Apricot and chocolate chip loaf cake

Do you really always want elaborate cakes? Sometimes I do and sometimes it is the downright simple that really hits the spot. So, on that note, this cake is going to be one of the downright simple variety and no  less good for that. It is perfect with a hot cup of tea.

One thing that my mother taught me about cooking was:

If you don't put good things into your food don't expect a good result.

So this cake is made with all good things but the making is simple.

What you'll need:

250g self raising flour
120g butter
120g sugar
2 eggs
perhaps a splash of milk
100g dried apricots, the no soak variety. Chop them up a bit
75g chocolate chips
a teaspoon of vanilla extract

To make:

heat your oven to approx gas mark 4 or 160 C.

Put the flour and sugar in a bowl. Add the butter and rub it into the dry ingredients until it resembles small peas. No need to be too fine with this.

Add the apricots that should be about the size of peas, and the chocolate. Stir in.

Break the egg into the mixture and stir well. Do't over stir as this mix is a bit like a muffin mix and you can toughen it if you over mix. Only add a splash of milk if you find that it's dry.

Put the mix into a greased a lined 2lb loaf tin and bake at approx gas mark 4 or 160 C. It will be cooked when as knife or cake probe is insirted into the middle and it comes out dry. Approx 30 - 40 mins. It depends on your oven.

Boston Cream Pie with a twist

I just love Boston Cream Pie. It's soft sponge is filled with creamy custard that melts in your mouth. If this is not good enough this flavour overload is enhanced by a topping of fabulous chocolate ganach. It is a cake of dreams and begs to be eaten alone so that you can sigh over every mouthful.

The twist? Use rum to flavour the cream.

To start you will make a light crumbly sponge. There are two possibilities for this cake: a Victorial sponge or a genoise. I chose to make the genoise as it is the lighter of the two. Also, as this cake needs to be stored in the fridge, the lower butter content of the genoise stops the sponge from firming up.

So start by making your cake.

Heat your oven to C 180.
Have a 23cm or 9 inch tin ready. Grease and flour it in readiness for your sponge.

I used 3 large free range eggs which were at room temperature.
100g caster sugar
100g SR flour
30g butter melted
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Start by breaking the eggs into a very clean and grease free bowl that is large enough to allow the eggs to expand when they have been beaten. Using a hand held whisk, beat the eggs until they are foamy.

The next step is to add the sugar. I was once told to heat the sugar before adding it to the eggs as this helps to create volume in the whisked eggs. I have always used this method when possible. It means that you don't have to have the eggs over  boiling water and to my mind this is no bad thing. Boiling water and electricity are not always good bed fellows. Whist the sugar and eggs together until they reach the ribbon stage. This will take about 10 minutes.

Now fold the sifted flour into the mix and then fold in the melted butter. Make sure that there are no streaks of flour or butter left. Be careful not to over mix as the sponge will not rise.

Cook in your preheated oven until golden and the sponge springs back when touched gently with your finger tip.  I did say gently. This is what it should look like when turned out onto a cooling rack.

NB I used a silicone baking form. I greased and floured it first as there is so little fat in the songe that I didn't want it to stick. As you see, it didn't.

I left the cake upside down as it gave a better surface to ice later on.

Allow your sponge to cool. Then transfer to a serving plate. Do it before you fill it an ice it. You will find that it is too soft to do it later. You will thank me for this advice.

While it's cooling make the pastry cream.

2 large egg yolks.

2 heaped tablespoons of sugar

1 heaped tablespoon of cornflour

1 teaspoon of vanilla or, for a real treat, 2 tbsp dark rum. Yumm

200ml whole milk

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the eggs and sugar until they are well blended. Beat in the flour and cornflour and set aside. Add the vanilla essence.

Bring the milk to the boil. I did mine in the microwave. Slowly pour half of the hot milk onto the egg mixture, whisking all the time, then add the remaining milk.

Bring the mixture back to the boil and simmer for one minute, whisking continuously, or until smooth.

Pour the cream into a clean bowl and top with cling film to prevent a skin forming.  Cool as quickly as possible. When cooled, refrigerate until needed.

So by this tile your cake will be well and truly cooled. Cut through the middle horizontally and fill the bottom half with the cooled pastry cream. Plese remember that the cream sets as it cools so if you put it on too soon it can run out and spoil the effect of the cake. As you can see, mine is fairly thick. If you have stouble setting your custard I have found a quick cheat. Mix half of the custard with some instant custard (about a tbs will usually do the trick) and heat in the microwave until thick. Then add to the remaining custard and leave to cool. Works a treat.

Put the top of the cake over the cream.

Now you can ice the cake with the chocolate ganach.

50 g dark chocolate of your choice chopped
75 ml double cream
1 teaspoon of oil.

This is simplicite itself.

Bring your cream to just below the boil. Add the chopped chocolate and oil and mix well. The chocolate will melt in the hot cream and will not need to be reheated. Allow to cool to a point where the ganach is still pourable but not so liquid that it will run straight off the sides of the cake.
Allow to set and then get a knife and dive in. You won't be disappointed.

Cherry and Chocolate Mile High Pie

Cherry and Chocolate Mile High Pie! If that doesn't set your mouth watering then nothing will.



This pie was born on a day when we had been lucky enough to buy lots of cherries for a song or in reality 5 kg for E5. Now if that's not a song then nothing is. we gorged on them for a day or two and then I just had to make something with them. I don't know if you know this, but black cherries freeze really well and this pie was made with defrosted cherries.

100 g ripe black cherries (fresh or defrosted frozen)
2 tbs sugar (you may need less if the cherries are very ripe and sweet)
2 tsp of cornflour
250 g mascarpone
100 ml double or whipping cream
2 tbs sugar
1 tsp vanilla
grated chocolate
1 cooked pie shell (about 24 cm in diameter.

Mix the cherries with the sugar and the cornflour and cook gently in a shallow saucepan until the juices run from the cherries and the sauce thickens. It will thicken more as it cools.
Beat the cream, sugar, vanilla and mascarpone together until the mixture is firm but not too hard. you are aiming for soft peaks here.
Fold into the pie case alternating with the cooled cherry mixture.
Sprinkle the grated chocolate over the top.
Enjoy.

Chocolate and Apricot Muffin Cake

Chocolate and Apricot are two of my very favourite ingredients along with muffins so what could be better than this scrummy cake? An easy to make one!




So the wish for an easy to make cake is granted and this is what you'll need:

250g self raising flour
125g soft butter
125g sugar
2 eggs
a couple of spoons of milk or more, depending on the consistance of the batter.
100g chopped dark chocolate
100g chopped dried apricots
a few drops of almond essence.

1. Put all of the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix together
2. Melt the butter and add the egg and the milk.
3. Pour over the dry ingredients and give it a swift mik to blend the ingredients but please do not over mix otherwise you'll have a heavy stodge of a cake. Now is the time to add a little more milk if you think that the batter is too dry.
4. Pour the mixture into a greased shallow tin aboput 10 inches by 8 inches. The bigger the tin the thinner the cake. If you would prefer a deeper cake then cook in a smaller tin but remember that it will take longet to cook.
5. Bake at 170 C for about 45 mins, or until brown and dry in the middle when tested with a skewer.
6. When the cake has cooled dust with icing sugar and cut in to squares.

This cake is wonderful with a cup of tea or coffee for a mid morning break.

Chocolate and Coconut Cake

This cake is a very special one as I made it for my son-in-law. While he was here with me earlier on this summer he put in a request for a Chocolate and Coconut cake, but I couldn't make him one as I didn't have a suitable recipe. Now that everyone has gone home, I have the time to experiment and this is what I've come up with. I'll make it agin when I get home, but for the moment, he will just have to look and drool.

Ingredients:
For the chocolate

egg75g self-raising flour

75g sugar

75g butter10g cocoa

Put everything in a bowl and mix well to form a stiffish sponge.
Put the mixture in to an 8cm round tin and cook at 180C for about 20 mins.Cool the cake.

For the Coconut layer
1 packet of instant custard mix.

2 heaped tablespoons of dessicated coconut

1 dessertspoon of sugar

Make the custard as directed on the packet and then add the other ingredients. The coconut should thicken the mixture quite considerably and then it can be spread on the cooled chocolate cake.

For the chocolate coating:

100g of plain chocolate

50g butter

1 tablespoon of golden syrup

Gently heat these ingredients together until they become a thick paste. When cool enough pour over the cake and spread over the sides.Put in the fridge to cool and then slice abd enjoy!
This cake is best stored in the fridge as it has custard in the centre.

Chocolate and Hazelnut Bars

This recipe has been adapted from the one given by Rachel Allen in her recent book. I found it on the BBc web site. I've made some changes as I thought that her recipe was too sweet so here is my version.

For the chocolate base:
200g/7oz butter
50g/2oz cocoa powder
200g/7oz caster sugar
2 free range eggs, beaten
225g/8oz plain flour
For the hazelnut caramel layer
125g/4½oz butter
1 x 397g/14oz tin condensed milk
2 tbsp golden syrup
75g/3oz caster sugar
125g/4½oz toasted and halved hazelnuts
For the chocolate topping
200g/7oz dark chocolate, chopped
1 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3 and line the base of or grease, a small Swiss roll tin measuring 20x30cm/8x12in.
2. In a medium sized saucepan over a medium heat, heat the butter for the chocolate base, stir in the cocoa powder and then the sugar and mix until smooth.
3. Remove from the heat and stir in the eggs until mixed and then the plain flour.
4. Spread the chocolate base over the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 20 minutes until firm on top.
5. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool while you make the hazelnut caramel layer.
6. In a medium-sized saucepan over a medium heat, melt the butter and then add the condensed milk, golden syrup and sugar.
Turn the heat to low and stir continuously for 12-15 minutes until the mixture is dark caramel in colour (do not let it burn).
7. Remove from the heat and stir in the nuts. Spread evenly over the chocolate base and allow to cool.
8. Melt the chocolate in a bowl sitting over a saucepan of simmering water. When it is melted, stir in the oil and then pour over the caramel layer and smooth out, leaving to cool and set.
9. To serve, cut into squares. These will keep for a week in an airtight container.