Comments on: Sticky Date Cake

By: Anna

Anna — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 16:37:37 +0000

The nuts sound like a great addition, Tracey – that’s genius!

By: Tracey Dunton

Tracey Dunton — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 03:55:57 +0000

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

By: Anna

Anna — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:04:48 +0000

Brilliant news! So glad you enjoyed it. Very best of luck with the show *crosses fingers*

By: Rochelle

Rochelle — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 20:05:04 +0000

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.

By: Anna

Anna — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:56:25 +0000

Thank goodness for that. Phew. It is such a tasty cake, I could eat a slice right now.
Fingers crossed for the tea loaf!

By: Rochelle

Rochelle — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:39:07 +0000

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!!!

By: Anna

Anna — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:05:03 +0000

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.

By: Rochelle

Rochelle — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 23:31:52 +0000

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! : (

By: Rochelle

Rochelle — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 18:55:42 +0000

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.

By: Anna

Anna — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 12:44:41 +0000

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?