A pretty winter cake, uses ground nuts as well as flour and a cream cheese frosting to make it lighter and easier on the icing than traditional cakes. You can use wholemeal self-raising flour, if you prefer and replace the Amaretto with brandy. This cake freezes well once iced but before decorating. Recipe courtesy of AGA Demonstrator Naomi Hansell.
Serves: 12
- Butter for greasing
- 330g self-raising flour
- 225g ground almonds
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 225g butter, softened
- 250g soft brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 eggs, beaten
- 150g full fat milk
- 60ml Amaretto for brushing the cakes between layers
- 500g cream cheese, softened
- 100g butter, softened
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 325g icing sugar
- Amaretto for brushing the cakes between layers
- Sprigs of rosemary
- Reindeer shaped biscuits
- Icing sugar for dusting
Slices in to 12 tall slim slices. Freezes well - freeze the whole cake once iced but before decorating.
Preparation Time: 40 minutes. Cooking Time: 45 minutes.
1. Grease and line 2 x deep 18cm cake tins with baking parchment or use 4 shallow 18cm cake tins, greased and base lined.
2. Stir the flour, ground almonds and cinnamon together in a medium bowl.
3. Place the butter, soft brown sugar and vanilla extract in a stand mixer and cream until pale, fluffy and creamy.
4. Gradually beat in the eggs a little at a time then fold in the self-raising flour, almonds, followed by the milk and Amaretto.
5. Mix together gently until just combined then divide between the tins, smooth the top.
6. Place in the Cast Iron Oven: on the grid shelf on the floor of the baking oven or oven on B4. Fan Oven: preheated to B4/160oC/325oF. Bake for 45 - 55 minutes until the cakes spring back when pressed gently in the centre or until a skewer comes out clean.
7. Cool in the tins for 10 minutes then turn out on to a wire cooling rack. Remove the baking paper and leave to cool completely.
8. For the icing, beat together the butter, icing sugar and vanilla extract until evenly mixed. Gradually add the cream cheese and then beat for 5 minutes until smooth and thickened. Chill for 15 minutes minimum, this makes it easier to fill the cakes.
9. Trim the tops of the cakes if they have risen more in the middle while cooking, and slice in half horizontally if you have made 2 cakes, to give 4 layers in total.
10. Place the first layer on a cake stand or plate, brush with a little Amaretto to keep the sponge moist, then add about 1/5th of the icing. Spread evenly over the layer then repeat with the remaining 3 layers then finally spread the icing thinly over the sides and use the rest for the top.
11. Decorate with rosemary ‘trees’ and shortbread reindeer. Dust with icing sugar for ‘snow’.
