Fig, hazelnut and ale cake
- Petit four
- Easy
- 4
- 60 minutes
PT1H
This fruit cake recipe from Nathan Outlaw is of the type Britain does so well. Here it is made elegant with chewy dried figs and crunchy hazelnuts, while light ale enhances the flavour and the rise. The technique used is unusual for a fig recipe as most of the soaked fruits are puréed in a food processor before mixing into the batter. Serve this in cubes as petit fours or cut into larger slices for morning or afternoon tea.
Ingredients
Fig, hazelnut and ale cake
- 100ml of ale
- 100g of dried figs
- 50g of sultanas
- 150g of unsalted butter , softened
- 100g of icing sugar
- 50g of hazelnuts , toasted
- 75g of plain flour
- 4g of baking powder
- butter for greasing
- 4 large eggs
Equipment
- Food processor or blender
Method
1
Bring the ale to the boil in a saucepan. Put the figs and sultanas in a heatproof bowl and pour the hot ale over them. Cover and leave to soak for 30 minutes
- 100g of dried figs
- 100ml of ale
- 50g of sultanas
3
Remove two serving spoons of the fruit and set aside. Put the rest of the soaked fruits in a food processor and blend to a purée
4
In a large bowl, cream the butter and icing sugar together until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, then stir in the fruit purée. Chop the hazelnuts and stir them into the cake along with the reserved fruit
- 150g of unsalted butter
- 100g of icing sugar
- 4 large eggs
5
Sift the flour and baking powder directly onto the cake mix and stir until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 25 minutes
- 75g of plain flour
- 4g of baking powder
6
Remove the cake from the oven and leave to cool in the tin. Turn out and cut into small cubes. Arrange on a serving plate
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Fig, hazelnut and ale cake
