AI-generated image
Queen Elizabeth cake
Gâteau Reine-Élisabeth: date cake with a broiled coconut topping
CanadianQueen Elizabeth cake has been a favourite in Canadian homes and Quebec bakeries since the 1950s, especially around coronations and royal visits, and it still turns up at Montreal family birthdays and Sunday teas. A moist, tender date cake is baked, then covered in a bubbling coconut and brown-sugar topping and put under the grill until it caramelises. It is humble, rich and keeps well for days. A common mistake is walking away from the grill; the topping goes from golden to burnt in under a minute. Chef's tip: soak the dates in boiling water with the bicarbonate so they melt into the crumb.
- Total time
- 65 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the cake
- 7 oz pitted dateschopped
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 ⅝ oz buttersoftened
- 5 ½ oz caster sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 ½ oz plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
For the topping
- 2 ⅝ oz butter
- 5 ½ oz brown sugar
- 4 tbsp single cream
- 2 ⅞ oz desiccated coconut
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (3)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Put 7 oz pitted dates in a bowl with 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda and pour over 1 cup boiling water. Leave for 15 minutes. Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan) and line a 23 cm square tin.
15 minStep 2: Beat 2 ⅝ oz butter and 5 ½ oz caster sugar until light, then beat in 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla extract.
5 minStep 3: Mix 6 ½ oz plain flour, 1 tsp baking powder and 1 pinch salt, and stir into the butter mix in two goes, alternating with the dates and their water. The batter is thin.
3 minStep 4: Pour into the tin and bake for 30–35 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
35 minStep 5: Near the end, boil 2 ⅝ oz butter, 5 ½ oz brown sugar and 4 tbsp single cream together for 3 minutes, then stir in 2 ⅞ oz desiccated coconut.
4 minStep 6: Spread the topping over the hot cake and put it under a hot grill, 15 cm from the heat, for 2–3 minutes, watching closely, until bubbling and golden.
4 minStep 7: Cool in the tin before cutting into squares.
30 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 54 g
- Fat
- 17 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does queen Elizabeth cake take?
- About 65 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of bicarbonate of soda?
- Baking powder, three times the amount (the bake may taste slightly different).
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Reform torta
Belgrade pastry shops have sold reform torta since the early twentieth century, and it is still the cake Serbian families bring out for birthdays, weddings and the slava. Three thin layers of walnut meringue, crisp at the edge and chewy inside, are stacked with a dense chocolate butter cream made with egg yolks cooked over steam until thick. It is very rich, so cut thin slices and serve with strong coffee. The usual slip is beating the butter into a chocolate mixture that is still warm, which melts it and splits the cream; let it cool to room temperature first. Chef's tip: assemble the cake the day before; overnight in the fridge the meringue softens a little and the cake slices cleanly with a hot knife.
Ma'amoul
Ma'amoul are delicate shortbread-like pastries made for Eid and Easter across the Middle East. A soft, rose-scented butter dough is wrapped around a filling of dates, walnuts, almonds and pistachios cooked with cinnamon, marked with a fork, baked pale and dusted with icing sugar. Makes 35; they keep well in a tin.
Moist banana bread
The blacker the bananas, the better the loaf. This one is mixed in a single bowl with melted butter and a little brown sugar, so it's soft, deeply banana-y and keeps well for days.
American