Moist Chocolate Cake

This is the easiest recipe I've ever used to make a really moist chocolate cake. This recipe has a jam filling and buttercream topping, but its equally good with buttercream inside and out! You could also try buttercream middle and chocolate icing topping if that's your thing. 

Cake Ingredients

3oz good quality Cocoa Powder, sieved

8oz Plain Flour, sieved

1 1/2 tsp Bicarb of Soda

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

12 oz Golden Caster Sugar

2 Medium Eggs

4 1/4 fl oz Sunflower Oil

9 fl oz Semi-skimmed Milk

2 tsp Vanilla Extract (note extract, not essence)

9 fl oz Water, boiling from the kettle

For the topping and filling:

Icing sugar (quantity depends on how thick you want your buttercream

2 heaped tbsp cocoa powder

75g unsalted butter, softened

Raspberry Jam (you don't have to use raspberry, but the tartness of it cuts through the chocolate quite nicely)

Before you start baking you need to prepare your tins. You'll need two eight inch sandwich tins, which have been greased with butter. On a piece of greaseproof paper, draw around the bottoms of your tins. Cut out and use to line the bottom of the greased tin. Put to one side and prepare to pre-heat your oven to 180C

Method

In a large mixing bowl add all the cake ingredients except the boiling water.Using a hand whisk, thoroughly mix the ingredients until you have a very thick, smooth mixture. Start carefully adding the boiling water a little at a time and whisking as you go. Continue until all the boiling water is mixed in. The mix will be extremely runny by now. 

Pour the mixture into the two tins. They will probably be filled to the brim! Carefully place these into the middle of your pre-heated oven for at least 30 minutes. Ovens vary and they may take up to 50 minutes. Although the centre of these cakes remains moist when cooked, you can still check they're cooked with a skewer. It should come out clean of cake mix when it comes out. Don't worry about them sinking.

When you're happy they're cooked, take them out and leave them somewhere to cool. When they have cooled a little run a knife around the edge and turn out onto a cooling rack or plates. Peel off the paper from the bottom and allow to cool completely.

While they're cooling off you can start making the topping. Start by beating the softened butter until its creamy and smooth. A little at a time start sieving in a mixture of cocoa and icing sugar. At this point you need to decide if you want a think heavy buttercream or something lighter and spreadable. I like a thick buttercream so I keep adding icing sugar after many people would stop! As you're mixing it in a little at a time you can just stop when the consistency is right for you.

Once your cakes are cooled place one upside down on a serving plate. Spread a healthy layer of raspberry jam over the sponge. Carefully place the other half of the cake on top, with the raised side upwards.

Spread over a layer of buttercream as thick as you like. If you prefer, you can make extra buttercream and do the sides too! 

Leek, Potato and Cheese Pasties

This simple little recipe makes around eight small pasties, which are great eaten hot or cold.

Ingredients

12oz Potato, cut into small cubes
1 pint Vegetable Stock
6 Baby Shallots, cut in quarters
Half a Leek, sliced
Knob of Butter or tablespoon of Olive Oil
4oz Mature Cheddar Cheese or Vegan Cheese Alternative
Pastry (shortcrust or puff both work well, I use ready-made Rough Puff)
Half teaspoon of Dried Oregano
Half teaspoon of Dried Sage
1 Egg, beaten for glazing (optional)

Method

Bring the stock to the boil and add the potatoes. Simmer until the potatoes are part cooked and just softening.

In a small frying pan heat the butter or oil, then add the leeks and shallots. Saute until they are soft, but not browning.

Once the potato is cooked strain off the liquid. Put it on to a plate to got cold. 

Take the shallot and leek off the heat and also allow to cool.

While they are cooling, flour your rolling surface and roll out your pastry. Sprinkle the pastry with the herbs and roll these into it as you go. The pastry need to be fairly thin to cook well, but not so thin they'll split when you assemble the pasties. This will largely depend on which type of pastry you're using.

Using an upturned saucer as a template, cut out as many circles as you can get from your pastry. I usually manage about eight from a pack of ready made puff pastry. If using shortcrust I would make my own pastry from scratch, but rough puff is where I draw the line!

Once your pastry is cut pop it to one side while you make the filling.

In a large mixing bowl combine the grated cheese, cold potato and leek mix from the frying pan. If you like herbs you can add a few to the mix, but remember there are already some in the pastry! Make sure you mix it all well.

Using a desert spoon pile some of the mixture in the centre of a pastry disc. You can mould it quite eaisily to make the process a little less messy and get more of the filling into each pasty.

Preheat your oven to 200C. Ovens vary a lot, so you may wish to fractionally lower or increase the heat.

Brush beaten egg around the edge and pinch together the top edge, followed by the seam either side. When you've got all your pasties assembled, place them on a baking tray and brush the tops with egg.

 

Place in your oven and cook for around 20 minutes. Check your oven often as you may need to move your pasties around if your oven, like mine, is a bit old and has hot spots! When they have gone golden brown and probably spewed out a little melted cheese they'll be done. Don't worry if they take a little more or less time. Just keep an eye on them and take them out when they look like this...

This basic recipe can be adapted to suit your own tastes. My mother makes a vegan version quite easily and you can even add different fillings. You could easily include mushrooms or onions. You could even use a little sweet potato or parsnip mash in place of some of the potato mix.