"The cake is created from the basics of that original recipe – oats, golden syrup and nuts, and added some cocoa to give it a new dimension. This cake is for the child in everyone."

Ingredients

Takes 1 hour + resting+ baking   serves 12

 

Cake:

125g butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

85g ground almonds

3 Tbsp cocoa

½ cup shredded coconut

½ cup chopped dried apricots

11/2  cups self-raising flour

320g or 11/4 cups traditional sour cream

125ml (1/2 cup) espresso or strong black coffee
 

Topping:

150ml water

1 cup sugar

4 tbsp golden syrup

80g butter

1 cup flaked almonds

½ cup shredded coconut

½ cup rolled oats

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 deg C or 160degC fan bake and grease and line a 26cm cake tin.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together until thick and pale, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix well to combine.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together the almonds, cocoa, coconut, chopped apricots and flour.

4. Fold half the flour mixture into the batter with the sour cream and combine gently. Add the remaining flour mixture with the coffee and mix well.

5. Bake for 1 hour until puffed and cooked through.

6. Meanwhile, place the water and sugar in a small saucepan and heat gently while stirring to dissolve the sugar granules. When the mixture begins to boil, stop stirring and simmer for ten minutes, brushing down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush. When the mixture is pale gold, remove from the heat and stir in the golden syrup, butter, almonds, coconut and rolled oats and stir thoroughly, returning to the heat if necessary to help you mix the ingredients well. After the cake has cooked for one hour, remove from the oven and pour this mixture over the cake, then return to the oven for 10 minutes or until the topping has set.

Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Use a knife to loosen any toffee from the sides of the tin, then remove the cake and cool completely on a wire rack.

 

Cook’s tip: make this in the larger cake tin otherwise the topping boils over in your oven!

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