Tunis Cake Recipe | Almond Sponge and Chocolate

Winter with Zetetick: all our seasonal recipes

Tunis cake is an almond and lemon sponge with a thick chocolate topping. If a rich fruit cake is not your thing, this makes a very good Christmas alternative.

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Tunis cake with a thick dark chocolate topping

8in (20cm) cake tin · About 1 hour baking, plus cooling and decorating

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A friend mentioned the Tunis cake his mum used to search out or make at Christmas. That was enough to send us back to this recipe. You can keep the decoration simple or make your own marzipan fruits.

Ingredients

325g self-raising flour, sifted
250g softened butter
250g caster sugar
175g ground almonds
Juice and grated zest of 1 lemon
4 eggs

Chocolate topping

150g dark chocolate
40g butter
1½ tbsp water

Optional orange buttercream and decoration

50g icing sugar, sifted
25g softened butter
2 tsp orange juice
Yellow food colouring, optional
Marzipan for fruits or leaves, optional

Method

Heat the oven to 150°C / 300°F / gas mark 2. Grease and flour an 8in (20cm) cake tin.
Beat the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until pale. I use a Kenwood mixer; it makes light work of this.
Add the eggs, flour, lemon juice, lemon zest and ground almonds, mixing thoroughly.
Spoon into the prepared tin. Bake for about 1 hour, until the centre is springy and a skewer comes out clean. Ovens vary, so check the cake rather than relying only on the clock.
Leave to cool on a wire rack before decorating.
Wrap a collar of greaseproof paper around the cooled cake, extending about 3cm above the top. Secure it with string.
Put the dark chocolate, butter and water for the topping into a heatproof bowl over a pan of hot water. Keep the bowl clear of the water. Leave to melt, then stir until smooth and allow to cool slightly.
Pour the chocolate over the cake and smooth the top. Leave it to set completely before removing the paper.
Finish with marzipan fruits or leaves if you like. Shape the marzipan, colour with food colouring and let the decorations firm up before arranging them on the cake.

Optional orange filling

Beat the icing sugar and butter together, then mix in the orange juice and colouring, if using. If you want a filled cake, split it once completely cold and sandwich the layers with the buttercream before adding the chocolate topping.