COOKBOOKS GALORE

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...