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! 

Christmas Pastry

This is a slightly special pastry for the Christmas season, especially good for home-made mince pies!

The amount of mince-pies you will get from these quantities will vary depending on whether you favour lidded pies, open pies or mini mince pies!

8oz  plain flour

1 1/2 oz icing sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

5oz butter, straight from the fridge and cut into small cubes

Grated rind of one orange

4 tbsp cold water

(If you have no fresh oranges to hand you can make this recipe by substituting the rind and the water for and equal amount of orange juice)

Sift together the flour, icing sugar and cinnamon. Rub in the chilled butter until the whole mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Cold hands and chilled butter are essential to making good pastry. If you suffer from hot hands it is worth running them under cold water and drying thoroughly before rubbing in the butter. It is also why butter is best used straight from the fridge and not left at room temperature before rubbing.

Once you have that mixture looking like breadcrumbs you an stir in the grated orange rind. 

Add small amounts of the water until you have to knead the dough instead of stirring it. If you add too much water by mistake just add a little more sifted flour until the balance is restored. Once its properly kneaded it should be smooth and pliable.

Wrap the pastry in cling film and pop in the fridge until it is needed.

Marzipan

I have friends who don't like marzipan that will eat this! Perhaps because the natural taste of almonds is more mellow than the intense flavour of almond essence. Naturally, if you do want the strong marzipan taste, then a few drops of essence will go along way :-)

Ingredients

4oz ground almonds

3oz icing sugar

3oz sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp lemon juice

Method

Mix together the sifted icing sugar, ground almonds, sugar and lemon.

Add enough beaten egg to make a stiff paste. Add almond essence if you require a stronger taste. If you are using it to make sweets its also fun to add a few drops of colour.