Love Cake

A community recipe by mounty

Not tested or verified by Nigella.com

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Introduction

Part of my family is descended from the Dutch settlers in Sri Lanka (Ceylon), known as the Burghers. This is one of the favourite recipes of the Burghers, served at every birthday and other celebration. Every family has its own 'special' version - this is how my grandma used to make it. It's a very rich cake that keeps for weeks if well sealed. It has the same moistness as a rich fruit cake.

Ingredients

Serves: 6

12 medium eggs (separated)
1 pound semolina
1¾ pounds granulated sugar
¾ pound ground cashew nuts
½ pound butter
¼ cup rosewater
¼ cup honey
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 teaspoons mixed peel

Method

Love Cake is a community recipe submitted by mounty and has not been tested by Nigella.com so we are not able to answer questions regarding this recipe.

Put the butter and sugar into a large bowl and beat well until very light and smooth. Then add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Mix in the semolina gradually, then add the peel and cashews which should be ground together. Add the honey, rose-water and spices.

Beat 6 of the egg whites to a stiff froth and gradually but lightly fold them into the mixture. (Use the remaining egg whites for something else).

Pour the mixture into a prepared tin, lined with 2 or 3 layers of buttered greaseproof paper, and bake in a moderate oven until cooked. (Ideally the cake should remain ever so slightly sticky in the centre). Leave in the tin for 5 minutes then turn out and remove the paper straight away or, because of the high sugar content, it will stick to the cake and be impossible to remove.

Tell us what you think

What 3 Others have said

Pls omit the mixed peel. 100 ml of honey(golden syrup). 250g of butter. Use 250g of semolina. Cut the sugar quantity in half.. and 250g of pumpkin preserve.. 40 ml almond essence. For the quantity of this recipe use 8 Eggs. (Beat the egg whites until it holds it peak. Fold the whites in to the batter at the end) Bake at 150c for about 45 mins to 1 hour...

Posted by terryb on 26th June 2016
I grew up in Colombo watching my mother bake this and it's one of my favourite cakes. Sadly, this recipe does not come close. Firstly, the recipe uses way too much sugar. As a result, mixture does not produce a light and smooth mixture when the sugar and butter are blended, as stated. There is also no oven temperature or baking time. The finished cake was not fully cooked but the cooked parts were much too sweet.

Posted by gPeries on 28th April 2015
For approximately how long do you bake the cake for?

Posted by CherylDole on 23rd October 2013