Light and Fluffy Chocolate Cupcakes

This is a classic Victoria Sponge Cake recipe (from my Nanny Joan's handwritten recipe card!) but with some added cocoa to make the lightest chocolate cakes you could ever hope for!

You will need -

6oz Flora
5oz golden caster sugar
3 free range eggs
5oz self raising flour
1oz cocoa
1.5tsp baking powder

Cream the flora and the sugar together in a bowl.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until lovely and smooth.

Spoon into 12 muffin cases and bake for 25mins a 180C.

In a vain attempt to make this a bit healthier I omitted a fancy topping with a more modest light dusting of icing sugar!

Pinkish Valentines Cakes

Valentine's is as good a reason as any to knock up some yummy cakes and with the prospect of some new silicone moulds in cute heart shapes it's too tempting not to have a go!

After a couple of not-so-successful attempts at a Red Velvet cake I decide to lower my sights and go for a all together pinker pudding.

First I took my favourite Madeleine sponge recipe and after mixing thoroughly I added about 10 drops of Dr Oetker red food colouring until I got a decidedly pinky shade. The mix was added to a heart sandwich tin and some well greased and floured and very cute heart cupcake moulds.

After baking they definitely had a pinkish tinge, but if I'm honest I think my super-fresh and amazingly coloured eggs from my lovely hens were working against me!

So undeterred, the only option was to go full-on pink with some pretty pink icing. Add water slowly to icing sugar mixing thoroughly. When it's very nearly as runny as you want it (just runny enough to run over the top of your cakes) then add a few drops of the red food colouring. Take it slowly or you'll end up with something better suited to a Halloween cake!

Then simply spoon over your cakes and add some fun sweets or cherries to top them off!

Barm Brack

While this might sound like a recipe the current US president might enjoy, it's actually a traditional, yummy tea-bread.

We used to buy this during my childhood camping holidays to wales and Mum picked up a novelty postcard with this recipe on to recreate it... all these years later it's still a favourite!

You will need -
3/4 pint of cold tea
6oz soft brown sugar
12oz mixed dried fruit
12oz self raising flour
1 free range egg

Put the fruit and the sugar in a bowl and pour over 3/4 of a pink of cold tea (no milk!!). Cover and leave to soak overnight.

Beat the egg and add to the fruit mixture along with the flour. Mix well.

Bake in a 2lb loaf mould (mine's silicone!) at 180C for 1hr 45mins

Serve thinly sliced and buttered!

Not Many Cherries Cake

This cake came about when I had a good rummage through the baking shelf of my larder. I found some ground almonds and some glace cherries , left over from making my Christmas pud.
The result a cherry cake with not many cherries, that still tasted yummy!

What you need

A deep 7 inch cake tin greased and floured
Glace cherries- as many as you can lay your hands on! Preferably 5oz, I had only 2oz
8oz self raising flour
2oz ground almonds
1.5 level teaspoons baking powder
7oz butter or flora
7oz caster sugar
4 large eggs

Cut cherries into halves , rinse excess sugar off , and dry with kitchen towel
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl, then add cherries.
Turn mixture into prepared tin, cook at 150 degrees for 50 mins-1 hr until well risen, golden and firm to touch.

Then cool,slice and enjoy!

Simple Soda Bread

Bread without a bread machine can be a bit of a labour of love and not least because it takes such a long time! So for a quick addition to your meal try this soda bread recipe. My mum used to often make this for my brother and I to go along with our dinner and The A-Team on a Saturday night!

You will need -

350g Plain white flour
175g Wholemeal Self raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
3 tsp of dried herbs 
300ml milk

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl.

Add the milk and mix to a pliable dough.

Knead lightly on a floured surface. Form into a round shape and place onto a oiled baking sheet.

Use a knife to mark the top into quarters.

Bake for 30-40mins at 190C

Tear into 4 portions and eat with some butter or flora while still warm!

The bread is wonderfully herby and would be perfect with soup or even curry to soak up those last bits of liquid!

Marbled Muffins

I remember having marble cake as a child. It was a classic that was always well received so a great option for a tasty muffin recipe.

You will need - 

10oz plain flour

1tbsp baking powder

3.5oz caster sugar

2 medium free range eggs

9fl oz milk

6tbsp sunflower oil

1tsp vanilla extract

2tbsp cocoa

Mix the dry ingredients except the cocoa together.

Beat the wet ingredients and then stir into the dry ingredients.

Split the mixture between two bowls and mix the cocoa into one of them.

Put 12 cases in your muffin pan and spoon in the mixture alternating between the plain and chocolate mixture. The smaller the spoonfuls the more marbly the muffins will be.

Bake at 200C for about 20mins until the tops pop back up when gently pressed.

Yummy!!

Easter Devils Bundt Cake

With Easter products hitting the stores earlier and earlier (I think my local shop had then out on Boxing Day!) it's tempting to start planning Easter baking right now! I'd set my heart of making my first ever Bundt for my Easter cake and after picking up a silicone Bundt pan on ebay I thought I should have a trial run in case it all went Pete Tong. I had visions of slaving over a hot-oven only for it to get stuck in the pan, so better safe than sorry I decided to try my favourite Devils Food Cake recipe to see if it was doable!

Before adding the mixture I greased the mould VERY thoroughly and dusted the inside with a little flour. Once cooked (it took a little longer than usual as the pan was much deeper) I was pleasantly surprised how easily it came out... First I inverted the centre part so it was sticking out and then turned the mould over onto a plate! And voila... One intact Bundt!

I finished it off with a chocolate ganache (using cooking milk chocolate) and couldn't resist topping it off with the mini-eggs that should have been destined for the ACTUAL Easter cake!