COOKBOOKS GALORE

 Although my Mum was a great baker, she occasionally brought home one of McVitie's Tunis cakes near Christmas time. Do you remember these cakes? Apparently, it got its name because a baker at McVities had tried a similar cake while stationed in Tunisia, where he was stationed during WW2. Well I was feeling all nostalgic and thought I'd try and make one. Not as elaborate as the original, as that looks too tricky for my icing skills! Mary Berry has a recipe, but I found another one, which was apparently sent by McVitie to a fan of the cake, so I thought I'd give it a try. It's in ounces. 3oz ground almonds 6oz butter 6oz caster sugar 3 medium eggs rind of 1 lemon 8oz plain flour 11/2 tspn baking powder 2 tbspn milk For the topping: 10oz plain chocolate Marzipan fruits [banana, orange, pear, apple] Preheat oven 160C/gas3                                        8" cake tin brushed with me...

When living in France, I loved the homely cakes my French neighbours baked, as opposed to the great patisserie you buy in the specialist shops. We took it in turns to make a traditional cake to have with coffee or tea. If it was with tea, it was always a fruit flavoured one or a tisane, never our black tea [except in our house]. This is one my next door neighbour made regularly; it's her grandmother's recipe, and she called it a 'Gateau au chocolat a l'ancienne'. I make it in a loaf tin instead of in the usual 'moule a manque', the traditional round French cake tin. It's great with an afternoon cuppa, or as a dessert with some ice cream or creme anglaise. It's normally made using cooking or dessert chocolate [of which there are many good makes in France], but I use dark chocolate from a supermarket, not an expensive bar. Here's the recipe - it's so easy to make and is delicious. 150g dessert or plain chocolate 3 eggs 100g caster sugar 6...

 chocolate I fancied doing some baking this afternoon and having found a bar of 70% chocolate in the cupboard, decided to make a chocolate cake. I tried a recipe from a book I've had for many years, but never used. It's Jane Pettigrew's 'Teatime - a complete collection of traditional recipes'. This is her 'Moist chocolate cake', but to be honest, I prefer my old Victoria sandwich recipe. We both found this cake rather dry, despite its buttercream filling. If I try it again, I'll use less flour.                                           Didn't decide to blog about it till I'd cut us each a slice, and I'd had another one! The recipe: 100g plain chocolate 150g butter of soft margarine 150g caster sugar 3 medium eggs 15ml [1 tbspn] milk 225g sr flour ...