SAFFRON CAKE
Description
(makes 1 x 25cm square cake)
A very good cake with a cup of Earl Grey tea but excellent at dessert time with poached or baked fruit and sweetened lightly whipped cream flavoured with rosewater.
INGREDIENTS
1 tsp dry breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp anise seeds (crushed)
40g (4 tbsp) butter (softened)
170g (1 cup) Manuka honey
120g (1/2 cup) sour cream
4 eggs (yolks and whites separated)
280g (2 cups) pastry flour
1/2 tsp saffron (ground to a powder in a mortar)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cream of tartar
2 tsp poppy seeds
METHOD
- Preheat oven to 175°C. Grease one 25cm cake tin.
- Combine breadcrumbs and anise seeds and sprinkle evenly over the base of the tin. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and honey until smooth, add sour cream and beat well.
- Whisk egg yolks until creamy and combine with honey mixture.
- In a separate bowl, sift together flour, saffron, baking soda and cream of tartar three times to ensure even distribution of saffron. Sift this into the batter and fold together gently.
- Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form, then fold into batter.
- Pour batter into prepared tin spreading evenly. Scatter the poppy seeds evenly on top.
- Bake for 25-30mins or until when you insert a skewer it comes out clean.