This is a favourite cake of mine.Period.
I should seriously just stop with that and let the recipe speak. But obviously I cant just leave it at that. Its a cake I had posted long back and has fetched brilliant results all the time.
Its a one bowl cake that is really easy to make and you get a spongy, moist cake perfect on its own. The first time I baked it, I had halved the recipe and still managed to get a large-ish cake. But this time I was baking it to give away some to my neighbour and so made the actual quantity and it came out as a dense and heavy cake, which I am just going to blame on the bundt pan I used as opposed to a pan with a larger circumference.
I was a wee bit disappointed by its fudgy texture (others begged to differ), but after a day of keeping it at room temperature, it actually was quite nice. I mean not that it was not nice right out out of the oven, but a little too rich for my liking, especially because I like my cakes light and airy with tea.
I would definitely not bake this in a bundt pan again, and halve it and bake two separate cakes if I want the entire quantity. So here's the recipe for one of my absolute favs. If you want to see the difference in the texture check out my initial recipe here
Plain flour- 3 1/2 cups
Baking powder- 3/4 tbsp
Baking soda- 1 tsp
Salt- 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon powder- 3 tsp
Ground cloves- 1/2 tsp
Vegetable oil- 1 cup
Honey-1 cup
Granulated sugar- 1 1/2 cup
Dark brown sugar- 1/2 cup
Eggs- 3
Vanilla extract- 1 tsp
Warm coffee- 1 cup (dissolve 1 tsp instant coffee/ espresso in 1 cup warm water)
Orange juice- 1/2 cup
In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon powder and ground cloves.
Make a well in the centre and add all the remaining ingredients.
Using a wooden spoon first mix in all the ingredients (to prevent a mess really) and then either use a hand blender or use paddle attachment in a free standing mixer and mix away till all the ingredients come together.
Make sure you scrape the sides and bottom so nothing sticks.
Once you have a well blended mix, pour into a well greased pan and bake in an oven pre heated at 176C for 60 to 75 minutes.
Do the skewer test and if it comes out clean then transfer the pan on to a cooling rack and after about 10-15 minutes, unmold and wait till its completely cool to cut a slice.
if you want, you can dust some icing sugar on top. Not really required as the cake is incredibly sweet.
Notes: Original recipe calls for a 1/4 cup of whiskey and almonds to be scattered on top of the cake. I avoided both.
Make sure the coffee is warm and not hot, as it could cook the egg
Increase or decrease the cinnamon powder as per taste. The first time i tried it, I thought the cinnamon was a bit over powering, but this time I was pretty OK with it
Make sure you properly grease your baking tray, as its a bit stubborn when you unmold.