Anzac cake on Anzac Day

Today we remember the fallen. You can't help but feel moved when the Last Post is played. For me it is a reminder of the sacrifice made by all those who have served during times of conflict...and not just 'our' side.

This morning Jason took the older boys to our local service as is our tradition every year. One son marches in Scouts, while the other marches with his school.

After the service, some of our good friends gathered at the Sow's Ear for morning tea. It's a nice easy day to catch up with friends we do not see often enough.

I decided to try out an untested recipe called the Modern Anzac Cake from Tamara Milstein's Bake your cake and eat it too.

Modern Anzac Cake
I used by new Florence Broadhurst cake plates too

It's based loosely around the Anzac biscuits which were sent to the soldiers during WWI. It consists of a rather moist cake batter which is then topped with an Anzac biscuit-like topping. The contrast between the different textures made it a little bit more interesting than the standard Anzac biscuit.

Here is the Anzac Cake recipe for those who are interested in baking:

Ingredients:
Cake:
125 g butter, softened
200g sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
85g ground almonds
3 tablespoons cocoa
30g shredded coconut
200g self raising flour
320g sour cream
125ml strong black coffee

topping:
150ml water
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons golden syrup
80g butter
150g flaked almonds (I didn't have any and just put in extra coconut and oats)
30g shredded coconut
30g rolled oats

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease and line a 24cm cake tin (I just lined the bottom and sides with baking paper).

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.

In a separate bowl, combine almonds, cocoa, coconut and flour.

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.

Bake for one hour until puffed and cooked through.

Meanwhile, place the water and sugar in a small saucepan and heat gently while stirring to dissolve sugar. When the mixture begins to boil, simmer for 5 minutes, brushing sides of the pan with a pastry brush to ensure sugar granules do not stick.

When the mixture is pale gold, remove from the heat and stir in the golden syrup, butter, almonds, coconut and rolled oats. 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 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 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. (we ate it warm  but it is nicer cold)

Anzac cake

It is very sweet but marries nicely with a good cup of coffee.