Long lasting cakes

[winter225]

Morning everyone!
I am looking for recommendations for cakes that last longer than 1 week - not just fruit cakes (although happy for some good ideas of those too). Only definite no is anything with chocolate as one person doesn't like chocolate cake (shocking, I know!).
Thank you!

Parkin, Dundee cake and lemon drizzle all sprang to mind.

To be honest I don't think there are any cakes that I'd eat after a week. What's your reason for asking? Something like muffins are easy to freeze and unthaw throughout a week as they're separate. Could that solve your problem?

It is for a family member who likes to have a 'cake' to slice everyday and doesn't like freezing things. I have tried offering all the other solutions with individual portions like muffins or freezing slices, but they insist they would rather have a proper cake. Ginger cakes are ideal and fruit cakes are great in the winter, I was just wondering if anyone else had more ideas.

Ginger or fruit cake come to mind.

Otherwise, family member needs to be told neither chemistry nor physics work on their whim.

High sugar content will last longest. Drizzle with booze like you would Christmas cake?

I'm afraid you might have to buy some preservative laden thing in the supermarket! There is practically no cake other than a fruit cake that I would eat after a week, no sponge type will last that long without preservatives.

My father into his 80s loved a bit of cake with his afternoon cuppa but quickly managed to organise himself to take out a couple of slices or buns from freezer in the morning when having his breakfast. Yes he'd have preferred fresh too but needs must! Better some nice defrosted fresh cake than a week old anything if not a fruit cake. I'm still eating my Christmas cake and it's lovely but not everyone wants rick fruit cake everyday.

Carrot cake is quite moist so would probably last.
Also lemon drizzle and parkin.
Would she like a polenta cake? They last well too.
Or look up a recipe for bara brith. It's a fruit cake, but you slice it and eat it with butter, so a bit different.

This one www.thepinkwhisk.co.uk/2011/06/golden-syrup-loaf-cake.html The recipe actually says it keeps for a long time. I've tried it and it just gets moister and stickier.

Definitely ginger. I have one on the go at the moment. Wrap it it clingfilm whilst still warm and then leave for a day before eating. I made mine on Friday and it's in perfect condition.

Lemon or orange drizzle is also good as the syrup keeps it moist.

Anything with syrup really!

Although mainly not sponge cakes, tray bakes & biscuits tend to keep pretty well, especially if you store them in the fridge or in an air-tight container.
Things like: Blondies, caramel shortcake, flapjacks, cookies. Not 'cake' as such but a sweet treat.

If you want more of a sponge-based cake, you could go for old school sponge cake, which is basic sponge topped with a thick layer of icing and sprinkles. Serving with custard would help to moisten it as after a week, it's likely to be a bit stale.

Dense cakes are your best option. Ginger loaf, parkin, Guinness cake, ones made with ground almonds rather than flour, tea loaf… all of those keep for a week.

A regular butter and flour based sponge cake, even with a lemon drizzle etc, is still going to start to go stale over a week. Something like an oil based cake or using much more liquid lasts longer.

Here’s Nigella’s marmalade cake and a good tea loaf (I don’t add the ground tea to the batter, I use mixed spice instead) and a very easy yogurt cake (I prefer lemons to the lime and rose water but you can use anything).

I have made all of those for relatives to have as a ‘slice a day with a cuppa’ type treats and they have lasted well.

Can't they just make a cake with the correct amount of portions for about six days? So if they like one slice per day, a 2 egg cake mix should do it. Then any cake is possible and will still be reasonably edible at six days (though personally I think three is the limit for sponge)!

Is it the act of slicing that's important, or is it specifically that it has to be sponge type cake? If they just like slicing, what about chocolate salami?

My only other suggestion is something booze and fruit laden but not technically fruit cake. Eg apricot cake made with some flour and some ground almonds and plenty of amaretto.

This looks interesting - is it very sweet?

These all sound lovely!

The apricot cake sounds delicious - do you have a recipe?

Sorry no, I wing it! Roughly:
6oz butter
3oz caster
3oz dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
Generous slug milk
4oz SR
1oz ground almonds
Good slug amaretto

Put a bit of butter and brown sugar in lined cake tin and stick in oven, once melted half apricots and put face down in tin. Pour cake mix over.

Might take some tweaking because I haven't a written recipe, I just go on the look of it.

It's sweet but not sickly. It's basically a copy cat of this www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/254946816?srsltid=AfmBOop33ePnkY18Hv3ebYFqj6SkxQDlYU33P3RxH5vOEPGs0DHX2L1J

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/11298/grammas-date-squares/

Not a cake, but instead date squares

Lasts for at least a week

These sound lovely, thank you.

Moist cakes, especially something like lemon drizzle cake will start going mouldy though.

My cardamom amd orange cake did when we had two cakes on the go!

If you are baking for your demanding relative, he/she is very lucky indeed to have you. My Mum used to bake a lot and can't now. She now routinely has Mr Kipling cake bars in the house. (I am 400 miles away so can't bake for her.) Goodness knows what's in them, but they keep indefinitely, taste OK and each bar is small, which is good as she now has a very tiny appetite. It would take her ages to get through a whole cake. The packaging is a large part of why they keep so well, I imagine.