Beetroot chocolate cake

I personally love this cake it's so decadent and a treat to eat, and for the results so easy it's all mixed in a food processor!

You will need...
200g of cooked beetroot, you can even cheat and use the vacuum packed stuff off the shelf.
3 large eggs,
200 ml oil I use ground nut but any can be used,
200g of dark sugar,
175 g self raising flour,
1 tsp baking powder,
50 g of cocoa powder,
And if you want to add 100 g of dark choc chips, I find it just finishes it off.

So pre heat the oven to 180 c
Beetroot in the processor and blitz, eggs in and blitz again then oil, let this gain volume with air for a second or two blitzing, then stop and add all the other ingredients and pulse until mixed.
 Place in a lined 8 inch tin and bake for 45 mins on the middle shelf, it will crack a bit don't panic, your going to cover it with dark choc ganache when it's cool!

So when it's ready and you have tested it , let it cool in the tin and when it's cold you can cover it with the ganache,
 For the ganache you will need,
100g dark cooking choc,
142 ml double cream( that's a small pot roughly),
1 tsp castor sugar,
Heat the cream in a pan gently( do not let it boil), add the sugar and stir until dissolved,then remove from the heat and pour over your broken up chocolate and stir until melted, it will look like its splitting, just keep stirring it will blend and become glossy, when it has cooled a bit and won't run off your cake pour it on and completely cover the cake, then leave to set.

This cake keeps lovely and moist because it's encased with chocolate and is ok for about a week but I promise it won't last nearly that long!

Tokamak Booze Bunt ( pre soak fruit cake)

You will need a Bunt tin if using , there are lots of designs but you can make this mix in cake tins if you like I would half the mix and use an 8" cake tin lined at the base and use the same temperatures and baking times.
The dried fruit listed should be soaked in warm water with a teabag and your booze and covered with cling film ,the liquid in this bowl should only just cover the fruit in the bowl and leave for a few hours before using, over night is best if you can you will taste the difference in juicy boozy fruit in the cake if you do.
6 oz of sultanas,
6 oz of dried cranberries,
10 oz fine sugar,
10 oz marg,
10 oz self raising flour,
2.5 tsp baking powder,
5 large eggs,
Booze of your choice....

Now if your using a bunt tin butter it and flour it well, if you don't you won't get your cake out nicely,  pre heat the oven to 170 C and it needs to be a middle shelf so make sure you have space.
 It's an easy all in one method so all in the bowl except the soaking fruit and mix well, it's better with a mixer to get air into the mix, then stir in by hand your fruit and add the soaking liquid( the booze)
 Add this liquid a bit at a time stop if the mixture gets too slack stop adding , the mixture should not pour.
 Bake for 45 mins and test with a skewer, bunt tin users should now test there shapes in the tin, ie prod all around your tin with the skewer , lots of angles means different bake times so be careful , the round tin I used was straight forward and needed only another 10 mins baking however the xmas trees needed  another 20! For a standard cake tin it should be all good at 45 mins.
 Now to ice I mixed lemon juice with icing sugar until it was loose but still white and drizzled, then decorated with sugar balls on the icing.
 It's called a Tokamak cake because I made it for my friends and posted it on Facebook,( the first picture) and my pals in America instantly named it "tokamak", which I googled and it means..." A magnetic field device that draws energy and is this shape" , he said it had a draw on him and it would give him energy lol, so it was named!

Swedish Apple cake

You will need
3 cooking apples,
250g plain flour,
2tsp baking powder,
1 tsp cinnamon,
150g brown sugar,
150 g marg,
3 large eggs.
Preheat your oven to 180 C

Sift the flour and baking powder and cinnamon into a mixing bow and mix into the sugar, then melt the marg and when cool mix with the eggs, then you can add this to the dry mix , peal  two of your apples and core, then dice into cubes the size of your fingertips, add these to your mix and stir in, if you don't they will go brown quickly so if your doing this as a last step stir while adding ingredients,stir as you go.
 Then lastly you should have one Apple left, place the the mixture into a lined bottom cake tin and level the top, finish by pealing and coring this last Apple and place on the top in a fan if you like or you can just chop them and sprinkle, I'll add at this point I've also done this recipe with plums instead of Apple and it was lovely, and at Christmas I made this cake as a gift but sprinkled fudge bits on the top and added a bit of cider to the mix that was gratefully received lol!
 So now all you need to do is bake it for 50 mins and test with skewer( put a skewer into the cake in a few different places and it should come out clean, if it does your done, if it doesn't then leave baking a few mins and recheck) do make sure it's a great cake but moist and if your skewer comes out just a little marked with mix leave another 5 mins, I don't want you shouting at me lol.
 Now I like it to look gorgeous also so I made a quick easy glaze while the cake stood cooling, 25 g of marg and 3 tsp of sugar and a pinch of cinnamon, melt this together and drizzle over the cake, covering your Apple display so it shines, the cake should be allowed to completely cool out of the tin or it may sweat a bit, but keep in an air tight container when cool and it will be good for a week , if it lasts that long lol.

Madeleine's with lemon curd

You will need a Madeleine tin , I have both a metal tin and a silicon, both are fine as long as you butter and flour them, use a small amount of melted butter and brush each section , then dredge/ sprinkle with flour before spooning in your mixture, if you don't you risk them sticking and ruining the lovely shape.

3 large eggs,

130g fine sugar,

200g plain flour,

10 g baking powder,

Zest of one lemon,

20 g honey,

60 ml of milk,

200 g butter melted then cooled,lemon curd or you could use jam!

Also if you like a berry of sorts for each Madeleine.

Pre heat oven to 190 deg C, then beat the eggs with the sugar until fluffy, measure the flour and baking powder and sieve together in a separate bowl, add the lemon zest into the flour mix at this point and set aside.

 Melt the butter, I did it in a microwave for a few seconds, let it cool , put the milk and honey in a jug and mix then add the cooled butter, mix gently don't beat, then fold the wet mix into the dry flour mix , again gently don't knock the air out, now a tip just pop the mixture in the fridge for a few mins to firm up, and you will make a few batches from this mix so return the mix to the fridge between baking or it will not give the same results each time.

 Now each section of your tin only needs a heaped teaspoon of mixture no more or your Madeleine's will rise and join and not look like mine! Into the oven then for 8 mins at 190 deg C, during this time they will puff up, then turn the oven down to 160 degC for 5 mins.

  When on the cooling rack and still hot pipe into the top your lemon curd or jam and place your berry on that if your doing so, leave to cool and then sprinkle with icing sugar to finish.

 Madeleine's don't keep long and best eaten on day of making.......I've never had a problem with this lol.

 The mix makes about 36 Madeleine's so enjoy!

Sponge pud tray bake

Again preheat your oven to 170 deg c, line a tray bake tin or as I use a deep square tin, it's an all in one recipe once again so mix all the ingredients at once in one bowl, an electric or hand mixer should be used to gain lots of air in the mix.

8 oz self raising flour,
8 oz margarine,
8 oz of fine sugar,
4 large fresh eggs,
2.5 oz baking powder,
And what ever fruit you want scattered on the top, as you can see there is lots to choose from, I've also found some desiccated coconut in the cake mix gives a lovely moistness if you like it.

Bake for 45 mins conventional oven on the Middle shelf, so here is a tip if using raspberries,blueberries, brambles etc after about 30 mins baking scatter a few extra on top as the cake rises the first lot of fruit will be covered.
  Obviously if using larger fruit like plums, apples,oranges don't add anymore during baking, and lastly if liked when you've removed it from the oven allow it to cool a little in the tin but not to cool or it will sweat and be damp, a drizzle of honey on the cooling cake makes for a lovely glisten and also gives a slight caramel like crunch when cooled.

Different variations of the never fail sponge if done.

                                                Berry and jam-------------lemon and coconut

Mocca

Citrus

No fail sponge cake

First of then the easiest sponge cake and it never fails.....

You will need ... Two 8 inch cake tins lined,I use an electric mixer to get the most air in this all in one mix, the ingredients are...

 5 large fresh eggs,
 10 oz self raising flour,
 10 oz marg,
 10 oz sugar preferably fine,
 2 and a half teaspoons of baking powder,
 And a flavouring if required I've used vanilla, coffee, jams,juices etc.

 Now the easy bit put your oven on now and set a middle shelf ready temp should be 170 deg C, sieve flour and baking powder together in a bowl then add all the eggs and marg and sugar plus any flavouring your using and mix! It's a thick mix not pourable, split between your cake tins then knock the tins to remove trapped air and place in your preheated oven, bake for 45 mins conventional oven and check my cooking times for a fan I have them on the right for you. Test the sponge after the 45 mins with a skewer and remove and let cool in the tins for 10 mins, this will let the sponge come away from the tin sides for you. That's it fill with what you like when cooled but another cake tip, leave it alone! Cover it in a cake stand and dome,box , plastic container etc, tomorrow or in a couple of hours it will be so moist.

My ever increasing library

I love to collect and read old recipe books, it's about firstly the nostalgia and smell and the old style of cakes and decoration, but I love to cross reference recipes and find true diamonds of people's food heritage such as family recipes , stuff you don't get in print, but in these finds at antique fairs and car boots etc some of the hand written notes and borrowed recipes from other people's relatives/ friends are truly exciting to me. So let me show you some of my finds and treasures I've found,tried and evolved sometimes and you be the judge.

Introduction to the title and me

Hello firstly a line or two about myself, my Dad was a baker all of his life , so I lived a breathed cakes and the bakery all of my childhood, back then to bake myself was not an interest apart from eating them of course! But here is the thing, baking means more to me than a nice scrummy cake with a coffee or tea, it actually is means no words I can type, it's me, memories, family, past ,passion and above anything my Dad, sadly he's gone but every time I bake, read a recipe book, smell a recipe book.....weird! I'll explain, I collect antique recipe books as an added interest and trawl antique shops etc for kitchenalia etc, these are linked realy for research as my dad sadly never had recipes wrote down from my much loved childhood, not even when I asked him for them could he help me as the vast volumes they as brothers in the bakery used could not be quantified and down scaled, as measures hands were used three scoop handfuls /handful squirts of mixture for that cake etc, also they used massive purpose built ovens so again baking temperatures and times could not be transferred to a home oven. So there you have it my mission began to learn myself and learn from antique recipes and hope to become a credit to my dads memory so when people say oh your Cliffs daughter from Wherry and sons , I can say yes and gladly my dad passed on to me some of his baking talent! "Wherry and Sons" of Louth in Lincolnshire is sadly no more and my dad was one of the second generation ie the sons to run the bakery, an even greater tragedy is all three of the brothers who worked together in there life as bakers and a butcher in this same family business are now gone. I've had nothing but good reports and requests for my cakes and bakes and recipes so I did start to make a hand written cook book, logged findings and found out great tricks, I've sent recipes in to competitions and won, so I think I can bake a bit and decided to set up this blog to log recipes etc, I hope you find it interesting and if you find help of a great recipe to bake and give joy to others then mission accomplished as far as I'm concerned, and if anyone has any hints old recipes please post and let me know, I can never get enough ..... Here are some muched loved photos I have in my kitchen of my Dad and the Bakery and my mum.