Ingredients

Method

• 375 g cake flour
• 125 g cocoa powder
• ¼ t bicarbonate of soda
• 1 t ground cinnamon
• ½ t star anise, ground
• 220 g Woolworths soft-eating sundried Turkish figs (or any other dried figs), roughly chopped
• 75 g good-quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 orange, zested
• 300 g blanched hazelnuts
• 85 ml red wine
• 110 g caster sugar
• 60 g butter, chopped
• 375 ml honey
For the golden almonds:
• 50 g blanched almonds
• 10 cm x 10 cm gold leaf sheet
• 1 T gold powdered food colouring

Method

Ingredients

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C.

2. Lightly grease 1 x 24-cm springform baking tin, then line the base with baking paper. Sift the flour, cocoa, bicarbonate of soda and spices into a large bowl. Add the figs, chocolate, citrus zests and hazelnuts, then, using your hands, rub the chopped ingredients through the dry ingredients to distribute evenly.

3. Place the wine, sugar, butter and honey in a small saucepan over a medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the sugar dissolves and the butter melts. Remove from the heat, then cool for 10 minutes.

4. Make a well in the flour mixture, add the honey mixture and stir until well combined. Spoon the mixture into the baking tin and smooth the top evenly.

5. Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted comes out with large crumbs attached (it will still be a little sticky in the middle). Cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the tin and serve sprinkled with the golden almonds.

6. To make the golden almonds, press pieces of gold leaf onto half the almonds and roll the remaining almonds in the gold food colouring.