I mentioned before in my To Market To Market post that because I travel so much and Mr NQN still has to work at his own job, he often has to fend for himself. It can be a sorry state of affairs. I was lying back in my lovely suite The Louise in the Barossa Valley when a phone call came through. It was Mr NQN. I asked him about his day but got the feeling that he wasn’t feeling quite right and that he was a bit out of sorts. My first instinct to fix any situation is to ask someone “Have you eaten?” so I asked him and he admitted that he had attempted to eat or more correctly fix himself something but “the cupboards are full but there’s nothing to eat”.
I laughed. It’s true the cupboards and both pantries are completely full. I have one of those pull out pantry doors and I’m waiting for the day that the handle breaks because of its burgeoning load. Of course there are unusual things like truffle salt, classic jus and paperbark but there is also lots of things to cook and eat. Just nothing that he felt like he could. There is also an enormously full bookshelf full of cookbooks too and access to the internet but I realised cooking is not his thing and I felt terrible that I had left him there to starve. I guess I was hoping that he would develop some sort of cooking skills during the time that I was away-much like he hopes that I’ll develop coding or sporting skills if he puts me in a situation that requires them of me.
This time, before I went away, I had a bit more time. I made him huge slabs of food (and I was only going away for four days) and I thought now was the best time to make a Lumberjack cake. I first tried it while in the Snowy Mountains at a gorgeous little cafe called The Lott. I was with Queen Viv and she and I were both simultaneously attracted to it for the name. We both peered at it within the cabinet-another thing that sealed its fate was the fact that there was only one left which meant a) it was so good that lots of people wanted it or b) the same logic applies to limited edition handbags “There’s only one? Well then I must have it!”.
We tried it and it was delicious. Moist and dense and sweet with dates and apple it had a moreish, sweet chewy coconut topping. “I’m so making this for my very own lumberjack*” I said to Queen Viv. I would make this to sustain him while I was away. There would be no starving man to come back home to and I would keep it at a safe distance from me trying just a slice before I had to go away.
The recipe is a melange of different ones and although the origins are unclear, some have said that it comes from Canada. I dipped into my precious maple syrup stash and used some in place of the brown sugar in the butterscotchy maple coconut topping. It was easy and straightforward to bake and I cut into it. It was much lighter and fluffier than the one we tried at the Lott cafe. It was similar to the cake part of a sticky date pudding but more moist with the apples. The topping of course is my favourite part. I didn’t have shredded coconut which is slightly drier than the moist coconut flakes that I used. When I opened up the tin to show Mr NQN a huge smile spread on his face and he just said “Niiiiice”.
*lumberjacking in this case involves sailing, cycling and working on a computer, not actually felling trees which would go against his hippie tree hugging upbringing 
So tell me Dear Reader, do you make food for loved ones before you go away? Or are they self sufficient?
Lumberjack Cake
An Original Recipe by Not Quite Nigella
- 1.5 cups apple – approximately 2 apples peeled, cored and chopped (I used Granny Smiths)
- 1 cup/135grams pitted dates, chopped
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 cup boiling water
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 1/2 cup oil (a vegetable or lightly flavoured oil is best, olive oils can be quite strong)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1.5 cups plain all purpose flour
- 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
For topping
- 70g/2.5ozs butter
- 4 tablespoons cream
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1.5 cups shredded coconut or moist coconut flakes
The fruit soaking in the bicarb water to soften it
1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Line a round 9 inch springform tin with butter and baking parchment. In a bowl, place the chopped apple, dates, bicarb and boiling water and the bicarb should fizz. Allow to stand for 10 minutes making sure that the fruit sits in the water.
Eggs, sugar and oil-ok not a fascinating picture but it looks like the sun!
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer with a beater attachment, beat the eggs, sugar and oil for 3 minutes. Add the apple and date mixture, water and all, to this mix and fold to combine. Then fold into the salt, flour and baking powder folding gently, ensuring that it is completely mixed. The batter is quite wet at this stage so I always put the springform tin on another baking tray as I don’t want it to drip onto the bottom of the oven. Bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Ready for the oven
The coconut topping
3. Meanwhile while the cake is baking, make the topping. In a small saucepan on low heat, melt the butter along with the cream, brown sugar, maple syrup and vanilla. Once melted and it becomes a rich butterscotchy maple sauce, add in the coconut. No need to toast the coconut as it will go into the oven where it will get toasted.
Spreading the coconut over the top, ready to go back into the oven
A toasted top!
4. When the cake is done, take the tin out of the oven and then spread over the topping reaching to all of the sides. Place cake in the oven on the same temperature and bake for another 20 minutes until the topping is golden. Serve to your lumberjack of choice.
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88 Comments | Add your own
What a great recipe! This cake sounds really delicious!! Hahah I’m like you, always asking my partner if he has eaten! And yes, I like to take care there’s always food in the fridge for my partner to eat when I’m away, otherwise he’d look at our pantry feeling exactly Mr NQN did!
The cake looks so wholesome! Yum.
Mmmm I love lumberjack cake, it’s the perfect balance of moist, light, dense, sweet (but not too sweet) satisfying deliciousness.
I’ve been stocking up the freezer in preparation for being in hospital having babies, so far it’s exploding with banan muffins, apple muffins and zucchini slice. Good for quick, easy lunches for hubby and the kids.
Yum looks so moist and like the type of cake you can enjoy anytime of the day.
That cake looks marvelous! So must and tasty.
Cheers,
Rosa
This looks sooo good! I can definitely relate to the “cupboards are full but there’s nothing to eat” deal
Yum that looks delicious! Both you and Liss have made cakes for us this morning – now I just have to bake!!
Lordy no – “The Darlings” always complain if I happen to be away (which is not often enough!) – they always ring me and tell me about Dad’s crap cooking!!!
Which reminds me I am out tomorrow night – wonder what they will be eating???
This cake looks great. I very much like the taste of maple syrup and I love the coconut topping!
Magda
oh I really like the look of this cake!
Mr BBB is a great cook – but when I go away he seems to forget that and lives on toasted sandwiches?!
I love the name of this cake.
Delicious recipe Lorraine – anything with maple syrup has to be divine
Lorraine, what a tasty and good looking cake, love the idea of apples and dates in it and the coconut topping it sure makes it tastier
Your cake looks beautiful, especially with the toasted coconut on top! Delicious! In recent years when I have left my hubby(to help my daughter with a new baby)for up to two weeks, I haven’t made anything for him(shame on me!), but he seems to fare O.K.
Oh yum! I love lumberjack cake – my mum makes a delicious lumberjack muffin. I can’t get enough of them! I’ll definitely be making this one!
I’ve never heard of this – it sounds delicious and I think I’ll have to make it just because of the name! Sounds like a… manly cake!
YEEEESsssss. YESSSSssssss. Yeeeeeessssssss.
Ooh baby, bring it on.
I make food before I go away, I make food for the people I’m going to see, and I find food to bring back with me! This looks like such a hearty cake, and I love the name of it. The dates sound great too.
Both my husband and I lived alone before we were married so if he ever claims he can’t manage I say “Well, you managed to stay alive for 5 years living alone – I’m sure you’ll be fine”
I took an inventory of my freezer on the weekend. It was full of delicious things for my BF to eat when I’m not there. I realised I could leave for 6 months and he would be heartily sustained with soup, cakes, meats everything! Must stop cooking and freezing …
Love this cake! I always have a fully loaded freezer that is in constant rotation. I hate buying calorie loaded crappy takeaway, on those no time to cook nights, when I know I can reheat something from the freezer that tastes great and is good for us! We always have moussaka, lasagne, malaysian chicken curries, marinated sliced stirfry meat (just add to a hot pan with frozen asian veg) etc!
This is a recipe my lumberjack would love too. I try to leave meals in the freezer ready to microwave when I go away (did you see I was heading to NYC on Thursday!). xoxo Mum
You don’t want to know what’s in my fridge.. I am drowning in condiments and jam! I am desperately trying to winnow out the duds but, alas… i have a little hoarding in my genes. Your lumberjack cake is perfectly named and looks delicious to boot. Anything with maple syrup in it has my attention… this will be great for the holidays!
I like Lumberjack Cake – I first tried it when I worked at a Uni, and the cafe served it. I don’t have any loved ones to fend for, though my Mum shamelessly makes meals in advance for my 35 yo brother when she is away (or gives him money to buy takeaway!).
Gosh that looks so yummy!
This looks very good, Lorraine.
Lumberjack cake is a favourite of mine, especially with a warm caramel sauce and some cream. We have a tiny local cafe that does it beautifully – thus saving me the trouble!
My mouth is watering. This cake looks like a slice of heaven on earth.
I’m thinking that even looking at this cake has added 2kilos to my frame..but being someone who loves to bake, I must think not of the kilos but of the fantabulous deliciousness that its going taste.
What a delicious looking cake. I love the coconut topping.
Thankfully I don’t go away with work as much as I used to so I don’t have the need to cook for my boyfriend while I’m away, but I do cook for him while HE is away with work on army exercises. When he was in Afghanistan a couple of years ago I would post over care parcels that included cake and biscuits which were very well received. Apparently they even became a sort of currency for him over there and he would give people biscuits or pieces of fruit cake in return for various things, including proper coffee as apparently someone managed to get a coffee machine there.
My ex never liked my cooking … so no, I didn’t ever leave him food when I went away. He’s a foodie himself and preferred to fend for himself.
I’m always looking for cakes that contain fruit that I can give my kids in their lunchbox as it makes me feel better than giving them chocolate cake. This cake will be a good addition.
When I head away for work and haven’t had time to stock up the freezer with frozen meals I stock it up with a wonderful service called Gourmet Dinner Service. It’s like my cooking but they have done it for me.
It’s funny, I’m not sure why (since I’ve never been especially drawn to lumberjacks) but the name of this cake is such a huge lure for me, lol! It’s gorgeous, Lorraine, and I love the flavors in there. The butterscotchy maple coconut topping totally sealed the deal!
Lorraine, great original recipe. This should keep Mr. NQN happily fed for a while..
… Is that a Burleigh plate? I think I have a couple of those..
Wow – that topping looks great. I was planning to make a hummingbird cake over the weekend, but now I might try this out…
wow beautiful cake Lorraine!
i love it!! great job!
Looks Yummilicious!!! Definitely going to try making it
Thanks for sharing the receipe Lorraine.
This looks like a delicious looking cake! Esp the toasted top!
My husband’s culinary skills are limited to boiling the kettle and making me a nice cup of tea in the morning, so if I’m ever away for any stretch of time I definitely have to leave food prepared for him.
Loving this cake and am trying to talk my second daughter Gabriella ( she loves to bake) into making it for afternoon tea as I have oodles of sewing to catch up on.
When my mum went to Europe for a month, not only did she pack the freezer with ready-made meals, she also stuck notes on the pantry door with instructions for quick and easy meals. Those helpful notes stayed up on the pantry door long after she returned home!
the cake looks very filling.M sure ur husband was a very happy man.:)
boy do I cook before I go away! Good question! ..
I cook for an army , make a time table and allocate each food to each person individually so that they tick off teh foods that they have eaten …and so that they dont creep into each others share.It prevents strife and civil war while im away!
Which is also why I dont go away often.
Sounds like my kinda cake!
I’m hoping you went to Appellation while you stayed at the Louise and we can see a restaurant review of it on here soon!
What a delicious cake. Great make and store recipe.
I am guilty of cooking in the event of an emergency. The freezer is full of individual portions of dinners – dated and labelled.
SSG xxx
Yes, that would definitely sustain a hungry husband through a four day bachelor weekend!
This post takes me back to my childhood! Not because I had a husband when I was a kid
, but because my aunt used to make lumberjack cake. I’d completely forgotten about this treat – thanks for the recipe! 
This is one of my favourite cakes.
I like to have a few things stashed in the freezer for busy nights, but I generously encourage my family to be self sufficentif I’m going out or something! After all, most families don’t have their very own chef each and every day to cook for them, and eventually my kiddies will have to enter the real world. I maintain that I am doing them a favour, and I’m not just a slacker.
Oh wow, i haven’t seen a lumberjack cake since i was a kid.
You’re right about Maple Syrup, too.
Nothing beats the authentic Canadian stuff, even if it does cost 4-5 times the more common ‘maple flavoured syrup’.
Looks fabulous! I’ve never tried lumberjack cake but love the flavours so will have to give it a go
That is my kind of cake! Have a feeling that The Hungry One would serve it to himself with a huge scoop of chocolate ice cream. But that’s just how he rolls. I try to leave some sensible options in the fridge- though most of the time when I come back I find he’s made himself a mess of ribs. The lingering smell of the marinade is usually what gives it away… Or else he’ll get stuck into frozen chinese dumplings with black vinegar and soy.
The cake looks delicious. At first I thought the coconut was rice, and you’d made some sort of meaty ricey cake to last him. This is so much better
I have some maple syrup calling out to be used, so i should do this. I go awaytoItaly for months at a time so my husband is completely self sufficient – he has to be.
As always, this looks great!
I usually fill the fridge with things I know my boyfriend likes and that are easy to cook, like sausages. He really enjoys cooking and is good at it, but like me, he doesn’t like cooking for one…
Oh my goodness, I am exactly the same! My man actually enjoys cooking and he’s v good too! But I tend to over extend myself, worrying that he’ll go hungry. My freezer is full of muesli bars, bolognaise and curry! He just works so hard, I want to spoil him with good food! (I’m away for work at the moment too)
This cake looks beyond delicious. I especially love the look of the topping. Lucky Mr NQN!
Heidi xo
Ohh it looks really good. Poor Mr NQN… they say chefs spouses have to fend for themselves all the time too. What a good wife you are thinking of him. My husband, he opens the fridge or the pantry and he is unsure what he is “allowed” to eat. He is always worried he will eat something that needs photographing
V Funny, poor darl.
This is one of those cakes that I like the thought of but can’t actually stomach when it comes to the eating although you’ve made it look tasty! Hmm, maybe just a thin slice …
My ideal larder is a place where no matter when you look, it will be filled with yummy things to eat like this cake, you can’t get a better flavour combo than maple syrup and coconut, unless you add…caramelised bacon?
I love the way you style your photos! It always matches the recipe perfectly!
This looks delicious, especially the topping, & it’s full of fruit so it’s practically a health food right?
I leave my other half to fend for himself if i’m away. He tends to live off 2-minute noodles, tuna & potatoes!
What an interesting cake! It looks quite dense. I’m sure it was tasty though
Tuna on Toast for dinner every night for a week? A delicious, quick and easy dinner according to my better half
I beg to differ!!
Maybe I should be preparing meals for him for when I’m not home to fill him with nutritious food and keep up the happy moods!
Yummy looking cake NQN! THe best Lumberjack cake I’ve ever had was from Hank’s Kitchen bakery in Grafton, NSW. YUMM!!
Oh yum, you had me at maple! So cute about Mr. NQN. Believe or not, hubby cooks for me when he leaves for long trips. But before you go awww, it’s just sauce for spag bol that he’ll freeze in a couple of batches so I can pull something out if it’s been a long day and the kids are driving me batty
I have to try this recipe sans topping
My family doesn’t like coconut toppings. Do you thing a crumble like topping might work instead?
When I do get to go away, it is a given there must be food otherwise, my husband and kids would live off instant noodles and junk food. SO, it’s always easy stuff for him to defrost and nuke in the microwave like stews, pasta sauces and curries. All he has to do is cook pasta or rice.
Oooh I like the look and sound of this cake. Very autumny! Delicious! And I try and fill the cupboard and refrigerator before I go away but as it is usually to see my family and stay for several weeks they also have to fend for themselves. And you made me laugh! Everytime I go to the grocery store and fill up the house with food son and husband always say: oh there’s lots of food but nothing to eat!
Thats too funny, poor Mr NQN. This cake looks awesome though doesn’t it. Love the coconut topping, it gives the cake a great look.
That cake looks and sounds incredibly yummy!
Oh goodness, it’s quite a production around here if I have to leave town, my hubby instantly goes into a state of shock. I try to fill the fridge with goodies fir him as if i do not he will eat cereal all week…lol
I love your lumberjack cake, perfect for the men in our life..
sweetlife
Looks DELICIOUS!
I have made this cake and have also had it made for me – I first tasted it at Isabellas Restaurant in Mudgee and believe me – it’s delicious and very morish, you won’t be disappointed
I don’t go away often, but when I do, both hubby and son can take care of themselves. All of my boys have become pretty proficient in the kitchen. (I had no girls, so I made sure my boys had at least some basic kitchen skills.) That cake looks fit for any lumberjack- so full of deliciousness!
yum i love anything with coconut in it.
I am lucky that my boyfriend is an excellent cook, so I don’t worry about him at all, well not on the being fed side of things…
I am fortunate that mister can cook and fend for himself. however, I still do feel bad if I work late and can’t get home in time to cook.
you missed your chance for a monty python joke but I can understand that good cake is no laughing matter! And I understand men at home who can’t prepare good – e is hopeless but at least he can work the can opener or microwave!
I think Lumberjack cakes were more popular in the 1990s or maybe that was when I found my recipe that I have always meant to try – when I do I will take your tip about maple syrup
Your pictures are of Still Life perfection! This cake with coconut is right up my alley. I enjoy reading your articles and eating your food. I’ll be following blog!
Oh heaven. I couldn’t be trusted not to eat all the topping off everyone else’s pieces though.
Looks so good! Yes I do! I usually pack a few “lunch boxes” for my hubs before I go.
Haha my boyfriend is the exact some. Even though I’ve taught him my easy ramen (homemade not instant) recipe twice already, he’s completely forgotten and makes me prepare it for him still. The coconut topping sounds great on this moist cake.
WOW! that lumberjack cake looks heavenly gooooooood Lorraine!!
Can feel the textures in my mouth looking at these pictures.
Thank you salivation nation
Lumberjack cake is on the list of strange named foods to make =D I have the luxury of living at home with the parentals but mum seems to always leave us enough food to feed an army – and she knows I am perfectly capable of looking after myself and the sibblings. Maybe Mr NQN needs to spend a day with my boy hey?
I’ve never heard of lumberjack cake but it sounds very tasty. My husband is completely reliant on me to tell him what to eat when I’m away else he survives of microwaved jacket potatoes.
I had all the ingredients available, so I made this cake yesterday. My Lumberjack refuses to eat coconut, his only food hate, but he scoffed a large slice, and asked me what the “peel stuff” on top was!
(He’s majorly hopeless in the cooking department; won’t even heat up pre-made meals if I go away.)
You inspired me to make this cake, NQN.
I had to use some of my beloved Queen maple syrup but i’m sure it’ll be well worth giving up some of that precious liquid.
It’s currently in the oven at the last stages of browning the coconut mix and it smells delightful.
It actually looks like yours too, which is a bonus.
Can’t wait to try it for afternoon tea with a coffee.
i make a cake similar to this, topping and all, but it has a different name. that said, i’ll now be referring to mine as the lumberjack cake simply because it calls to mind burly, flannel-clad men, and that’s the kind of image i like to be passing through my mind.
I made this cake a couple of days ago and I have to say it made my family go ‘nuts’, they are still saying what a beautiful taste sensation it is. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
You’ve inspired me to hunt down Mum’s Lumberjack cake recipe. She used to make this for us all the time. We’d come home from school and the gorgeous smell would hit you as soon as you open the front door
I was the dessert provider for a family get-together yesterday. Was having a total blank-brain for ideas, and my daughter immediately suggested this cake. Served with icecream it was a HUGE hit!
Deliciously divine!!!! Made this for the first time today and it turned out beautiful and moist with a lovely crunchy topping. Great recipe- thanks NQN!!
In Quebec(Canada), the cake is called Gateau Reine-Elizabeth. But we do not use maple syrup instead brown sugar is used.
Here is the recipe:
http://bakingfamily.wordpress.com/2010/09/25/the-mystery-of-queen-elizabeth-cake/
I have just discovered your site, I think it’s fantastic. I was looking for a recipe of Lunberjack Cake when I discovered this site of yours. Sadly i cannot print the receipte despite checking the popup settings, however, i also found your vegan choc ice Cream, magic. Now, do you have a lip smacking recipe for Spare Ribs???
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