Baked a Cake

It’s hard to believe that this time two year’s ago, the boy and I had not long returned from our first overseas trip to Sri Lanka. We spent an amazing 3 ½ weeks gallivanting around the Sri Lankan countryside on a motorcycle and Jeep tour with my brother Lee and sister-in-law Emma with the same tour company that Lee now works with over in Vietnam – the fabulous Hoi An Motorcycle Adventures.

To celebrate the anniversary of our trip I decided to make a delicious Sri Lankan Love Cake (recipe taken from Peter Kuruvita). 

We had the best time in Sri Lanka and miss it very much – I am torn between recommending it to everyone and wanting to keep it a secret hide away so it doesn’t become the next hot spot for tourists. We started our trip in Negombo, a seaside village full of beautiful people including our lovely tour guides and our favourite waiter who would bring us an endless supply of tea and toast every morning for breakfast – more tea, no? We then travelled to the North of the country stopping of at Galle, Mirissa, Yala National Park for a sunrise safari winding through tea plantations climbing Lion Rock (so many stairs but so worth it) canyoning and white water rafting drinking cheap cocktails, eating copious amounts of seafood and generally having the time of our lives.

The warm spices, sticky sweet crystallised pumpkin and honey a light texture of the cake made it perfect to enjoy with a cup of tea late at night and reminisce about our adventures.

INGREDIENTS
300g semolina, lightly toasted

125g butter

10 eggs, separated

400g sugar

¼ cup grated crystallised pumpkin
80g honey

185g cashews, crushed
40ml rosewater
¼ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp cinnamon
Zest of 2-3 limes
Icing sugar, to serve 

PREPARATION
1. Preheat oven to 200°C.
2. Place the semolina and butter in a tray. Place in an oven until the butter has melted.
3. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks in a large bowl. Add the sugar and mix until combined. Stir in the crystallised pumpkin. Stir in the honey and cashews. Add the rosewater and stir to combine. Add the nutmeg and cinnamon and stir until the mixture is pale.
4. In a clean dry bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the cake mixture. Stir in the lime zest.
5. Add the semolina-butter mixture to the cake mixture. Pour into a tray lined with baking paper. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour or until firm to touch.
6. Remove from oven and set aside to cool slightly.
7. Dust with icing sugar and cut into slices to serve.

* I divided this recipe by thirds