Alfred Prasad’s Sri Lankan ‘Love Cake’ Recipe

Celebrate Peace Day with this wonderfully simple Sri Lankan cake

Ocado has joined forces with the non-profit organisation Peace One Day and Great British Chefs’ Alfred Prasad, Executive Chef at Tamarind in Mayfair, to inspire kids to participate in Peace Day (21st September), by baking his Sri Lankan ‘Love Cake’

This wonderfully simple cake is a Sri Lankan delicacy made with love at birthdays or special occasions. A legacy from the Portuguese rule in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), this cake is a great combination of dried fruit, nuts and spices.

Ingredients: o 150 g unsalted butter o 350 g caster sugar o 6 medium eggs o 3 tablespoons honey o 2 tablespoons rose water o Grated zest of 1 orange o Grated zest 1 lemon o 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg o 1 teaspoon ground cardamom o 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon o 200g unsalted cashew nuts, chopped coarsely [optional] o 250 g coarse semolina o 50 g of glacé cherries [can be replaced with wine gums of jelly babies] o 25 g of mixed peel o 25 g of crystallized stem ginger o Icing sugar to dust

Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 150˚C/300˚F and line a 25 x 30 cm (10 x 12 in) cake tin with baking paper. 2. Dice 150g of unsalted butter and leave in a warm place to soften. 3. Once soft, cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. 4. Add in the eggs, one at a time and beat well. 5. Add honey, rose water, zest, nutmeg, cardamom and cinnamon. Use a spatula to gently fold through 6. Next fold through the cashew nuts, semolina, glacé cherries, mixed peel and crystallized ginger until combined. Do not over mix. 7. Turn into prepared tin and bake in the oven for 1 hour or until pale golden on top. The cake comes out best in a slow-cook process and should ideally feel chewy on top and moist in the middle. 8. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for about 20 minutes. 9. Turn out of the tin, and when completely cool dust with icing sugar.