Spiced Apple Cake

This particular recipe was taken from English Patis who tweaked a Delia recipe. I used golden caster and left out the pecan nuts to please all members of the family.

Ingredients:
350g peeled and chopped apples - I used Braeburns
275g plain flour
110g butter - melted
2 eggs - slightly beaten
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves (optional)
1/2 whole nutmeg - finely grated (about 1 tsp)
170 g golden caster sugar
175 ml milk


Topping:
75g  Demerara sugar
75g  self-raising flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
25g  butter - softened
50g  pecans or walnuts - roughly chopped - optional
1 Tbsp cold water

Method:

Preheat oven to 165C fan. Grease the bottom of a 3 lb loaf tin and line with a strip of greaseproof to aid removal once cooked.

Mix the topping - combine the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour in a small bowl. Cut in the soft butter with two butter knives into the mixture. Then proceed to rub in it with your fingertips. Add in the nuts - mix well. Sprinkle the cold water and toss. Set aside.

Combine the flour, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder, and salt in another bowl.
Put the eggs in a large bowl. Add in the milk, sugar, and melted butter.
Add the flour mixture into the egg mixture with a wooden spoon and mix well stirring in the chopped apples.

Pour into the greased cake tin

Sprinkle the topping on the surface of the batter.

Bake in oven for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool for about 5 minutes, turn out from the pan then cool completely.

Serves 10-12 portions and at the time of writing this recipe the cost of producing this cake was £2.75.

Banana, Orange and Chocolate Cake

This cake has been in my recipe book for more years than I care to remember and I cannot remember when I actually made it last, possibly decades!

A straightforward, quick recipe and a great way to use up bananas that look more black than yellow. I've tweaked this recipe with a little added milk chocolate to compliment the orange.

Ingredients

3 ripe bananas
8 oz/250g self raising flour
1 oz/25g ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
5 oz/140g soft brown sugar
3 oz/75g soft margarine
2 eggs
1 orange and zest and 1/2 for juice
2 tbsp marmalade
4 oz/100g dark chocolate

Method

• Grease a 2lb loaf tin and line with a strip of greaseproof paper
• Peel and mash bananas
• Beat in flour, almonds, baking powder, sugar, margarine and eggs until well blended
• Add the orange zest and juice and the chocolate and mix well
• Pour into loaf tin and bake at 160 degrees C Fan/Gas Mark 4 for 55 minutes. 
• Remove and brush with marmalade and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes.
• Check that the cake is cooked by inserting a skewer into the centre which should come out clean if fully cooked.
• Allow to cool in the tin

The zesty orange and tangy marmalade work really well with the milk chocolate...one slice is not sufficient!

Sticky Stem Ginger Cake

Ooops!

I borrowed this recipe from the Good Food Magazine but having looked at the ingredients I made a couple of changes and substituted the black treacle with golden syrup. If you feel that there just aren't enough calories in this cake you can add lemon icing for a bit of zesty enjoyment. Having just started a strict diet I thought I would leave the topping out. 

 

The original recipe suggests that you grate the stem ginger but I decide to chop mine into fine chunks. However, these do tend to sink to the bottom of the cake but I prefer chunky pieces of stem ginger.

Ingredients

225g self-raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground mixed spice
115g butter, cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing the tin
115g dark Muscovado sugar
230g golden syrup
250ml semi-skimmed milk
85g drained stem ginger, finely chopped
1 egg

Method

1. Preheat the oven to fan 160C/conventional 180C/gas 4. Butter and line a 2 lb loaf tin, with grease-proof or parchment paper.
2. Put the flour, bicarbonate of soda and all the spices into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3. Put the sugar, syrup and milk in a medium saucepan and heat, gently stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat and bring the mixture to just below boiling point.
4. Add the stem ginger to the flour mixture, then pour in the treacle mixture, stirring as you go with a wooden spoon. Break in the egg and beat until the mixture is combined and it resembles a thick pancake batter. Pour this into prepared tin and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until a skewer pushed into the centre of the cake comes out fairly clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin before turning cake out.

The finished cake is very light and moist and it will improve with age.

Chocolate Easter Loaf

This particular recipe was adapted from a Mowielicious recipe which was in turn adapted from a Nigel Slater dish. Be warned, you'll require several bowls and probably a spare pair of hands to assist with the various tasks. They can also help with the washing up! 

Ingredients

For the loaf

200g dark chocolate (64%)
4 tbsp hot espresso
200g butter, cubed
135g plain flour
1 heaped tsp baking powder
3 tbsp cocoa powder
5 eggs, separated
200g caster sugar
250g cooked and peeled beetroot, pureed

For the chocolate butter cream

150g icing sugar
75g butter, softened
25g cocoa powder
50ml double cream

For the chocolate icing

100g dark chocolate (64%)
2 tbsp golden syrup
100 ml double cream

Method

Heat the oven to 160C/Fan/Gas 4. Grease and line two cake tins with baking paper. I used two 3 lb loaf tins - alternatively you can use two 20cm round cake tins. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over hot water, ensuring the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water. Pour the espresso into the melted chocolate, stir, then add the cubes of butter and continue stirring until melted. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Sift the flour with baking powder and cocoa. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks until frothy. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then add the sugar and fold into the egg whites. Pour the egg yolks and beetroot into the chocolate mixture and carefully fold in. Add the egg white mixture and fold in. Add the flour mixture and fold until just incorporated. Pour into the prepared cake tins, level and bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

For the butter-cream, sift the cocoa with the icing sugar and mix with the butter until crumbly. Add the double cream and mix until incorporated. Smooth this onto the top of one cake and cover with the other cake. 

For the icing, heat the chocolate with the cream and syrup over a low heat, stirring continuously until thick and glossy. Pour over the cake, decorate as desired and serve.

I used dark chocolate truffles and white chocolate bunnies for the Easter season.

Bunnies and Truffles Optional

The cake is light and moist and trust me, you will only need a small piece!