Now I am adding this recipe because I have been requested to do so, I am going to say that this cake is not really my cup of tea, I just do not get excited over a plain sponge with a chocolate ganache on top, but I understand that this would appear to be a very popular cake and that many of you out there love it and this includes my Hubby, so he managed to persuade me yesterday to bake this for him, he even made the decorations himself and I have been inundated with requests for the recipe, so here it is !
I decided to find out some history about this rather kitsch cake and it would appear that the origins of the cake are Edwardian, I am not sure how true this is but Scottish bakery Macfarlane Langs produced commercial Tunis Cakes in the 1930s, and when they merged with McVitie & Price in 1948 to form a company called United Biscuits the recipe passed to the new company. McVitie’s produced a Tunis cake until the mid 1980s and it is now sold seasonally by Tesco, Waitrose and Marks and Spencer.
A traditional Tunis cake should be a good Madeira sponge, with a rich chocolate ganache topping and decorated and finished with an orange and a yellow buttercream pattern with a few marzipan fruits in the centre. The photo below is one that I found on the internet of a traditional Tunis cake, I rather like its gaudiness, but as Hubby doesn’t like marzipan we made fondant icicles for ours instead.
This cake would make a lovely alternative for those that would prefer something lighter or do not like the traditional Christmas cake, or if you need something quick and that only requires a few store cupboard ingredients, plus if you are one of the people that remembers this cake from your childhood or knows someone that does it may be worth a visit down memory lane, you never know what lovely memories may pop up around the table sharing this with your loved ones over a cup of tea.
I had never heard of this cake until last year when my lovely neighbour asked if I had a recipe for it and then again this year it popped up on television. I have heard that recipes are hard to find and that the chocolate topping can be very tricky, requiring acetate bands and still it leaks everywhere! This recipe is so simple and I only used greaseproof paper, the ganache was firm enough to sit on top of the sponge with no leaking or running even before it had set.
So if this cake is your thing, or you have been searching for a recipe or have found one that just didn’t work out, maybe this one is the one for you.
Merry Christmas
For the sponge
225g unsalted butter, softened
225g caster sugar
225g self-raising flour
70g ground almonds
4 large free-range eggs
1 large lemon, finely grated zest only
For the ganache topping
280g dark chocolate – at least 70% cocoa
284ml double cream
1 tablespoon golden caster sugar
For the topping
Orange and yellow buttercream, or colours of your choice
Marzipan fruits or fondant decorations of your choice
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 (fan 160C).
Grease and line a 20cm/8in deep cake tin with baking parchment.
Add the butter, sugar, flour, ground almonds, eggs and lemon zest to the bowl of a freestanding electric mixer (alternatively use a sturdy bowl and a hand-held mixer). Beat on high speed for a minute. Spoon the batter into the prepared cake tin and level the surface with a palette knife or spatula.
Bake for 45 minutes, then cover with foil to prevent the top from browning and cook for a further 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin on a wire rack.
For the topping, pour the cream into a small pan and add the sugar, bring almost to the boil. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and stir until melted.
When cool but not setting, pour the chocolate mixture in an even coat over the cooled cake (that is still in the tin) and put aside to set.
To serve, remove the cake from the tin and carefully peel off the parchment paper so that you get a clean line between the cake and the chocolate layer.
Arrange your chosen decorations on top of the cake and serve.
Comments (1)