Spiced pear and semolina cake, plus more delicious recipes from The Plain Cake Appreciation Society

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White chocolate and coconut squares. Photo / Tilly Pamment

Tilly Pamment’s The Plain Cake Appreciation Society features 52 cake recipes - that’s one cake for every week of the year. Plain isn’t the word we’d use to describe these highly tempting sweet treats but they’re all simple enough to make so you’re never short of a slice of something delicious to have with your afternoon cuppa. She even suggests a tea match, as well as a floral decorative element, to go with each cake. This is a ritual we could get used to ...

Makes one medium bundt cake

This date and ginger cake is an adaptation of my mum’s much-loved sticky date pudding recipe. It’s comfortingly nostalgic, with a nice warmth from fresh ginger. It’s the daytime version of Mum’s pudding, really – easy and quite excellent.

160g dried dates, roughly chopped

250ml whole milk

165g caster sugar

125g unsalted butter

2 tsp finely diced fresh ginger

½ tsp baking soda

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

225g plain flour, plus extra to dust

1 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

GINGER GLAZE

120g icing sugar

½ tsp ground ginger

3 tsp boiling water

Preheat the oven to 160C fan-forced and grease a 1.5 litre bundt tin thoroughly with melted butter. Dust with a little plain flour, tapping out any excess.

Place the dates, milk, caster sugar, butter and diced ginger in a saucepan and heat until almost simmering, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the bicarbonate of soda. Allow to cool to room temperature. When the date mixture has cooled, add the eggs and vanilla and stir to combine. Place the flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk together. Pour the cooled date mixture in and stir gently to combine. Spoon the batter into the tin, smoothing the top and tapping the tin lightly on the bench to remove any air bubbles. Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until risen and cooked through. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack to cool completely.

When the cake is cool, make the ginger glaze. Combine the icing sugar, ground ginger and boiling water in a small mixing bowl. Mix until smooth, adding another splash of water if necessary, until you have a lovely drippy glaze. Pour over the cake and allow the glaze to set before slicing and serving. This cake keeps happily in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days – just warm the slices slightly before serving.

TEA & BLOOMS MATCH: Milky English breakfast and violets.

Makes one 20cm cake

This cake is a sturdy number – gently spiced with chai tea and cardamom, and with a pleasant chew from semolina. Serve at room temperature with a cup of tea, or warm with a puddle of cream for a more pudding-y vibe.

2 tsp chai tea leaves

125g unsalted butter, softened

165g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

2 eggs

75g self-raising flour

100g fine semolina

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp ground cardamom

Pinch of salt

150g Greek-style yoghurt

2 small pears

Chai syrup

55g caster sugar

1 tsp chai tea leaves

3 Tbsp boiling water

Preheat the oven to 160C fan-forced. Grease a 20cm round springform tin with butter and line the base with baking paper.

Place the 2 teaspoons of chai tea leaves in a small spice grinder or mortar and pestle and grind until fine. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until very light and fluffy. Add the ground chai and beat again briefly. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Place the flour, semolina, baking powder, cardamom and salt in a separate bowl and whisk together to combine. Add half to the creamed butter mixture, stirring gently, before adding the yoghurt. Once the yoghurt is incorporated, follow with the remaining flour mixture, stirring gently until combined. Spoon the batter into the tin, smoothing the top and tapping the tin gently on the bench a few times to remove any air bubbles.

Slice the pears in half and scoop out the cores. Slice each pear half thinly, leaving 2cm intact at the top. Fan the slices out and place them gently on top of the cake batter. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until the cake is golden and cooked through. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes or so while you make the chai syrup.

For the chai syrup, place the sugar and tea leaves in a small saucepan along with the boiling water. Cook over medium heat until boiling, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes or until glossy and slightly thickened. Strain the syrup, discarding the tea leaves.

Remove the cake from the tin and brush with the hot syrup. Allow to cool slightly before slicing and serving.

While best eaten on the day it is made, this cake keeps happily in an airtight container in the fridge for a day or two – just return to room temperature before serving.

TEA & BLOOMS MATCH: Milky chai and eucalyptus blossom.

Makes 16 little cakes

There are always these little white chocolate and coconut squares to console myself with when a tropical island is not on offer.

185g unsalted butter, softened

220g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

4 eggs

250g self-raising flour

60g fine desiccated coconut

¼ tsp baking soda

Pinch of salt

150ml coconut milk

White chocolate glaze

250ml coconut milk

360g caramelised white chocolate

60g golden syrup

40g unsalted butter

Pinch of salt

To coat

120g fine desiccated coconut

150g shredded coconut

150g flaked coconut

Preheat the oven to 160C fan-forced and grease a 20cm square tin with a little butter. Line the base and sides with baking paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Place the flour, desiccated coconut, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a separate mixing bowl and whisk together. Add half to the creamed butter mixture, stirring gently, before adding the coconut milk. Once incorporated, follow with the remaining flour mixture, stirring gently until just combined.

Spoon the batter into the tin, smoothing the top with a spatula and tapping the tin gently on the bench a few times to remove any air bubbles.

Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until the cake is risen and cooked through. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before carefully turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

When the cake is cool, make the white chocolate glaze by combining all the ingredients in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir gently until the butter and chocolate have melted and the mixture is smooth. Allow to bubble and thicken for a few minutes before removing the pan from the heat and allowing to cool a little.

Once the chocolate glaze has cooled slightly, use a large serrated knife to slice the cake into 16 squares. Pour the extra desiccated, shredded and flaked coconut into a large shallow bowl and mix well. Coat the cake squares in the chocolate glaze, then toss gently in the coconut mixture. Place the cakes on a baking tray scattered with a little extra coconut and allow the glaze to firm.

These little cakes are best eaten on the day they are made, but will keep happily in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.

TEA & BLOOMS MATCH: Pai Mu Tan and Queen Anne’s lace.

Edited extract from The Plain Cake Appreciation Society by Tilly Pamment, photography by Tilly Pamment. Murdoch Books, RRP $45.

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