Sticky Date Cake
This Sticky Date cake is effectively a boiled fruit cake, but as it’s egg-free and uses a tin of condensed milk, I was intrigued. It’s a recipe from ‘The Hairy Bikers: Mums know best’ and was given to them by someone they met. When Mum looked at the recipe, she recognised it as one of Delia Smith’s, so if ever you needed evidence that recipes do the rounds, then here you have it.
I have to say, I’m not sure that ‘sticky’ is the perfect word. It is sticky, but more than that, it’s moist and flavourful. The condensed milk gives it a hint of caramel and richness. As I say so frequently that I bore even myself, it is easy to do. It’s fun to do too – not least because the unappetising gunk in the saucepan transforms into quite possibly the nicest fruitcake ever.
So into your saucepan, put the raisins, dates, sultanas and currants with the butter, water and tin of condensed milk. At this point you’ll be thinking all sorts of things that I shouldn’t really post here.
Slowly bring it to the boil, stirring frequently to avoid the edges catching. Reduce the heat and simmer for 3-4 mins.
Transfer it all to a heatproof bowl and set aside for around 30 ins to cool. If you want to speed the cooling process, just sit the bowl in a sink of cold water.
You can see how much the texture changes once it’s cool. If you should happen to stick your finger in to taste the mixture, it might feel a bit grainy, but don’t worry about that.
Stir in a tablespoon of marmalade
then fold in the flour and bicarb
Spoon into the tin and smooth lightly. Cover with the doubled piece of parchment and bake for 2 – 2½ hours. I checked my cake at 2 hours and it needed the additional time.
Cool the cake in the tin for 10 minutes, then take it out of the tin and cool completely on a wire rack.
Slices nicely, doesn’t it? It can be a bit crumbly, but that’s hardly a problem when the crumbs taste as they do.
Who did that?!
mmmmhfdjikfjs *swallow* here’s the recipe.
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Sticky Date Cake
(recipe -modified by me- from Delia Smith, the Hairy Bikers, Tom Cobley and all)
PRINT THIS RECIPE (opens in a new window)
110g/4oz raisins
225g/8oz chopped dates
175g/6¼oz sultanas
110g/4oz dried currants
275g/10oz butter
275ml/10fl oz water
1 x 400g/14oz can condensed milk
300g/10 oz plain flour (or 150g plain and 150g wholemeal flour)
pinch salt
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 heaped tbsp chunky marmalade
Preheat the oven to 170C/340F/Gas 3. Grease and line a 20cm/8in square cake tin. Also prepare a doubled piece of baking parchment (to sit over the top of the cake whilst it cooks) and cut a hole the size of a 50p piece in the middle.
Place the raisins, dates, sultanas and currants into a saucepan together with the butter, water and condensed milk. Slowly bring the mixture to the boil, stirring frequently to prevent the mixture from burning. Reduce the heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
Transfer the mixture to a heatproof bowl and set aside to cool for around 30 mins. If you haven’t got 30 mins, put the bowl in cold water and keep stirring to cool it more quickly.
Meanwhile, mix together the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda in a separate bowl.
When the fruit mixture has cooled, fold it into the flour along with the marmalade until smooth and well combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin.
Cover the tin with a double layer of baking parchment (cut a hole about the size of a 50p piece in the middle so that it doesn’t steam), then bake the cake in the oven for 2 – 2½ hours, or until the cake is springy to the touch and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. I checked mine at 2 hours and if definitely needed the extra time.
Allow the cake to cool for ten minutes in the tin before turning it out onto a cooling rack. Wrapped in baking parchment and foil, it keeps like a dream. We have a few slices left from 2 weeks ago and it is still perfect.
cooking
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boiled fruit cake, butter, condensed milk, Delia Smith, hairy bikers, no eggs, nut free, quick fruit cake
Damn. No 8in cake tin, and 8 months to my birthday. In fact, no square cake tin of any size. Oh well, off to ye old kitchen shoppe.
oooooooh YUM! That looks fabo. Defo going to whip one of those up this weekend to force upon the children (they hate fruit cake, so I’ll see if this one can turn them around).
Mo – if you have a 9″ round cake tin, use that. If not, come and visit and I’ll bake one for you to take home
Hey Al! If they hate fruit cake, I bet they’ll hate this too. Good news is, you will have more left to eat.
If you’re feeling date-ish (insert comment here), maybe look at the date and coconut bars? http://www.creamuntilfluffy.co.uk/date-and-coconut-bars/
Alex and his friends would sell their souls for these bars
I think it needs to be big chunky pieces, not traditional cake slices. Will invest in the square tin. However, a visit’s on the cards, never fear.
Hi Anna,
I am entering my village Horticultural Show in 2 weeks and am still not happy with the recipe I have for a fruit cake. I normally make Bara Brith which is lovely in it’s own right but a lady down the road (who is 95) makes an amazing tea loaf which is incredibly squiddgy and moist. I have been looking for a recipe online which might explain how she gets it like that but as yet can’t find a tea loaf that is the same.
I know this is not a tea loaf but it looks like it might well have the squiddgy factor : ) I am going to try it tomorrow.
Only problem is the category in the show specifies that it must be a loaf. Have you ever made your recipe in a loaf tin? Would it work do you think?
Rochelle
Hi Rochelle
I’ve never made it in a loaf tin, but I suspect a half quantity would be OK for a 1lb tin. Not sure on the cooking time though – maybe start checking from 50 mins? It is a squidgy cake, but can err on the side of being crumbly, so my concern would be that a thin slice from a loaf tin might end up as a pile of crumbs…
I have a recipe for an overnight tea loaf here: http://www.creamuntilfluffy.co.uk/overnight-tea-loaf-part-1/
As long as you let it the tea loaf sit, tightly wrapped for a day or so, it’s pretty squidgy and slices well too. It’s the brown sugar that is the key to getting that fudgy factor – you could also (my Mum’s suggestion) add 1/2 tsp glycerin to the recipe. The glycerin definitely ups the moistness.
Really curious to know how you get on, so do update me!
Anna
PS. Any chance of you getting the recipe, or at least a hint, from your neighbour, or is she entering the show too?
The one I made before was Bara Brith so pretty similar to your recipe for tea loaf but not the same. I had never cooked Fruit Cake before, preferring other cakes, but I am on a mission for this show. Thank you so much for your advice!
I won’t do the date cake in a loaf tin but I am going to bake it tonight anyway in a square tin just to eat as a family as a treat (as well as getting the fruit ready for the tea loaf for a practice for the show).
Your blog is great. I would love to write one. I might try one day but it does feel very overwhelming, especially when I see lovely ones like yours.
Are you watching The Great British Bake Off? It actually made me cry this week…the poor man with sunken fruit cake who cried. Oh dear…I think I am perhaps a little bit too obsessed with baking.
Anyway thanks again. I will definitely let you know how I get on.
P.S. I need to go and see the lady with my baby Caleb. She has been asking me to for ages and I haven’t had time yet so I don’t feel I can ask for the recipe. Once I have squeezed a couple of visits in then I will ask her but that will be after the show now.
It bloomin’ burned round the outside. I did it for only 2 hours as well and lowered it to 150 because it is fan assisted. I need an oven thermometer. It is a new oven and I think too hot. So annoying. I have cut off the edges though and wrapped it tightly in baking parchment. Let’s see how it is in the morning! : (
Nooooooo! ****, I mean, Gosh darn it to heck, it’s infuriating when that happens.
My Mum has a fan assisted oven and her cakes tend to be drier than my gas-cooked ones. Definitely a good idea to get a thermometer – or if it’s new, get them to come and recalibrate it? My old oven got progressively cooler to the point that I think a cake might have taken several days to cook, so I feel your pain.
Hope the parchment and maybe some clingfilm can seal in the moisture. Fingers crossed. Keep us posted.
It worked. The parchment did the trick, it bound the cake whilst it was cooling, despite the edges having been cut off by me in a moment of panic, and the cake is delicious. I made the tea loaf too and it looks brilliant. I have had it wrapped in cling film for 2 days to get it squidgy so the moment of truth will be tonight. I will let you know!!!
Thank goodness for that. Phew. It is such a tasty cake, I could eat a slice right now.
Fingers crossed for the tea loaf!
Gorgeous!!! I just came back from the person’s house that I made it for as a gift (he likes fruit cake you see) and we had some. Delicious and the exact consistency I like (might not need the recipe off Sue Preston after all). I added a tsp of cinnamon and a tsp of mixed spice too. Lovely! Thank you. I am going to make another and enter it into the show. I will let you know how I get on.
Brilliant news! So glad you enjoyed it. Very best of luck with the show *crosses fingers*
Hey all…. have made Delia’s sticky date cake for years and always added 150g of toasted walnuts…… and baked them in a one pound loaf tin x 2 ……………. hope this helps guys
The nuts sound like a great addition, Tracey – that’s genius!