Toffee Apple Cake

Ingredients

200 g dates, roughly chopped
200 ml milk (plus an extra splash)
250 g butter, softened (plus extra for greasing)
280 g self-raising flour
200 g light brown soft sugar
½ tsp baking powder
4 large eggs
1 tbsp mixed spice
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 small red apples
a squeeze lemon juice
handfull toffees
icing sugar, for dusting

Method

  1. Heat oven to 180℃ (160℃ fan). Grease and line a 20 x 30cm baking tray with baking parchment.
  2. Put the dates and milk in a small pan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and set aside for 15 mins to cool.
  3. Whizz the date mixture to a smooth purée in a food processor or blender, then scrape into a large mixing bowl.
  4. Tip in the butter, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, eggs, mixed spice and vanilla. Set aside while you prepare the apples.
  5. Quarter and core the apples, then slice quite thinly, tossing in a little lemon juice as you go.
  6. Quickly beat together the cake ingredients with an electric whisk until smooth, then scrape into the baking tray.
  7. Arrange the apple slices, overlapping in rows, on top of the cake - you should be able to get 3 rows lengthways down the tray.
  8. Bake for 45-50 mins until a skewer poked into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the tray.
  9. Put the toffees in a small pan with a good splash of milk and gently melt, stirring until runny.
  10. To finish, dust the cake with a little icing sugar. Drizzle the sauce all over the cake. Cut into squares or slices to serve.

Cauliflower Cheese

Vegetarian. Serves: 4 (easily). Prep. and cooking: 35 mins.

Always a reliable filling meal.

Ingredients

1 large cauliflower
50 g flour
75 g butter
½ l milk
100 g fresh cream
50 g grated Gruyère cheese
salt and pepper
pinch nutmeg

Technique

Wash the cauliflower and separate into small florets.  Boil gently in salted water for 10 minutes.

Prepare the Béchamel sauce:  Melt 50 g of butter in a saucepan and blend in the flour gradually, stirring constantly to avoid any lumps.  Pour in the milk slowly, stirring all the time.

Bring to boil and leave to look for 5 minutes.  Add the salt, pepper and nutmeg.  Remove from the heat and blend in the fresh cream.

Heat the oven to 230℃.  Strain the cauliflower.  Butter a gratin dish with the remaining 25 g of butter.  Arrange the cauliflower florets on it and pour over the Béchamel sauce..  Scatter with grated cheese and cook in the over for about 15 minutes before serving immediately.

Note:  Cheddar cheese can be substituted for the Gruyère quite happily and can also be mixed into the sauce, if desired..

Hot Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients

300 ml milk
75 g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tsp cornflour
50 g plain chocolate (at least), broken into pieces
25 g butter

Method

  1. Put the sugar and vanilla essence in a saucepan with most of the milk. Mix the cornflour with the remaining milk and add.
  2. Continue stirring over a low heat until all the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is smooth.
  3. Increase the heat and boil briskly until the sauce has thickened.
  4. Remove from the heat and stir in the broken chocolate and butter. Beat together until glossy.
  5. Pour into a suitably sized jug or gravy boat and serve with ice-cream and/or warm vanilla sponge.
This sauce can be frozen in containers. Reheat in a saucepan.

Rainbow Cake

Ingredients

For the cake:
340 g self raising flour
340 g white sugar
340 g butter or soft spread
6 large eggs (more if medium sized)
milk (or water), fi needed
baking powder
small cake tins, greased and lined
rainbow food colourings
For the icing:
about ½ a box Icing sugar (more or less, to taste)
cream cheese
butter or soft spread.

Method

  1. Weigh the mixing bowl and spoon and make a note of it.
  2. Pre-heat the oven to ???.
  3. Mix all the cake ingredients except the colours together and add the milk until the right consistency is reached.
  4. Reweigh the mixture.
  5. Work out the following:
    (second weighing – first weighing) / number of layers wanted.
  6. Put the weight of the answer into a small bowl, and mix in a small amount one of the colourings thoroughly. Put it in the greased/lined cake tin, and cook for 15 mins or until cooked through. Repeat for all layers.
  7. Wait until cool. Trim the cakes if lopsided to make them easier to stack.
  8. Mix together all the cream cheese and butter with most of the icing sugar and taste, adding more icing sugar if needed.
  9. Layer some frosting between the cakes, then slather the rest over the top and sides.
  10. Pin all the way through with a couple of skewers to stop it sliding around. Refrigerate to set the icing.
  11. Take out the skewers and eat!

Crunchy Topped Lemon Cake

Ingredients

For the cake:

100 g soft butter (or cooking spread)
175 g sugar
175 g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 medium eggs (or 2 extra large eggs)
4 tbsp milk
finely grated rind of 1 lemon

For the topping:

juice of 1 lemon
100 g sugar

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180℃ (160℃ fan). Grease and line a 18cm, deep, round cake tin or 1 kg loaf tin with baking parchment.
  2. Place all the cake ingredients into a bowl or mixer and beat well until smooth. Turn the mixture into the cake tin.
  3. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until ready.
  4. While the cake is baking, mix together the lemon juice and sugar until blended. When the cake comes out of the oven spoon the mix over the top. Do this while the cake is still hot so it melts in.
  5. Leave the cake in the tin until cold and the turn out and remove the paper.