pan range is manufactured entirely in USA and each pan is coated with Americoat PLUS, a clear silicone-based coating making it non-stick and best of all, non-toxic. The coating is designed to be long-lasting and durable and easy clean. The tin is made from warp-resistant aluminised steel with an internal steel wire rim construction and the fluted surface prevents warping, denting and other effects of everyday use. The coating makes for easy release and it’s also dishwasher safe. While I didn’t use the lid during the baking process, I used it to protect the cake when I took it into work the next day.
Here’s the recipe for you which will make a large loaf, a medium size bundt cake or a 23 cm round cake. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.
Ingredients List:
- ⅔ cup sour cream
- ½ cup plain yoghurt
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 75 gm roasted walnut or pecans
- 250 gm caster sugar
- 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 cups plain flour
- 1¼ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 170 gm unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into chunks
- 3 tsp overproof (dark) rum
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- Icing sugar, for dusting
- Double thick cream, to serve
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line the base and sides of a loaf tin and set aside.
Scoop the sour cream and yoghurt into a bowl and thoroughly mix them together. Stir in bicarbonate of soda, then leave to stand for about 15 minutes; the mixture aerates and puffs up when you do this.
Put the nuts, 75 gm of the sugar and the cinnamon into a food processor and pulse until the nuts are finely chopped. Pour this mixture into a small bowl. Put the flour, baking powder and salt in the processor and whiz them to combine. Tip them into another bowl.
Put the eggs and the remaining 175 gm sugar into the processor and whiz them for 1 minute. Add the butter and process everything for another minute. (The mixture may look a bit curled at this stage, but don't worry it will be fine)
Stir the rum and vanilla extract into the sour cream mixture; this will cause it to deflate somewhat. Add this to the mixture in the processor and blend it all together with a few quick bursts. Scrape this into a large bowl and stir in the flour mixture until the batter is just combined. (Or you can add the flour straight to the mixture in the processor, if it's big enough to hold everything).
Spoon a 2 cm layer of cake batter into the bottom of the prepared tin and smooth out the surface. Sprinkle about ⅓ of the nut mixture over the top and shake the tin gently to even it out. Cover this with another thin layer of batter. Sprinkle another ⅓ of the nut mixture over this. Even it out again, then spread the remaining cake batter on top before sprinkling with the final ⅓ of the nut mixture.
Bake for 1 – 1¼ hours (50 minutes if using a Bundt tin) or until a fine skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool the cake in the tin on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Using the paper as a guide, remove the cake from the tin onto the rack and leave it to cool completely.
Just before serving, transfer the cake to a cake stand or plate and dust it with icing sugar. Serve each slice with a big dollop of cream.
Keep for up to 3 days at room temperature in a tightly sealed container, or freeze for up to 3 weeks. Leftover slices are also good gently warmed in the microwave.
