PALESTINIAN & LEVANTINE RECIPES • ENGLISH / العربية
← All recipes
dessert
Anise Cake with Custard Filling
Ground anise and fennel give this layered cake a warm, old-fashioned perfume. It is split into three layers and filled with a citrus custard before being coated in coconut.
Prep 45 min · Cook 40 min · Total 85 min · Difficulty: medium
Servings
12
Ingredients
3
eggs
3/4 cup
vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups
sugar
1 1/3 cups
flour
1 cup
cornstarch
3 tsp
baking powder
1 tsp
baking soda
1 tsp
ground fennel
1 tsp
ground anise
1 cup
milk or water
1/2 tsp
cinnamon
For the filling
1 packet
custard powder
2 cups
milk
90 g
unsalted butter
2/3 cup
sugar
1 tbsp
orange or lemon zest — large spoonful
for coating
desiccated coconut
Method
1
Prepare and flour the cake tin first. Whip the egg whites separately, then cream the shortening with the sugar and yolks until the mixture turns light.
2
Sift the flour with the cornstarch, anise, fennel, cinnamon, and raising agents. Add the dry mixture to the bowl in turns with the milk or water, then fold in the beaten whites to finish the batter.
3
Bake in a medium oven (about 350°F / 175°C — no time is given here, but the recipe suggests lowering the heat after 20 minutes and testing with a toothpick), then cool it completely on a rack.
4
Cook the custard with milk until thick, then stir in the sugar, butter, and citrus zest. Let it cool slightly, stirring now and then so it stays smooth.
5
Split the cake into three layers, fill and stack it, then cover the top and sides with the remaining cream and finish with a generous coating of coconut.
Notes
The original serves it with coffee or tea.
Personal family cookbook
sufra daima
Palestinian & Levantine cooking, in English and Arabic.
Sufratkum ‘amira · May your table be full — what you say when the food goes down.