serves
8-12
prep
20 minutes
cook
1:25 hour
difficulty
Easy
serves
8-12
people
preparation
20
minutes
cooking
1:25
hour
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 250 g (9 oz/1 cup) butter, plus extra for greasing
- 100 g (31/2 oz) brown sugar
- 3 tbsp golden syrup (light treacle)
- 100 g (3 ½ oz) dried cranberries
- 200 g (7 oz) fresh quandongs
- 75 g (2 ¾ oz) macadamia nuts, chopped
- 125 ml (4 fl oz/ ½ cup) brandy
- 200 g (7 oz/1 1/3 cups) currants
- 200 g (7 oz) muntries
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon myrtle
- 1 tbsp ground allspice
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp ground strawberry gum
- 1 tsp ground pepperberry
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 220 g (8 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 50 g (1 ¾ oz/ 1/3 cup) self-raising flour
- 1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
Strawberry gum cream
- 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) thick (double/heavy) cream, or coconut yoghurt
- 1 tsp ground strawberry gum, or you can use lemon myrtle or cinnamon myrtle
- 60 g (2 oz/ cup) icing (confectioners’) sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160°C (320 F).
- In a large pot, simmer the butter, brown sugar, golden syrup, cranberries, quandongs, macadamias, brandy, currants and muntries with 200 ml (7 fl oz) water until the sugar has dissolved and the fruit has softened.
- Set aside for 10 minutes to let the mixture cool. Butter a 20–23 cm (8–9 in) round cake tin and line with baking paper.
- Add the spices and lemon zest to the flours, along with the bicarbonate of soda, and mix in well.
- Add the eggs to the cooled fruit mixture, then mix in the spiced flour until well combined. Pour the mix into the prepared cake tin.
- Bake for 1 hour 25 minutes. Around the 45-minute mark, place a sheet of aluminium foil on top to make sure the top of your cake does not blacken or dry out.
- For the strawberry gum cream, in a large bowl, mix the cream, strawberry gum and sugar together using a hand-held mixer (or use a stand mixer) and whip until thickened. Be careful not to overmix; this should only take 2 minutes using a machine mixer.
- Serve on scones, with sweet dampers, fruit and cakes, or on top of a pavlova.
This is an edited extract from Mabu Mabu by Nornie Bero, published by Hardie Grant Books. Photography by Armelle Habib.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
