Turmeric and aniseed cake

"You can make this cake (sfouf) either square or round and I love having this for breakfast with a cup of tea or as a sweet treat in the afternoon with cup of coffee," says Jackie Chahine of Profiterole Patisserie. You will need a 20 cm cake pan for this recipe.

Credit: Feast magazine / Brett Stevens

• serves

  8

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  45 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 tsp ground aniseed
• 185 ml (¾ cup) milk
• 250 g caster sugar
• 125 ml (½ cup) vegetable oil
• 300 g (2 cups) plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp ground turmeric
• 80 g (½ cup) pine nuts
• whipped cream, to serve

Cooling time 1 hour

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180 °C. Place aniseed and 80 ml water in a small saucepan over high heat and bring to the boil. Cook for 2 minutes or until reduced to about ¼ cup. Strain and cool.

Whisk milk and sugar in a jug until sugar dissolves. Whisk in oil and aniseed mixture.

Sift flour, baking powder and turmeric in a large bowl, then make a well in the centre. Pour in milk mixture, whisking to combine, then pour into a greased 20 cm cake pan lined with baking paper. Scatter with pine nuts and bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve sfouf with cream.

Photography by Brett Stevens

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.