COOKBOOKS GALORE

Some kind of Chocolate Log is a Christmas tradition in our house, Sometimes I cheat and buy a 'good' one, but this year decided to make it. The cake is a chocolate Genoise sponge and the filling has salted caramel in it - one of my favourite things - and it's covered with a great chocolate icing/ganache. For the Genoise sponge:  Preheat oven 200C/gas6                   Grease and line a swiss roll tin with baking paper. Separate 4 eggs. Beat the yolks with 100g of caster sugar till pale and fluffy. In another bowl sieve together 120g plain flour, 4 tbspn cocoa powder and 1 tspn baking powder and fold into the batter. Beat the egg whites till stiff then fold them gently into the cake batter. Spoon into the tin and level the top. Bake for 10 mins. Take out of the oven and roll the sponge up using the baking paper to help you. Leave it on a rack to cool. For the Caramel Cream: In a bowl mix together 200...

A couple of years ago my lovely Dutch friend sent me some goodies, including some of my favourite speculoos [ or speculaas?] biscuits. I used them in a recipe I found in a French magazine, and decided to make the cake again. It doesn't need any cooking. 125g speculoos biscuits [or any spicy biscuit - the ones they sell in Lidl are good] 4 dried figs, finely chopped 4 dates, finely chopped 2 tbspns sultanas 60g melted butter 200g milk or plain chocolate - broken into small pieces 15cl single cream 2 packets of Werther's originals or other butterscotch sweets 22cm cake tin - preferably a silicone mould Crush the biscuits and mix them with the dried fruit and melted butter. Press the mixture into the bottom of the tin/mould and put it in the fridge to harden. Break the chocolate up into a bowl. Put the cream in a small saucepan and bring to the boil, then pour it over the chocolate. Stir well till the mixture is nice and smooth. Cool. Take the ...

Have had a bit of a 'lost my cake-making mojo' time lately, but had some apples in the fruit bowl that needed using, so decided I wanted to make one of my favourite desserts - Tarte Tatin - as a cake. I'm a bit of a coward when it comes to making caramel, so used some from a can! Preheat oven 180C/gas4                             Grease a 18cm springform tin and line the base with baking paper. Using a tin of Carnation 'Caramel', spread a layer over the base of the tin [think I used about 120g]. Peel and core 2 apples - Coxes or something similar, then slice them and layer them onto the caramel. Cream together 125g butter and 125g caster sugar till nice and fluffy. Beat in 2 eggs then fold in 120g of sr flour. Add about 2 tbspn milk to loosen the mixture. Spoon the batter over the apples and bake for 35-45 mins till the cake is risen and golden. The caramel will be round the sides of the tin! Cool in the tin ...

I made these for a children's party, having been given the recipe to try. I buy candy canes every Christmas, and then always have some left over, so this is a good use for them. You need: 125g butter 75g chocolate of your choice, milk or plain 200g caster sugar 2 eggs 1 tspn vanilla extract 75g chopped nuts 3 candy canes - chopped Preheat oven 150C/gas2                        Grease a 20x24cm cake tin Melt the chocolate and butter over simmering heat. Don't let the mixture boil or the chocolate will be grainy. Take pan off the heat and add the sugar, mixing quickly. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating between each. Spoon in the flour, half at a time, beating well, then add the vanilla and nuts. Mix together well. Spoon the batter into the tin and sprinkle over the chopped candy canes. Bake for 20 mins. I love this plate - I found it in a charity shop. The children loved them, but were only allowed one ...

Thought I'd make a pudding instead of a cake, and this French one is a family favourite. It has my favourite spice, cinnamon in it, but you could change the spice to ginger, or maybe cardamon, both of which go well with chocolate,  or even add a bit of chilli powder.  It's made in individual portions in ramekins. You need: 200g dark chocolate, 4 tspn cinnamon, 50g plain flour, 100g butter, 50g caster sugar, 40g single cream and 4 eggs. Preheat oven 200C/gas6                Grease 6 ramekin dishes well. Break the chocolate into chunks, then add to a pan with the cream and butter over a bowl of simmering water. Beat the eggs with the sugar then add the melted chocolate mixture, cinnamon and flour and mix together well. Spoon into the ramekins and bake for 9 mins. Leave to cool then turn out onto a plate. It turns out like the infamous molten chocolate pudding, which has been the bane of contestants lives on Masterchef! The ...

This is a lovely big sharing cake. It's very moist and uses a lot of apples- great for windfalls! I used Gala Apples, but you could use Granny Smith, Golden Delicious or an apple of your choice. My friend gave me the recipe, and it's really easy to make. You can never have too many apple cake recipes! You need: 1kg sliced apples, 400g caster sugar, 2-3tspn cinnamon, 190ml vegetable oil - I used sunflower, 3 eggs, 250ml orange juice, 1 tspn vanilla extract, 375g plain flour with 2 tspn baking powder and 1/4 tspn salt. Preheat oven 180C/gas 4                Grease a 23cm round cake tin well and line base. My dil had my round tin on loan, so I used a 23x30cm cake tin, and it worked out fine. Toss the apples with 100g of the sugar and the cinnamon. Blend the rest of the sugar with the oil, then add the eggs, orange juice and vanilla extract. Fold in the flour mixture and beat to make a batter. Put half the batter into the cake tin and t...

I was pleased to find some Victoria plums in my local market. They're my favourite sort after Mirabelles. The polenta makes a change from flour, and gives the cake a bit of crunch. Topping: 8 plums 75g light muscovado sugar Juice of 1/2 a lemon For the cake : 120g butter, softened 125g caster sugar 2 eggs, lightly beaten 75g ground almonds 75g fine polenta 1 tsp baking powder zest of 1 lemon          Preheat oven 190C/gas5               Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin, not a loose bottomed one as the juice might run out of the plums. if you only have this kind of tin, wrap a double laye of foil round the outside of the bottom of the tin.         Halve the plums then cut into 1/4s. Put the sugar and lemon in a bowl and stir the plums through to coat. Put them in n overlapping layer in the bottom of the cake tin. If there's any syrup left in the bowl, spoon it over the plums. ...

I went to a friend for tea recently and she made this cake. It's more of a dessert than a cake, but had to ask for the recipe as it was delicious. It's a nice change from a normal chocolate cake and it's easy to make, always a plus for me. I used Green and Black's chocolate, as I think you need a good quality for this recipe. 200g  dark chocolate  200g unsalted butter, cut into cubes  250g granulated sugar  5 large eggs  1 tbspn plain flour Preheat the oven 190C/gas5, and grease and base line a 20cm cake tin Chop the chocolate and melt it with the butter in the microwave or over simmering water and stir to mix. Add the sugar and stir in then leave to cool for a couple of mins. The mixture will look rather gritty, but don't worry this is fine. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each one - this time the mixture looks rather slimy so add the flour. Beat until you have a nice smooth, dark batter. Pour into your tin and bake for about...

            I like recipes that are quick and easy to make, and this is one of those. I always think   of  it  as'healthy' because it's made with oil and yoghurt!  I suppose the amount of            sugar  makes it unhealthy nowadays!  There always seems to be a lime or lemon or 2 in my  fridge  and this is a good way to use them up.  You need: 250g Greek yoghurt, 80ml sunflower or rapeseed oil, 200g caster sugar ,4 tbspn lime juice and the zest of the lime, 250g plain flour with 11/2 tspn baking powder and a pinch of salt. For the topping – 1 tbspn lime zest and 2 tbspns sugar [so 2 limes altogether]          Preheat oven 180C/gas4 Grease a 22cm cake tin and line the base. Mix the yoghurt, oil , sugar, lime juice and zest together in a bowl. In another bowl mix the flour,   baking po...

I made these to take to a local coffee morning. Chocolate and spice go so well together. These freeze well, so you're never short of something sweet when the mood takes you! You need - 200g dark chocolate, 210g plain flour, 11/2 tspn ginger, 1/2 tspn mixed spice, 1 tspn cinnamon, 1 tbspn cocoa powder, 110g butter, 120g dark brown sugar, 4 tbspn golden syrup, 1 tspn bicarb, whole almonds to decorate Preheat oven 160C/gas3 Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper Chop the chocolate up, and in a bowl sift the spices and cocoa together with the flour. In another bowl beat the butter and sugar till fluffy, then add the golden syrup and beat again. Dissolve the bicarb in 11/2 tspn boiling water. Beat half o f the flour mixture into the butter one, beat in the bicarb then the rest of the flour mixture. Add the chocolate chunks and mix well. Roll into a sausage shape and cover in clingfilm. Chill for about 2 hours till firm. Cut slices off the roll and place on the ba...

As Autumn is nearly upon us, I thought I'd make an apple cake. I seem to have collected a file full of cakes using apples in various ways, but I haven't made this cake before. It's from a leaflet that came with a French magazine a few years ago. I love cinnamon, and cinnamon and apple are made for each other. You need: 4-5 apples , 180g butter, 1 heaped tspn cinnamon, 150g golden caster sugar, 50g flaked almonds, 3 eggs, 160g sr flour and 90g crème fraîche Preheat oven 180C/gas4 Grease a 20cm cake tin Peel the apples and cut up into dice. Melt 120g of the butter in a pan and add the diced apple. Sprinkle with the cinnamon and leave on a low heat for a few minutes. Sprinkle the flaked almonds over the bottom of the cake tin. Spoon the apples on top. Beat together the eggs and the sugar then fold in the flour and add the cream. Spoon this onto the apples. Bake for about 25 mins. Leave in tin to cool then turn out upside down. ...

Chocolate cake 'fashions' have come and gone over the last 30 odd years. There was the Black Forest gateau, the Sachertorte, truffle torte, lots of poor imitations of the River Cafe's gorgeous Nemesis cake to name but a few. I've tried most of these, but the recipe I come back to when the family want a chocolate cake is this one. I've been making it for a long time, but think it was originally a Delia recipe. I like using oil in cakes, and this one is really moist and keeps well. It's a good sized cake too, and it can be dressed up for an occasion with ganache or whatever you fancy. Today's version is unadorned except for a filling of Nutella and a smattering of icing sugar on the top. 275g plain flour 3 tbspn cocoa powder 11/2 tspn baking powder 11/2 tspn bicarb. of soda 215g caster sugar 3 tbspn golden syrup 3 eggs [large] 225ml sunflower oil [I use rapeseed] 225ml milk icing sugar Nutella 2x 20cm sandwich tins [about 4cm dee...

"The Lumberjack Cake is so-called by Canadian lumberjacks because it helps keep the hunger pangs at bay till lunch." This is one of the reasons I found on the internet for the name of this cake. It's also claimed as an Australian and New Zealand recipe - so who knows? I wanted something to fill some hungry men who'd helped me by putting up my new side gate. They all love sweet cakes and pudds, so this recipe seemed just the thing. It's more of a dessert than a cake to have with with a cuppa - too sticky. 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, and finely chopped - about 400g 200g chopped dates 1 tspn bicarb 250ml boiling water 125g butter 1 tspn vanilla extract 210g caster sugar 1 large egg 180g plain flour Topping: 60g Butter 8 tbspn milk 110g soft brown sugar 60g dessicated coconut Preheat the oven to 180C /gas 4. Grease and line a 23cm spring form cake tin. Mix together the apple, dates, bicarb and boiling water. Cover with cling film and le...

Time for another dessert, and this time it's a cheesecake. I love coffee flavoured cakes or desserts, so decided to make a coffee cheesecake. To make it more special I made a chocolate sauce and a caramel one as toppings.It has the usual biscuit base which is flavoured with coffee, but this is baked. You need: 200g digestive biscuits 40g soft butter 20g cocoa 700g cream cheese 6g strong instant coffee dissolved in 3 tbspn warm water 4 eggs 175g caster sugar For the sauces: The chocolate one I used this recipe http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3029673/simple-chocolate-sauce and for the caramel sauce : 85g butter 175ml double cream 175g soft brown sugar Preheat oven 150C/gas2                 22cm loose-bottomed cake tin Put the ingredients in a pan over a medium heat and stir till butter has melted. Turn up heat and boil for 3-4 mins stirring occasionally - it looks like runny custard. Pour into a bowl and leave for 30 mins...

I needed a dessert to take to a family lunch, so decided on a tart. This is one of my stand by recipes, so I know it tastes good; everyone likes chocolate! It's  lovely mixture of chocolate, mascarpone with a hint of coffee, all in a pastry case. Doesn't need much cooking - just the pastry case. You need: a pack of shortcrust pastry [or of course make your own] 200g dark chocolate 250g mascarpone 1 dspn instant Espresso coffee 3 egg whites pinch salt 80g caster sugar chocolate shavings to decorate [opt] Preheat oven 180C/gas4                     Grease a 21cm tart tin Roll pastry out to fit the tin, prick with a fork and bake blind for 10 mins. Break chocolate up and put into a pan; sprinkle a little water over and melt on a low heat. Once it's melted, take off the heat and add half the mascarpone and 1 dspn of instant Espresso coffee powder and mix well. Take the pastry out of the oven, cool then add the choc...

Another recipe for a loaf cake, my favourite type of cake. This time it has maple syrup, pecans and lemon zest in it. Easy to make using the rubbing in method. Preheat oven 170C/gas3   Grease and line the bottom of a 900g loaf tin. Sift 350g plain flour and 1 tspn baking powder together, then rub in 175g butter or margarine. Stir in 75g caster sugar and 125g chopped pecan nuts. In another bowl, beat 3 eggs with 1 tbspn milk and add zest of a lemon. Stir in 5 tbspn maple syrup and mix well. Add the flour mixture to the egg one and mix well, but don't over mix. Should be a nice dropping consistency. Spoon into the tin and bake for about 50 mins. till golden and risen. Leave to cool in tin for about 10 mins then turn onto a wire rack. Make some lemon icing by beating 1 tbspn lemon juice into 75g icing sugar. Drizzle the icing over the cooled cake. The texture was quite dense, but I suppose the rubbing in method doesn't make for a fine crumb. The maple taste ...

Another easy to make, no icing cake. I had to make a quick cake for unexpected  guests, so found a lime in the fridge and remembered this recipe. There is no creaming of butter and sugar -  just mix dry ingredients with wet, bake and sprinkle with sugar. Quick and easy. It uses oil and yoghurt, so must be healthy! 250g whole full fat Greek yoghurt 80ml olive oil 200g caster sugar zest of one lime 4 tbspn lime juice 2 eggs 210g plain flour 1 1/2 tspn baking powder 1/2 tspn salt Topping 1 tbspn lime zest 2 tblspn sugar Pre-heat oven to 180C/gas4 and grease a 22cm baking tin. Mix yoghurt, oil, lime juice, zest and eggs in a bowl till well combined.  In another bowl, mix the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt together.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with a wooden spoon till just combined [don't over mix]  Pour into the tin and bake for 45-50 minutes,till  the cake is lightly browned o...

Another simple cake - not keen on cakes with buttercream or any kind of frosting when it's hot. I've nearly finished using up odd packets and jars in my cupboard, but found some dessicated coconut. I also had some nectarines to use up [they seem to ripen very quickly ] so decided to use both in a cake. My daughter makes this recipe often with whatever fruit she has - raspberries, peaches, apples - sometimes she uses coconut and sometimes just makes a plain cake; it's such an easy recipe. The only extra addition is some vanilla yoghurt. Preheat oven 180C/gas4. Grease and base line a 24cm springform cake tin. It's the all-in-one method - put 180g butter, 215 g caster sugar, 3 eggs, 225g sr flour, 55g dessicated coconut and 175g vanilla yoghurt in a food processor and blitz till smooth. Pour into the cake tin. Arrange 4 halved and stoned nectarines on top and bake for about an hour. Take the cake our of the oven and sprinkle about 25g dessicated coconut on top th...

I love using my bundt tin, but don't do so very often. I had several lemons to use up so decided to make a lemon cake in this tin. It's easy to do and doesn't need any icing or decoration - not too much work! You need 170g plain flour, 2 tspn baking powder, 170g butter, 120g light brown sugar, 3 eggs, the juice of 1 lemon and the zest of 2 lemons, icing sugar if you want to sprinkle it over the top. Preheat oven 180C/gas4 Spray a bundt tin with Cake Release or something similar Beat the butter with the sugar to get a nice creamy mixture. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each one. Add the flour plus baking powder and the lemon juice and zest and beat together. Spoon into the tin and bake for about 45 mins. Cool in the tin for 10 mins then finish cooling on a wire rack. If you want, sprinkle some icing sugar over the top. A nice lemony cake with a good soft texture. You could ice it with lemon glacé icing, but I think it's...

Wanted a quick and easy dessert, so used 3 ripe pears from the fruit bowl and made an easy tart. Chocolate and pears are a marriage made in heaven for me, but if you haven't got a bar of chocolate, you could use Nutella spread over the pastry. You don't have to make the pastry - use a ready made butter puff. Preheat oven 220C/gas7                23cm tart tin In a bowl, mix together 100g soft butter, 100g ground almonds and 125g caster sugar. Mix together then add 2 beaten eggs and beat together. Roll out the puff pastry and line the tart tin. Prick with a fork. Peel, de-pip [is there such a word?] and cut 3 ripe Conference pears each into 4 pieces. Melt 100g chocolate [you can use cooking chocolate if you want] in the microwave or over simmering water, then pour over the pastry in the tin. Spoon in the batter then spread the pears on top. Bake for about 30 mins - keep an eye on the tart at the end so it doesn't burn! Nic...

 Needed to use up two very ripe looking bananas in the fruit bowl, so it would be a banana cake. I think banana goes well with caramel, so made a caramel icing for the top. The recipe uses sunflower  oil and yoghurt, so definitely healthy [if you ignore the caramel!]. Preheat oven 180C/gas4                   Grease and base line a 23cm springform cake tin. In a bowl mix together 250g plain flour with 2 tspn baking powder and 1/2 tspn bicarb. Mix in 250g caster sugar. In another bowl beat together 150ml sunflower oil, 250g ripe bananas [ I used 2 large ones], 2 eggs, 50ml natural yoghurt and 1 tspn vanilla extract. Pour the oil mixture into the flour and stir together till mixed. Spoon the batter into the cake tin and bake for about 40 mins. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 mins, then turn onto a wire rack. For the caramel topping: Put 85g butter, 175ml double cream and 175g soft brown sugar in a pan over a medium heat ...