Apple & Pecan Spice Cake with Honey Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:

Cake

200g butter, softened
250g sugar (or substitute with Mossop’s Field & Tawari liquid honey. Click for details)
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
150g sour cream
225g flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons mixed spice
2 cups diced peeled apple (2 medium apples)
70g pecans (half chopped, half reserved for garnish)
1 tablespoon Mossop’s Field & Tawari liquid honey (for pecan garnish)

Icing

150g firm-style cream cheese
1 tablespoon each: icing sugar, Mossop’s Field & Tawari liquid honey, brandy

Method:

Cake

1. Preheat oven to 175°C. Grease and line a 23cm round spring-form baking tin.
2. Cream butter and sugar (or honey) with an electric beater until pale and creamy.
3. Beast in eggs one at a time then stir in sour cream and vanilla. Sift over flour, baking powder and spice and fold in with chopped apple and pecans.
4. Spoon mixture into tin and bake 40-45 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool completely before icing.

Icing

1. Whisk together cream cheese, icing sugar, Mossop’s Field & Tawari liquid honey and brandy until combined. Spread over cooled cake.
2. For pecan garnish, toss remaining pecans in honey in a small pan over moderate heat until caramelised.
3. Lift out on to foil to harden before placing on cake. Cake can be stored in a covered container in the fridge for 1-2 days. Serve slices drizzled with extra honey if desired.

Serves 8-10