A simple yet delicious cake that uses a minimal amount of flour. In fact, if you’re used to baking you may think there’s not enough flour compared to the ratio of fat and sugar, but believe me it definitely works!
Nußkuchen (or nusskuchen) is a very traditional chocolate and almond cake, here I’ve revved it up a little with orange and caraway.
Notes
Don’t have caraway seeds? They can be omitted.
After zesting the oranges, they can lose moisture quickly and dry out. Keep them fresh until being eaten by popping in a beeswax wrap, cling film or a plastic food bag and keep in your vegetable crisper drawer in the fridge.
Equipment
- 1 litre / roughly a 25cm x 13 cm loaf tin (it doesn’t have to be these exact dimensions, just don’t go much larger or smaller or your cake will be very shallow or overspill)
- Large bowl (if not using a stand mixer)
- Spatula/scraper
- Electric whisk, stand mixer or large balloon whisk
- Scales, measuring spoons
- Baking paper/parchment
- Zester/plane and skewer
- Extra butter or cake release spray/mix
- Pastry brush
- Wire cooling rack
Ingredients
- 100g unsalted butter – at room temperature
- 125g caster sugar
- 90g plain flour
- 3 medium eggs
- Pinch of fine salt
- 100g flaked or chopped almonds or hazelnuts
- 60g chopped chocolate (your choice or dark or milk to match your preference)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of caraway seeds
- zest of two large (or three small oranges)
Method
- Preheat your oven to 180 C fan / 200 C conventional oven or 350 F
- Cut a piece of the baking paper to the width of the tin base and long enough to lay in the tin with a few centimetres overlap each side. You do not need to line the tin fully – it is only to help you lift the cake out, it is unlikely to stick
- Lay the paper in the tin and either brush some warmed butter over the paper and tin ends or spray/brush with cake release
- Cream the butter and sugar vigorously together until pale in a large bowl with a spatula (or use your stand mixer)
- Add in the eggs, flour and salt, then mix in, at a gentler speed
- Grate the oranges over the bowl and sprinkle over the caraway seeds and ground cinnamon
- Add in the chopped nuts and chocolate chunks, and give a light mix
- Now, as a last stage (so the efficacy isn’t reduced) add in the baking powder and mix gently again until all the ingredients are dispersed
- Immediately pour or spoon into your prepared tin and smooth the top flat
- Place in the centre of the oven and bake for 45-50 mins
- Test by poking a skewer into the centre of the cake – it should come out clean with no sticky cake mix on it. If there is cake mix, place back in the oven for another 7-10 minutes
- When done, leave to cool in the tin until you can handle it, then lift the cake out using the baking paper and place on a wire rack to cool thoroughly
- A gorgeous cake to slice and serve with a coffee or orange juice. You can add a finishing touch of a dusting of icing sugar. It also is sublime with a dollop of fresh cream as a dessert
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Ink Sugar Spice - Lynn Clark 