'Like a warm hug from home': The addictive love cake only baked at Christmas

Fruity, nutty and slightly tangy, this deliciously rich, spiced cake symbolises love and affection – and making it is a true labour of love.

We never had a white Christmas growing up in Sri Lanka, but it was a time of joy. It was the season when supermarkets put up Christmas trees, homes were decorated with images of snowmen, kids gathered to practice Christmas carols and twinkling lights flickered in the night. But the best part of Christmas was biting into a slice of slightly crunchy and decadently moist love cake, a traditional Sri Lankan Christmas dessert. For me, this addictively fruity, nutty and slightly tangy cake pinned the season into place. 

One of my earliest memories tied to love cake was the rustling sound of wrapping paper as my mother opened a piece she received as a gift. At first glance, love cake appears brown, boring and bland, but then the heady fragrances hit you: citrusy, floral and spicy. This dense, rich cake melds roasted semolina and chopped cashew nuts with pumpkin preserve. It's flavoured and perfumed with ground spices like cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, along with lime zest, rosewater and honey. Firm and crusty on the outside and soft and fudgy on the inside, love cake feels like a warm hug from home. 

Sri Lankan-born chef Dhayanie Williams – a media personality and MasterChef Australia contestant – says that love cake has a fascinating history that goes back several centuries. She explains that love cake was first baked in colonial Ceylon (as Sri Lanka was known during the 16th Century), borrowing influences from the Portuguese and the Dutch – who controlled Sri Lanka's coasts for their spice trade – and merging it with local culinary customs.

"The idea of a rich, spiced cake symbolising love and affection likely stems from Portuguese traditions of baking dense, flavourful cakes with ingredients like nuts, spice and preserved fruits," Williams says.

In fact, a common belief is that Sri Lankan love cake originated from a Portuguese cake called bolo d'amor ("cake of love"), a tart-like dessert made with semolina, cashew and sherry with a similar texture to love cake. Portuguese settlers and traders introduced ingredients, techniques and recipes that were adapted by the local population, Williams says. For example, the use of pumpkin preserve could be a rendering of dolce de gila, or Portuguese squash preserves; and Sri Lankans may have adapted the original recipe to suit the local palate with readily available ingredients like cashews and nutmeg. All ingredients play their role, William explains, adding that scenting the cake with fragrant rose water gives it a sense of indulgence and romance.

British food writer and photographer Ranji Thangiah, whose family hails from Sri Lanka, says that the addition of rosewater is a notable Arabic influence. "It's found in cakes dating back to the Moorish occupation of Portugal and Spain," she says.

There are other tales and theories tied to how love cake received its intriguing name. It's etched in folklore that Sri Lankan women baked this cake to win the hearts of Portuguese sailors. Another story, Thangiah says, is that the recipe uses ingredients that were considered rich and exotic – cashews, butter and spices – and you would make it only for someone you loved dearly. 

Many chefs and home bakers also believe that preparing love cake is a "labour of love and patience", as Williams describes it, which is perhaps what gave the cake its name. "It's very labour intensive. You need a delicate balance of ingredients and put in meticulous attention. It shows the care you give to your loved ones, making it more special."

Traditionally, love cake is prepared during Christmas by the Dutch Burghers – descendants of the Europeans who intermarried the local Sinhalese and Tamils who are now an ethnic minority in Sri Lanka. However, Sri Lankans of different communities, both on the island and throughout the diaspora, have come to embrace it. When Thangiah was growing up in north-west London, her Tamil-Sri Lankan mother would bake love cake as a treat and not for special occasions. She baked it for "no other reason than to show us that she loved us", Thangiah says.

As ethnic lines blur, love cake has cemented its role in celebrations where connection and bonding are central. As well as being gifted by families and shared among friends over Christmas, the cake is often baked during weddings, birthdays and anniversaries and given as a "symbol of love and good luck, especially to newlyweds and new family members", says Williams.

Often, families add their own twists to the recipe – such as honey, brandy or almond essence – and those tightly guarded family traditions are passed down through generations. As it's rich and intense in flavour, love cake is also often served in small slices, which according to Williams, adds a touch of luxury to every bite.

Growing up in Sri Lanka, Williams always bought love cake from bakeries across the island. But when she met her Burgher husband in Australia, she saw her new family preparing love cake on most celebratory days. She remembers learning from her mother-in-law, who refers to a recipe in Hilda Deutrom's Ceylon Daily News Cookery Book originally published in 1930, a classic tome of Sri Lankan cooking. But the measurements were in pounds, which confused her as she was used to the metric system, so Williams spent time flipping through Sri Lankan cookbooks and speaking to friends and family to piece together a love cake recipe she could perfect. 

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As she mastered it over time, there was always one thing that dwelled on Williams' mind. "My mother-in-law used to say that a good piece of love cake should have three layers. The top layer should be like a crust, the middle soft and gooey and the bottom slightly hard," she says. During Christmas, Williams and her mother-in-law would get together to chop up ingredients and bake love cake. But things have changed since Williams began taking online orders. "Sometimes my mother-in-law orders from me, so I put extra care because she's the hardest critic," she says.

Although making love cake is laborious, Williams explained that organisation is key. During the festive season, she hand-chops up 10-15kg of cashews, which she describes as the "hardest task". "There are no shortcuts," she says, "but you can now use the cake mixer to blend up sugar and eggs so you don't need to whisk by hand." Although perfecting this Sri Lankan treat takes time, it becomes a lot easier when "you hit the right flavour profile and consistency," Williams adds.

As I have come to learn about the long-cherished cake-making traditions tightly knitted to the heritage of Sri Lankan Burghers and welcomed by all Sri Lankans, I now know that the beautifully textured, exquisitely flavourful love cake of my childhood represents goodwill, love and comfort. The last time I served it was at my own wedding, baked by my Tamil aunt-in-law and wrapped in gold foil – one for each guest to take home.

By Dhayanie Williams

Serves 20-24

Step 1

In a dry pan over medium heat, toast the semolina lightly until fragrant (about 3-4 minutes). Place the toasted warm semolina and soft butter together in a bowl and mix with a spatula until the butter is melted and absorbed into the semolina. Set aside until required. 

Step 2 

In a mixing bowl, cream together egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy.

Step 3

Once the egg-and-sugar mix is ready, add semolina and butter mixture to the eggs and mix well using a spatula. Then add chopped cashews and follow the same process. Add chopped candied melon and mix well until everything is well incorporated. The mixture will be very sticky and thick at this stage.

Step 4

Stir in the ground nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Add almond essence, vanilla extract, rose water, honey or golden syrup and brandy. Add lime zest and mix well, set aside until required.

Step 5

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until they form soft peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter, incorporating them carefully to keep the mixture airy.

Step 6

Preheat the oven to 150C (300F). Grease and line a baking pan (8x8in or similar).* Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smoothen the top. Bake for 60-75 minutes, or until the top is golden and a skewer inserted comes out clean. The cake should have a slightly chewy texture.

Step 7

Let the cake cool in the pan for at least 8 hours before cutting into squares or diamonds (do not put on a wire rack). Store in an airtight container. It keeps well for several weeks, and the flavour deepens with time.

Step 8

Serve a slice of Sri Lankan love cake with a cup of tea or coffee.

Notes

*When you place the baking paper on the cake tray, make sure you have extra baking paper overlapping as this will help you to easily remove the cake once cooled.

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