Queen Elizabeth Cake

Phenominal.  That's the only word I can think of right now because I just tasted a fork full of Queen Elizabeth Cake. It is so much more amazing than I imagined it would be. My husband said, "No wonder Queen Elizabeth is a bit round... eating this cake all the time."  I love his humor. He also thought this cake was delicious. You are going to love it!

I've honestly never even heard of this cake before, so let me tell you the story behind it...

My friend, Sal, knows how much I enjoy cooking and baking. So when his sweet wife, Lori, was asked to edit the journal for the United Federation of Doll Clubs, they were kind enough to send me a copy. I was expecting "magazine style," but what I received was a beautiful hard-cover book full of interesting writings and photographs of dolls, written by collectors and historians of dolls from all over the world. To compliment the doll subject, the journal is full of recipes from members of various doll clubs around the world. They all came together recently in New Orleans for what they called "A Jambalaya Jubilee" (and the journal is named the same). I am very thankful that Sal and Lori shared this book with me. Now I can share some of its recipes with you! First up - Queen Elizabeth Cake... of course I started with dessert.

Queen Elizabeth Cake
for the cake...
1 cup Granny Smith apples, diced*
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

*I used one whole apple diced very small, but the recipe also says you could use raisins or dates if you like

for the icing...
1/4 cup butter
4 tablespoons cream
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, butter and flour an 8 or 9 inch cake pan. In a saucepan, cook the apples (raisins or dates) until softened, then let cool. NOTE: I added a little butter to the saucepan when I cooked the apples. I cooked them for about 15 minutes until I was satisfied that they were soft enough for my liking. You could cook them less if you prefer a little crisper apple in the texture.

In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and nuts. In a separate bowl, blend together the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Into the butter/egg mixture, add the dry ingredients alternately with the softened and cooled fruit in one-thrid increments. NOTE: This batter has the consistency of a cookie dough, rather than a cake. Pour into the prepared cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (the recipe said 45 minutes, but I thought that might be too long so when I adjusted).

Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Then, remove the cake from the pan and transfer to a plate.

This cake is kind of like a giant thick cookie.

To prepare the icing, combine the butter, cream, brown sugar, and coconut together in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook for 3 minutes. Cool the icing slightly (about 5 minutes) and then pour over the cake, allowing it to drip over the sides.

After icing the cake, I scraped every last bit of this icing
out of the saucepan and ate it all off of the spatula.

Place the iced cake back in the oven with the setting to BROIL. Broil for 2 minutes and remove from the oven.

Look at that icing bubbling under the broiler.
It is so delicious with a caramel and coconut flavor.  

Allow to cool. Slice and serve.

I'll be sure to share more recipes from "A Jambalaya Jubilee" in the future. It has many that sound delicious - appetizers, salads, drinks, dinners, and more dessert. I can't wait to try another! Thanks Sal and Lori!


recipe from Patricia Poulin in "A Jambalaya Jubilee" 63rd Annual Convention, The United Federation of Doll Clubs