COOKBOOKS GALORE

 I've written the title in French because moelleux is a difficult word to translate. It means soft or tender or moist. This cake is soft and moist and simple to make.  It's another recipe passed on by my French friend [who is my school penfriend from when we were 11!] and is a useful recipe to have, as it can easily be adapted. You need; 150g flour and 1 tspn baking powder, 50ml vegetable oil [I use rapeseed], 150g caster sugar, 2 eggs, 125g mascarpone cheese, and either the zest of a lemon or a few drops of lemon oil, icing sugar to dust Preheat oven 180C/gas4                         You need a ring mould, greased Beat the eggs and sugar till light and fluffy. Add the mascarpone, oil, flour and baking powder and lastly the lemon zest or lemon oil. Mix well. Spoon into the tin and bake for 30 mins. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 mins before turning our onto a wire rack. A dusting of icing sugar is all it needs. ...

It's a bit late for Epiphany when this gateau should be eaten, but I found this recipe in a magazine so decided to make it. I liked the idea of using hazelnuts instead of ground almonds, as in the traditional one. I'm sure you know about this gateau, and that in France it has a china figure in it, and whoever finds this figure or fève gets to wear the crown and be the King. Sadly, in our move back from France, my collection of fèves got lost! 500g butter puff pastry divided into 2 200g ground hazelnuts [ I found them ready ground in Waitrose, but you can grind your own] 100g caster sugar 1 tspn vanilla extract 3 eggs 75g butter at room temperature Preheat oven 180C/gas6 Beat the butter and ground hazelnuts together to make a soft paste. Add 2 of the eggs and the vanilla. Cut each of the pieces of puff pastry into a circle and place one on a piece of baking parchment on a baking sheet. Spread the hazelnut mixture over the pastry lea...