Daddy's birthday 2016 | Sultana, almond and spiced crystallised ginger cake




As usual, I asked my dad what kind of cake he’d like. He initially said “plain cake.” After further pressing, he gave me three ingredients he would like on the cake sultanas (they are his favourite), almonds and crystallised ginger. 


Recipe adapted from: https://www.sanitarium.com.au/recipes/a-z/almond-and-sultana-spice-cake
 
Ingredients
125 g butter
100 g sultanas
125 g self-raising wholemeal flour
125 g self-raising plain flour
½ tsp ground cardamom
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
½ tsp vanilla esssence
125 g brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup skim milk
¼ cup flaked almonds
40 g crystallised ginger
1 TB flour

 
Method
1)      Preheat oven to 180 C
2)      Grease springform pan with baking paper
3)      Melt butter in a saucepan, add sultanas and cook for 10 mins or until sultanas have softened
4)      In a bowl, sift flour, spices and sugar
5)      Add crystallised ginger, tossed with 1 TB of plain flour
6)      Mix eggs, milk and vanilla essence
7)      Gradually add egg mix into the flour
8)      Fold in sultans and butter mix
9)      Pour batter into pan
10)   Sprinkle with flaked almonds
11)   Bake for 35-40 mins or until firm, test with skewer
12)  Cool on a rack and enjoy!

Note: ideally, I would use margarine but I like to use butter for Dad’s special day cakes because that’s what he prefers :) 



Sultana, almond and spiced crystallised ginger cake
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy birthday to the most special daddy on the planet! You are my favourite man in the whole universe, and I cannot say enough to thank you for all the ways you continue to provide support for me. I may like to call myself an adult to the rest of the world (because I’m 23), but secretly I know, without you, I wouldn’t have survived a single day! Despite being a full-fledged adult, I can still be an immature child around you; maybe because I know I don’t need to be an adult around you and I take full advantage of expressing the inner-child in me and throwing all sorts of tantrums. But you always managed to remain calm and composed; I will never know how you can be so patient with me. It’s only because of you I’m able to maintain my sanity. If it weren’t for you, I would have sunk in darkness long ago. I cannot thank you enough for being my support and guiding light. It is true that I take you for granted most of the time, and don’t appreciate you enough. This is something I really need to work towards because a perfect daddy like you should never be taken for granted. I hope to be a better person one day, who can fully appreciate every little thing you do for me.

From your little girl,
Love you always and forever xo

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