ALL-IN-ONE CHOCOLATE CAKE

This recipe comes from the very first recipe book I ever bought, the Homepride Book of Home Baking, published in 1970.  I had to send off for it using a postal order for the princely sum of £13/6d, including postage.  That's 13 shillings and 6 old pence in £sd, "old money" or pre-decimal coinage.  Or 65p in today's money.  There are still several cut-out coupons in the back of the book to order extra copies!

This was the cake I made for decades; for birthdays, weekends, visits from the mother-in-law or good friends.  It's an all-in-one recipe, in other words all the ingredients are mixed together in one bowl.  I made it using a wooden spoon and Pyrex mixing bowl long before I had any kind of food mixer. 

It's an excellent chocolate cake, lovely and moist and made with storecupboard ingredients that don't cost a fortune.  It's equal to the chocolate Guinness cake in terms of favourites and you can see the recipe here.

RUSTIC PEAR AND STRAWBERRY TART

Looking back over old posts has served to remind me of a number of really good cakes that I used to make regularly, in one form or another.  I'm very fond of recipes that are not only straightforward and not too fiddly, but can also be adapted to use ingredients that I have in stock, rather than having to make a special trip to the shops for them.

This is one of those recipes.  It comes from the book "The Popina Book of Baking", which I have used a lot over the years.  The original recipe is described as a tart and uses plums but it's really a cake and virtually any fruit will work.  You can read what I wrote about it and see the recipe here.

CHOCOLATE GUINNESS CAKE

My round-up of favourite cakes would not be complete without including my all time favourite, the chocolate Guinness cake by Nigella Lawson from her book "Feast", first published in 2004.

It always goes down well at special occasions and I have made it dozens of times over the decades.  I have adapted it slightly since the first time and, because recipes on websites have a nasty habit of disappearing, (or linking to something else) here is the recipe that I now use.  At the time of writing, the original can be seen on Nigella's website here.  

It's a very "grown up" kind of chocolate cake, not the sort of children's birthday parties and, because the topping is quite sweet, I now make about half the quantity of the amount in Nigella's original recipe.

Ingredients

For the cake

250 ml Guinness (original)

250g butter, cubed

75g cocoa powder

400g caster sugar (golden or white)

142ml pot soured cream (or 150ml full fat crème fraîche)

2 large eggs

1 tblsp vanilla extract

275g plain flour

2½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the topping

150g full fat cream cheese

75g icing sugar

60ml double or whipping cream

Method

For the cake

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160° fan / gas mk 4.  Butter and line the base of a 23cm springform cake tin.

Pour the Guinness into a large saucepan, add the butter and heat gently until the butter has melted.

Remove the pan from the heat.

Add the sugar and cocoa powder and whisk in.

In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, soured cream and vanilla.  Pour into the pan and whisk in.

Add the flour and bicarb and whisk in until well combined.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 45-60 minutes until done.  The centre should still seem damp and it may well crack and dip slightly in the middle.

Cool in the tin.

For the topping

Lightly whip the cream cheese until smooth and sift in the icing sugar.  Beat together then add the cream.  Beat again until you get a spreadable consistency.

Alternatively, use a food processor, blitzing the icing sugar first to remove any lumps, then adding the cream cheese and process again.  Finally add the cream and process again.

When the cake is completely cool, remove from the tin, remove the paper and place it on your serving plate.  Swirl the topping over.

Cuts into 12-15 slices.

Leftover cake should be kept in the fridge because of the topping. 

The cake freezes well, with or without the topping.

COFFEE, ALMOND AND BLACKCURRANT CAKE

Looking back for favourite cakes and bakes to re-post I found this one which I remember being delicious and always intended to make again, but I never did.

You can see the recipe by clicking here.

WILL THERE EVER BE CAKE AGAIN?

There are still no cakes being made chez nous.  It's now nine weeks since I had cake, bread, biscuits or puddings of any kind and my weight is steadily falling.  I remember the wonderful Terry Wogan and his slogan "fight the flab" and I have to say that I am winning the battle and feeling much better for it.

I haven't felt hungry at all over the last nine weeks, not ever.  Filling up on fruit, veg and lean meat definitely seems to work and I have felt no desire to dive into the biscuit tin or raid the fridge for slabs of cheese.  (Although I have hankered after the occasional slap-up roast dinner.)  Nick and I are eating the same meals and his weight remains steady because he fills up on buttered toast with marmalade or cheese and patés. Watching him devour all the extras while I enjoy a nice, juicy orange has turned out to be easier than I thought!  I've even been making apple crumbles, just for him.  He's not much of a fan of cake so the temptation to have just one slice (it's impossible to have just the one) has been avoided.

At the back of my mind is my huge collection of cook books, cake tins and cake stands, all gathering dust from lack of use, and the worry that I might never get to need of them again - for fear of putting the weight back on.  

We'll have to wait and see but in the meantime I shall re-post some of my favourite recipes, some from years ago.

You can see this coconut and lemon cake if you click here. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR - AND THE RECIPE ROUND-UP FOR 2022.

This is what I posted about in 2022.

CAKES AND BAKES:  12

SOUPS:  9

SAVOURY DISHES:  5

DESSERTS:  2

MISCELLANEOUS:  1

A VERY HEALTHY AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL !!

ROASTED RED PEPPER AND BUTTER BEAN SOUP (soup maker recipe)

I have mentioned before that there might be no cake posts for a while as I am on a mission to lose some weight.  The soup maker has really come into its own in this quest and this recipe is adapted from a cook book of recipes for slimmers.  The diet is going well, I have lost 15lb (7kg) so far and I can honestly say I haven’t felt hungry once.  I have however hankered after a decent sausage, mash and onion gravy, more than once, not to mention a nice thick wedge of cake, but not so much that I would be prepared to jeopardise the progress so far!  And I’m really enjoying trying new recipes.

This one uses a jar of roasted red peppers and it's important to buy the ones preserved in water, not oil, for the purpose of a diet.  The difference is significant but only if you're on a low calorie diet.

The recipe said to use red peppers but I used a jar of mixed ones, as that's what I had in stock.   It was absolutely delicious and a recipe I will make over and over again.  

Ingredients

2x  400g cans butter beans, drained and rinsed

1 460g jar roasted red peppers in brine, drained

2 celery sticks, roughly chopped

2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

1 tblsp sweet smoked paprika

1 garlic and thyme stockpot (or use home made stock - see here - and some fresh thyme)

A few extra thyme leaves, or chopped parsley, and some yoghurt or crème fraîche for serving

Method

Place all the ingredients into the machine, adding enough cold water to fill to the top line.  Cook on the smooth setting.  Add a swirl of yoghurt or crème fraîche and the remaining thyme leaves or parsley before serving.

Makes four generous servings.