Can’t beat a simple old fashioned cake recipe. This farmhouse style cake has a scattering of Sultanas (you can add more if desired?) inside an indulgent crumbly vanilla sponge. Follow along with our easy baking instructions in UK & US measurements to make this Manor House Sultana Cake.
What is Manor House Sultana cake?
If you love Mr Kipling’s Manor House cake this recipe is for you! It is the closest thing to it we have made, we all know he does not share his secret recipe! But I can tell you this is exceedingly good 🙂
Making homemade Sultana Cake
This is a really quick and easy cake to put together! As long as you measure all ingredients out there is no way of failing!
How many sultanas to use in Manor House cake recipe?
We think less is more when it comes to the amount of sultanas to add, of course, if you want more go ahead! We used 1/2 cup (80g) which as seen in the pictures gives a lightly fruited cake. Feel free to double or even triple it if you wanted?
How to make Sultanas plump and juicy?
Put sultanas in a saucepan with enough water to cover them, bring to the boil. Then turn the heat off and allow them to sit for 10 minutes whilst you prepare the sponge mix.
Beat the sugar and butter together until creamy ( we used a food processor to help speed it up), add 3 eggs and stir to combined. Add Vanilla extract.
Make a cornflour slurry using 1 tbsp cornflour with 1 tbsp of water, stir until no lumps and then add another 2 tbsp of water. Pour into cake mixture and stir.
Sift flour into the bowl and finally add baking powder. Mix all together.
How to stop sultanas from sinking in a cake
After the sultanas have been plumped from the boiling method and had 10 minutes to swell, drain the sultanas. Add a tablespoon of flour and toss the sultanas to be coated in flour.
Fold the sultanas into the mix. Place in a greased springform cake base I used a 20cm / 8inch round one and flatten the mixture as best you can.
Cook in a preheated oven at 160C (fan) /320F for 1 hour.
There you have it a perfectly well made Classic Sultana cake. Best served with a nice cup of tea! Add a sprinkle more sugar on top of the cake before serving to your guests! Demerara sugar is best, however, this time I did not have it to hand so I used granulated sugar which was still good!
Luke choose this for me to cook him for his birthday cake this year. Wonderfully scrumptious!
How to store Sultana Cake?
This cake keeps well, store in a large airtight container or wrap well with cling film/ foil (ensure completely covered air will dry it out) at room temperature for up to 7 days. That’s if it will last that long before it gets eaten!
Manor House Sultana Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 215 grams (1 3/4 cups) Plain flour
- 225 grams (1 cup) Butter
- 200 grams (1 cup) Caster sugar
- 1 tbsp Cornflour mixed with 3 tbsp water
- 3 Eggs
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 80 grams (1/2 cup) Sultanas
Instructions
- Preheat Oven to 160°C (fan) 320 F
- Put sultanas in a saucepan with enough water to cover them, bring to the boil. Then turn the heat off and allow them to sit for 10 minutes whilst you prepare the sponge mix.
- Beat the sugar and butter together until creamy ( we used a food processor to help speed it up), add 3 eggs and stir to combined. Add Vanilla extract.
- Make a cornflour slurry using 1 tbsp cornflour with 1 tbsp of water, stir until no lumps and then add another 2 tbsp of water. Pour into cake mixture and stir.
- Sift flour into the bowl and finally add baking powder. Mix all together.
- Add a tablespoon of flour in with the drained sultanas to coat in flour (this helps stop them sinking)
- Fold the sultanas into the mix. Place in a greased springform cake base I used a 20cm / 8inch round one and flatten the mixture as best you can.
- Bake for 1 hour, leave to cool and sprinkle with extra sugar before serving.
Nutrition
Hope you enjoy this Manor House Sultana cake as much as we do, please let us know in the comments how you get on. Check out our sweet recipe page for more ideas for those with a sweet tooth!
Yummy cake! I’ve never baked and added a slurry before but the result made for one moist flavorful cake. I’m not really into sultanas so i went with your recommendation and it was just the perfect amount. This will be something to nibble on for that mid-afternoon slump.
Yum, this cake looks delicious! It would go so well with a nice cup of tea of coffee. Will have to try this soon!
Thank you Sam, perfect little afternoon snack with a cuppa 😉
Just like Mr K Manor House. Cake. I find that if I don’t put fruit in water and bring to the boil but just add it then the fruit distributes about the mixture, but although I flour the fruit up before adding to the mixture, its well distributed but it sinks to about an inch from bottom. Next time I bake it I’m going to try something different, but still bring the fruit to the boil. I want to do that because the fruit is so plump and tastier.c
This is the second time I have baked this cake.
The timing is all wrong, it needs two hours then test texture.
Other wise, it is a nice cake
B
Think your ovens thermostat is wrong, they all vary, but, 2 hrs no way. My oven normally takes five minutes less to most recipes cooking time. I put oven on about half way through mixing the mixture, oven is piping hot 160 deg for 55 mins. Only problem fruit sinks to just below half way if i boil up the fruit. I love this method as the fruit is plump and juicy” I am trying different methods when adding fruit to the mixture, to stop the fruit from sinking. If I’m lucky to find a way you bet I will be in touch.