This super cake recipe comes from my sister-in-law Joan. I've jazzed it up with a can of mandarins so when the cake is turned out, it has a wonderful fruit topping. Drizzle over a little honey and orange syrup and you have a wonderful dessert. Serve with a dollop of freshly whipped cream.

Ingredients

• 150 grams butter
• 1 cup manuka honey
• ¼ cup caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 4 eggs
• 250 gram tub sour cream
• 2½ cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 310 gram can mandarin segments

Orange syrup

• 2 tablespoon manuka honey
• juice of one orange

Method

1. Cream the butter, honey, sugar and essence together until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the sour cream.
2. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and sprinkle over the top of the creamed mixture. Fold in gently using a slotted spoon.
3. Grease the base of a 23cm ring tin with butter. Drain the can of mandarin segments and arrange them on the base of the tin in overlapping slices. Spread the mixture on top of the mandarin slices.
4. Bake at 180ºC for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
5. Pierce the cake in several places and gently pour orange syrup over the top, allowing time for the cake to absorb it. Cool in the tin for 30 minutes. Turn out on a cake rack to cool. Dust with icing sugar.

Orange syrup

1. Place the honey and orange juice in a pyrex jug and microwave for 1 minute on high.