Hot tea is the secret to adding depth of flavour to this easy, yet delicious cake recipe. Serve as a dinner party pud or for an afternoon pick me up with a cup of tea.
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For the cake
- 125 g butter, softened, plus extra to grease
- 250 g self-raising flour
- 200 g dates, stoned and finely chopped
- 250 ml hot tea, freshly brewed
- 200 g light brown muscovado sugar
- 2 Tbsp. golden syrup
- 3 medium eggs
- 1 tsp. bicarbonate of soda
For the icing
- 100 ml double cream
- 75 g light brown muscovado sugar
- 25 g butter
- 1 Tbsp. golden syrup
- Fudge chunks, optional, to decorate
- Step 1
Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Grease a deep round 20.5cm cake tin and dust with flour (tap out excess). Put dates into a bowl, pour over hot tea and soak for 10min.
- Step 2
Put butter and sugar into a large bowl and beat together using a handheld electric whisk until light and fluffy, about 5min. Whisk in the golden syrup, followed by eggs, soda, flour and date mixture (it may look a little curdled, but don't worry). Pour mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 55min or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin.
- Step 3
Meanwhile, make the toffee icing. Put all ingredients except the fudge chunks into a pan. Heat gently until melted and smooth, then turn up heat slightly and simmer gently for 7min until thickened. Pour into a bowl, lay a piece of baking parchment on the surface to stop a skin forming and leave to cool completely.
- Step 4
Remove cooled cake from tin and transfer to a cake plate or stand. Spread icing over top of cake, scatter over fudge chunks, if using, and serve in slices.
Per serving:
- Calories: 451
- Fibre: 2 g
- Sugars: 45 g
- Total fat: 20 g
- Saturated fat: 12 g
- Protein: 5 g
The GH Kitchen Team are Good Housekeeping’s resident recipe developers and all-round food obsessives. GH Kitchen Director Sarah Akhurst is our resident hosting pro and loves nothing more than putting on a foodie feast for friends. Our GH Kitchen Manager Linzi Pucino is our very own Italian food expert (originally hailing from the North East of Scotland!) and can be found working her way through midweek recipes that cover all bases, from haggis to ragu! Our Kitchen Editor Nadine Brown loves digging into the stories behind her favourite foods and enjoys applying her eclectic tastes to more modern, flavour-forward recipes - just don't give her too much chilli! Our Junior Food Content Produce Frankie Prichard combines a love of beautiful presentation and flavour-led, seasonal cooking in her recipe development, along with a passion for bringing people together through food. With a wealth of professional kitchen experience between them, they’re dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work every single time
