Tunis Cake 1

I am able to track the search terms people enter in search engines that land them on this site. It has become obvious that many, many people are looking for a recipe for Tunis Cake, which I list on this site in my description of a cookbook my husband and son brought back for me from a trip to the UK.

At first I thought maybe I could find a link to the recipe online, and create a connection here for it. But, no luck, I couldn't find any at all online for Tunis Cake. Now I know why one person emailed me and asked me to copy out the recipe and email it to them. They were in a time crunch and couldn't find a recipe for it anywhere.

So, I thought I'd contact the publisher of the cookbook in question, and ask if I may publish the recipe here, with a link to their own web site so readers can easily buy the book if they want to, and see what else the publisher has to offer. They have generously given me permission.

From the book A Taste of Heligan: The Best From The Bakery, by Tina Bishop and Paul Drye, published by Truran Books Ltd.

Tunis Cake Recipe

"This delicate sponge cake is traditionally served at Christmas and is one of my favourites because, during the winter, I have more time and like to decorate it with perfect little marzipan fruits. As with some other recipes, good quality chocolate is essential. (TB)"

Makes 10--12 portions

For the cake
225 g/8 oz self-raising flour
170 g/6 oz softened butter
170 g/6 oz caster sugar
110 g/4 oz ground almonds
1 lemon (juice and grated rind)
3 eggs

For the topping
plenty of good quality chocolate
6 marzipan fruits (see recipe on opposite page) [I'm not including it here, you can make your own from any marzipan recipe I'd think.]

First make the cake. Place the butter and sugar into a food mixer and beat until pale. Add the eggs, flour, lemon juice, lemon rind and ground almonds, mixing thoroughly. Place the mixture into a 20 cms/8 in greased and floured tin and bake in a pre-heated oven at 150 degree C/300 degree F/gas 2 for one hour or until springy in the middle when pressed. Leave on a wire rack to cool.

To decorate the cake, wrap some greaseproof paper around the sides of the cake, standing proud of the top, secure this with a piece of string. This forms a well into which you can pour the melted chocolate. Remove the greaseproof and you'll find that the chocolate shouldn't have run down the sides. Ideally, you  should have one centimetre of chocolate -- yes, really! leave to set and place the marzipan fruits on the top to finish.

Comments

[margaret]

Hi, like so many of your fan's I too am one, my friend asked me to make her a tunis cake for christmas as she could not find any in the shops, so I hunted and thank you for the rescue, as i had found your blog, and am now well prepered to try it out.
margaret

[Zara]

Great I can now make one!!

[Joanne Okeefe]

so pleased to find this recipe, we buy a tunis cake from tesco every year without fail and this year we cant get one for love nor money so now I can bake it :-) x

[Lynn Curnow]

PS: If I could find a way of sending a link to this site on Facebook I would post it there! Its fantastic! :D)

[Lynn Curnow]

Many thanks to you Pat Gundry (any relation to Ted Gundry of Radio Cornwall?) and to the site for letting you pass on this recipe! I always adored Tunis cake, brings back some lovely memories of family Christmas's of yesteryear.... so I cant wait to try this recipe. Have So missed Tunis Cake since McVities stopped making it! Would love to know what lovely chocolate they used to use in the original cake! :)

[Disneyland Paris Hotels]

Beautiful piece of work, thoroughly enjoyed it having this cake. Looking forward to more

[Sandra]

You will find a picture of McVitie's Tunis Cake (the one I remember from when I was a child) on www.epicureansanswer.com (Search Tunis Cake). A little more elaborate than recent Tesco/M&S offerings, but more nostalgic for me!

[jennifer]

hi,

I was introduced to this cake a couple of weeks ago by a friend who bought in her mothers homemade one, for the girls at work.

I decided to go on internet to find the recipe to make myself and found yours. I made is a couple of days ago. There are only 3 of us at home at the moment and the cake didn't last 2 days!!! It's now christmas eve and we have friends coming over tonight so as I am typing this, cake no.2 is rising lovely in the oven and making my house smell absolutely gorgeous.

Have a wonderful christmas, thank you.

Jennifer (Wales)

[Paul Drye]

I'm very pleased that the recipes was useful. Tina Bishop is a wonderfully talented baker and we had great fun writing this book a few years ago.

Happy Cooking

Paul Drye

[tramadol]

Do you have a photo of this one? Anyway, I love to try this! Thanks for sharing!

[Nadia Tyrrell]

Thank you for having this recipe - this tradional seems to be fading .... I'm looking forward to making it for my boyfriend to bring back some shildhood memories

[tracy]

Sooooo glad to have found a recipe for Tunis cake! My mum always used to buy one for xmas & I always loved it & my family aren't that fond of friut cake, so this is just the ticket! Many thanks

[Dawn]

Thanks for your recipe sounds wonderful - remember from my childhood - but I thought it was made with orange juice not lemon

[Pat Gundry]

I'm so pleased that you were able to find the recipe for Tunis Cake here. I've added "Tunis Cake" to the category list in the sidebar to help readers more easily locate posts and recipes for Tunis Cake on Cookbookie.

A generous reader has sent me an additional recipe for Tunis Cake, which I hope to post later today.

Pat

[Freda]

I live in London and my family too love Tunis cake,( goes back to my childhood) but altho' very popular with "older " people is very hard to find. last year I had friends out "Tunis Cake " hunting when they shopped at all supermarkets. TESCO in Sidcup was the only place that had them and as soon as they were on the shelves they were grabbed (I myself bought 4!!).
This year my local Sainsburys in Sydenham, had them in stock so again I bought 4 and even took one out to Spain where we spent Christmas. They were smaller and only had the marzipan fruits in the centre, but the chocolate on the top was softer and more tasty but still yummy and £4.99 each.
My son who is now 30, loved it with custard, and I have to say, when it does get a bit dry, is still lovely.
My niece moved up north to Lancashire and she was having great trouble tracking down Tunis Cake, so maybe with all the interest, they may bring them back.
Best Wishes

Freda

[Pauline Kahney]

My son just got back from a trip to the UK and, to my astonishment, said he couldn't find a Tunis cake, which we were looking forward to for a more "Britishy" Christmas in our adopted country. Oh well, I guess you have to stop looking back with rosy-colored glasses.....

[Collette]

Hi
I just told my husband last week I would do anything to find a Tunis cake. I'm 59 from Wales living in the US. I remember this cake from my childhood. Never homemade but commercially purchased. The description of this cake sounds spot on.

I will make this for Christmas. You are a saint providing this recipe. I hope you have a wonderful holiday which ever way you celebrate.
Thanks you, thank you, thank you.

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year
Collette