Cape Brandy Pudding/ Tipsy Tart

Cape Brandy Pudding or, Tipsy Tart

  Here is a Delicious South African delicacy which is not a tart at all, and neither is it a pudding!
  You can eat it as a dessert while still warm or, as a tea-time snack and I guarantee that you won't   
be  able to stop at one piece! It has such a unique and flavorful taste that it gives the impression of
 a very complicated procedure of making but actually it is very simple! With a few added ingredients, it can serve as a delicious Christmas cake also.


Ingredients:-


For the cake: -  
1.  Dates-250gm., stoned and chopped;    2.  Boiling water-250 ml.;    3.  bicarbonate of soda- 1tsp.;    
4.  Butter-120gm.;    5.  Sugar- 180gm.(preferably powdered as it is easier to work with);    6.  Eggs-2;
7.  Flour- 240gm.;    8.  Baking pdr.- 1 tsp.;    9.  Salt-approx. 1/3 tsp.;    10.  Walnuts or pecan nuts-100gm.

For the Brandy sauce :-
1.  Sugar- 200gm.;    2.  Water- 200ml.;    3.  Butter-30gm.;    4.  Vanilla essence- 1tsp.;    5.  Cinnamon 
powder- 1/2 tsp.;    6.  Salt- a pinch;    7.  Brandy- 100 ml.                                               

Method:-
1.First of all, grease and dust a large ( 10 1/2- 11inch) round cake dish. I baked it in a loaf tin but it is not actually recommended as this cake should not be very high.
2. Now take half the chopped dates in a bowl and pour boiling water over them, add baking soda, mix and keep aside. If your dates are not soft, take all of them. After a few minutes this bowl can be kept in a water bath to hasten cooling. At this stage you should also turn the oven 'on', setting the temp. at 180C.

3. Sieve together flour and baking powder 3-4 times then, sprinkle salt over it and mix with fingers.
4. Beat butter (room temp.) and sugar in the mixer bowl, first at medium for about a minute and then on high speed till the mixture turns fluffy and creamy. Now add eggs, one at a time, beating for about a minute after
each addition.When eggs have been mixed nicely, you can stop the mixer.
5. Add chopped walnuts and half the dates ( if you haven't soaked all of them)and mix. Sprinkle flour over it 
and fold-in with a big spatula to mix nicely. Lastly add the cooled,soaked dates mixture and mix gently but thoroughly.

                                 










6. Pour this mixture in the prepared pan and put in the pre-heated oven. It should be ready in 40 -50 minutes.
Check after 40 minutes. If it feels firm to the touch and the skewer comes out without any wet batter attached to it, it is done otherwise bake it for another 10 minutes and check again. Take out when it is done.
7. While the cake is baking, make the soaking syrup. Take sugar and water in a pan and cook till sugar dissolves. Now add butter also and keep cooking for a few minutes so that the quantity of water reduces a little but it should not be syrupy thick. Remove from fire and stir in vanilla, salt and brandy.
8. When you take out the cake from the oven, wait for 2 minutes and then start pouring the brandy sauce, which should be warm, over the cake, with a spoon. It will sink-in slowly so you will have to be patient about it. You can also poke some holes on the cake with a thin skewer, which should not go more than half-way, for easier absorption. Since I had made this cake as a loaf, mine was soaked only till half-way and some sauce was left-over. If you do not like very moist cakes you should also not use all the sauce.

   9. Whether you soak this cake fully or not, either way it makes a big hit! I know because the last time I made it was in the form of cup-cakes and I'd made them really moist and they were really appreciated!

10. This cake can be eaten warm or cold; with whipped cream or without it; as a dessert or tea-time snack, it is just delightful every way! If you want to make it for Christmas, just add 1/2 tsp. ginger, a big pinch nutmeg and the zest of two oranges to the batter and you'll get a very exotic Christmas cake1




                                                                            Enjoy!