A deliciously moist yet fluffy one bowl golden sultana cake. Perfect for any picnic, afternoon tea or snack. Best of all, you can make it all in one bowl!
Dear Non-Fruit Cake Eater,
As a non-fruit cake eater myself, I can assure you that this golden sultana cake is far better and tastier in every way that you can possibly imagine. It’s nothing like a traditional Christmas cake. You’re going to have to trust me on this one. I promise it won’t let you down.
Love from Sarah.
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About this cake recipe
A while ago I asked my Father-in-Law what type of baking he loved to eat. This golden sultana cake was his answer, except he prefers raisins to sultanas. I thought I’d hop to it and make him one.
Sultana cakes can be dark in colour or golden like this one. I prefer the golden colour myself. Sultana cake is a good ‘ol Kiwi recipe that varies from family recipe to family recipe. My Nana used to make it often but I’m not sure exactly what recipe she used – I wish I did.
3 REASONS WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS ONE-BOWL GOLDEN SULTANA CAKE
- Perfect Texture
My version creates a texture that is moist, ever so slightly dense, yet still somehow fluffy. When you bite into a piece of this cake, your teeth meet a slightly crunchy outer layer, then sink straight into the moist interior — making it pretty irresistible. The secret to the texture, I believe, lies in the combination of baking soda and lemon juice, along with the eggs and baking powder. You can learn more about the wonders of baking soda and baking powder here. - One Bowl!
This recipe only requires one bowl (well, technically a saucepan — but you get the idea!). This makes washing up a breeze, which is a big win in my house. - So Quick to Make
It takes no time at all to mix all the ingredients in the saucepan and then pour into the cake pan, ready for the oven. In fact, the oven does most of the work for us! Perfect for when you don’t have much time to spend in the kitchen. Simply set your timer and walk away.
INGREDIENTS:
Nothing fancy is required for this golden sultana cake. Here’s what you will need before you start:
SULTANAS (or raisins): You can use any dried fruit that you like here. Soak them in hot water to make them moist and plump.
BUTTER: salted or unsalted is fine, but if using unsalted – add ½ teaspoon of salt when adding the dry ingredients.
SUGAR: Just ordinary granulated white sugar will do the trick here. This helps the cake to be a light golden colour instead of a darker colour which is what brown sugar creates.
VANILLA: Always use the best quality you can find, paste or extract is great.
ZEST OF 1 LEMON: This helps to create a delicious burst of freshness to the cake flavour
LEMON JUICE: The acidity from the lemon juice helps to neutralize the akaline baking soda creating more lift and a tender crumb.
EGGS: Combines all the ingredients together and helps the batter to set in the oven.
PLAIN FLOUR: Also called all-purpose flour. This provides structure to the cake and is also used to coat the sultanas to prevent them sinking to the bottom of the cake.
MIXED SPICE: Essential flavour, it pairs beautifully with the lemon and vanilla.
BAKING POWDER AND BAKING SODA: Helps to leaven the cake so that it isn’t too dense.
How To Make This Cake
To make this golden sultana cake, melt butter and mix it with sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, juice, eggs, and sultana water. Coat the sultanas in a little flour, then fold them into the batter along with sifted dry ingredients. Pour into a lined pan and bake at 175°C (350°F) for about 1 hour, until golden and cooked through.
Let the cake cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack.
So easy to whip up!
Why Do the Sultanas Need Coating In Flour?
Coating the sultanas (or raisins) in flour before adding them to the cake batter helps the distribute the sultanas evenly throughout the cake, and prevents them from sinking to the bottom.
The last thing we want in our cake is for all the sultanas to be at the bottom of it. Every mouthful should have a few sultanas in it!
Cake tin size
I designed this recipe to fit a square 20cmx20cm cake tin but if you don't have one this size you could bake it in any other tin following these instructions.
Serving this cake
Once cooled completely, I love eating this cake for morning or afternoon tea with a cup of tea in hand.
You could dress it up by serving it warm with custard or ice cream!
Storage
This cake lasts well! Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to three months - tightly wrapped in slices or as a whole cake.
Yes! Just swap out the plain flour and replace with gluten free flour (using a 1:1 ratio).
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
One Bowl Golden Sultana Cake
Ingredients
- 340 g (2 + ½ cups) sultanas (or raisins) soaked in 250mls (1 cup) hot water (for about 2-3 minutes or until plump)
- 170 g (¾ cup) butter*
- 300 g (1 + ½ cups) white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 eggs
- 312 g (2 + ½ cups) plain flour
- ½ teaspoon mixed spice
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175C (350F) and line a deep square 20cm x 20cm (8×8 inch) baking pan with baking paper.
- In a large saucepan melt butter over a low to medium heat. Once melted, remove from heat and mix in the sugar and vanilla. Add lemon zest, juice and eggs, and water from the sultanas (set sultanas aside) mix well to combine.
- Coat the sultanas in 1-2 tablespoons of the flour (this helps prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cake). Sift remaining flour, mixed spice, baking powder, baking soda into the butter mixture along with the sultanas and fold everything together until just combined.
- Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or until golden on the top and when a skewer inserted comes out clean (or with a few loose crumbs).
I made this in texan muffin cases, baked for 35mins. Perfect! Thank you
That's a fun idea! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Easy to make and perfect with a cuppa for morning tea.
Thanks Sarah 🫶🏻
Thanks Sally Anne!