Lumberjack Cake: sounds like some tough macho recipe for mustachioed axe-wielding men wearing flannel. I’m sure they’d appreciate the cake regardless, but it’s actually an old-fashioned squidgy apple and date cake with a caramelised coconut topping.

When done the cake part is a sodden sticky marriage of Granny Smith apple pieces and dates. It’s almost like a pudding, so don’t be expecting your typical fluffy cake crumb here. The word ‘moist’ comes to mind, although I wish it didn’t because not only is it an overused adjective, it just a wrong-sounding word. Who’s with me? In rebellion, I declare this cake to be amazingly irriguous (hat tip to my friend, Thesaurus).

The original recipe direct from Old Fashioned Favourites says to include the water that the apple and date has been soaking in. If you prefer a more cake-like result, don’t add it.

My favourite part is the caramelised topping of brown sugar, butter and coconut. When baked it turns into a sweet chewy layer of awesome, helping to break up the squishy texture of the cake part. It’s a pretty sweet cake, so have a cup of tea on stand-by.

And, super excitement, I’m starting to roll out VIDEO tutorials for the recipes on this site. The first one up is the Red Velvet Cupcake recipe, which has been added to the original post.

And below is the tutorial for the Lumberjack Cake. Hope these turn out to be more helpful. It can be hard to communicate a specific method with words alone. If you have any suggestions on making them better let me know.

 

LUMBERJACK CAKE RECIPE

You Will Need:

2 Green Apples, peeled, finely chopped (400g)
200 g Dates, chopped
1 teaspoon Bicarb Soda, (6g)
1 cup Boiling Water, 250g/250ml
125 g Unsalted Butter, Softened to room temp
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 cup Caster Sugar, 210g
1 Large Egg
1 1/2 cups Plain Flour, 180g

Topping:

60 g Butter
1/2 cup Milk, 105g
1/2 cup Brown Sugar, firmly packed, 110g
2/3 cup Shredded Coconut, 60g

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius (160 fan-forced, 375F). Grease and line a 23cm springform cake tin.

Mix the chopped apples and dates, bicarb soda and boiling water in a bowl. Stir to coat them, cover with clingfilm, and leave to stand until just warm.

In a large bowl beat the softened butter, vanilla and sugar until thick and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the egg until combined.

Gently stir in the flour and apple mixture including the water. Pour into cake tin, smooth the top and bake for 45-50 minutes.

While the cake is cooking, prepare the topping. Combine the butter, milk, brown sugar and shredded coconut in a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until the butter has completely melted and the sugar has dissolved.

When the cake comes out of the oven after 40-50 minutes, pour this topping evenly over the cake, then continue baking for another 30 minutes. Cake is done when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool upright in the tin.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature, for two days.

Recipe from Australian Women’s Weekly: Old Fashioned Favourites