ANZAC Biscuit Cake

This ANZAC cake has all of the flavours of the beloved ANZAC biscuit but in a cake form. With delicious oats, coconut, golden syrup this cake is topped with a delicious ANZAC crumble. Serve it with rosemary infused golden syrup and ice cream. Like Anzac biscuits this moist, wholesome cake keeps fresh for days, up to a week!

For those of you outside Australia and New Zealand, ANZAC Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand observed on April 25th each year. It commemorates the landing of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) at Gallipoli, Turkey, during World War I on April 25th, 1915. ANZAC Day honours the troops who have served and continue to serve and the day is marked by dawn services, marches and wreath laying ceremonies across both countries.

ANZAC biscuits were commonly sent to the troops serving overseas in care packages. The biscuits were made using ingredients that didn't spoil easily such as rolled oats, flour, sugar, butter, golden syrup and desiccated coconut. There are also stories that suggest ANZAC biscuits were used in fundraising efforts. They are absolutely delicious biscuits (we refer to them as biscuits, not cookies) and can be either chewy or crunchy. I have a recipe for both chewy and crunchy Anzac biscuits here (and like my hot cross buns, it is one of my most popular recipes-thank you to those readers who enjoy making and sharing them!).

I know that this recipe looks like a lot but it's the same ingredients repeated and basically a recipe for ANZAC biscuits except with eggs and apple to make up a cake. You can of course make it without the Anzac biscuit crumble on top but the topping takes only a couple of minutes to make and you've already got all of the ingredients out already. And I promise this wholesome, delicious cake is worth it. It's perfect for this chillier Autumn weather.

Mr NQN and I were talking the other day about how our house would fare this year during winter. These old federation houses are no match for winter and they're positively arctic. However since last winter we've now got ducted air conditioning, thermal curtains, heated bathroom floors, solar panels and ceiling insulation that will hopefully make it warmer. I say this crossing my fingers because we were just throwing money at the problem in the hope that some of it would stick and make the house warmer. We also asked our amazing builder Peter to seal up all the little gaps as he found huge holes where the slugs used to get in. Since he sealed the gaps up, they have not darken our floors since.

We miss having Peter around as she's such a lovely, reassuring presence that just knows everything and I think he misses us too. He has come back a few times to do little things and said that he prefers to just stay here and work, "It's a big, bad world out there," he said laughing. Mr NQN still has funny conversations with him too. Peter actually messaged him a fact about World War I and slugs. Apparently slugs would help to indicate the presence of gas before humans and they'd react by closing their breathing pores and compressing their bodies. When soldiers in the trenches observed this, they would quickly put on their gas masks to protect themselves from harmful levels of gas. Mr NQN excitedly retold me the story one night when I was freaking out about the presence of our own "Slug Brigade" downstairs. "Peter told me that!" he said proudly. However it didn't soften my attitude towards slugs!

So tell me Dear Reader, did you know that about slugs and WWI? And do you like Anzac biscuits? Are you team chewy or crunchy?

ANZAC Cake

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 70 minutes

Serves: 8

• 180g/6ozs grated apple (around 2 medium apples)
• 1 cup/75g/2.6ozs desiccated coconut
• 1/2 cup/75g/2.6ozs chopped dates
• 1/2 cup/65g/2.3ozs rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon bicarb of soda
• 1 cup/250ml/8.8flozs boiling water
• 1.5 cups/340g/1ozs. firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup/180g/6ozs. golden syrup
• 1/2 cup/125ml/4flozs coconut oil, melted
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1.5 cups/225g/8ozs. cake flour
• 1.5 teaspoons baking powder

For Crumble Topping

• 1/2 cup 75g/2.6ozs plain flour
• 1/3 cup/75g/2.6ozs brown sugar
• 1/3 cup/45g/1.6ozs rolled oats
• 1/3 cup/25g/1oz desiccated coconut
• 1/8 cup/25g/1oz caster or superfine sugar
• 1.5 tablespoons hot water
• 25g/1oz golden syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon bicarb
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 65g/2.3ozs butter, melted
• 1 stalk rosemary

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 180C/350F and line the base and sides of a 20cm/8inch tin with parchment. In a bowl add the apples, coconut, dates, rolled oats, bicarb and water and stir to mix and allow to sit and absorb while you make the rest.

Step 2 -Place the brown sugar, golden syrup, coconut oil, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and salt in a mixer and whisk for 3 minutes. Add the apple mixture to this and stir to combine and then fold in the flour mixture making sure not to overmix. Scoop into the tin and bake for 50 minutes.

Step 3 -While it is baking make the crumble topping. Whisk the flour, brown sugar, oats, coconut and sugar in a bowl together breaking up the brown sugar. In a small bowl mix the hot water, golden syrup, vanilla, bicarb, salt and melted butter. Mix the wet mixture into the dry mixture and set aside. When the cake has had 50 minutes, add the ANZAC crumble on top of the baked cake. There's no need to smooth it down, even if you add it as clumps, it will spread out naturally on top. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool and add rosemary needles on top. Serve with vanilla ice cream and rosemary infused golden syrup.

Rosemary Infused Golden Syrup: Heat 1/2 cup of golden syrup with needles from 1/2 stalk rosemary and allow to steep for 2 hours (or longer if you like a stronger flavour).