Cream layer cake

This is a simple sponge, very similar to a Victoria sandwich cake with the addition of lemon zest – my grandmother's recipe for an afternoon tea.

255g self-raising flour

170g butter, softened

100g caster sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp salt and 1 tsp baking powder

zest of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 180ºC and line the bottom of two 20cm sandwich tins with greaseproof paper. My grandmother used one cake tin and then cut the cake into three - I decided two layers was enough!

Sieve together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the lemon zest and then the eggs, one at a time, alternating with the flour mixture. If you need to loosen the mix, add a little milk.

Beat well and then divide the mixture between the two tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

The recipe suggests spreading butter icing between the two cakes and adding a few drops of carmine – also known as cochineal - and strawberry flavouring to the mix.

I chose to use my home made strawberry jam for the middle and a butter icing for the top, flavoured with lemon juice as she suggests.

Butter Icing

200g icing sugar, sieved

75g butter, softened

lemon juice to taste (about half a lemon)

Simply cream the butter, icing sugar and lemon juice together and spread across the top of the cake. Alternatively, you could just dust the top with icing sugar.

Chewy flapjacks

Chewy oat bars, ideal for packed lunches for both adults and kids. Customise them by adding a pinch of cinnamon, dried fruits, grated apple, nuts or seeds. Once it's cooked and cooled, you could even drizzle some melted chocolate over the top!

This is one from my own recipe book and something I used to make all the time when my children were growing up.

250g oats

150g butter

75g golden syrup

75g sugar

Preheat the oven to 175ºC. Grease a 20cm square baking tin (I use a butter paper for this).

Put the butter, golden syrup and sugar into a saucepan and melt slowly. Then add the oats and give everything a good stir.

Pour the mixture into your greased tin and press it down with the back of a fork. Then put it into the oven for 25-30 minutes.

Check after 25 minutes and if they' re golden brown, take them out and allow to cool slightly before marking into squares.

Once cooled, remove from the tin and break along your marked lines.

These will keep in an airtight container for up to a week - unless your family get to them first!

Monsieur Bon Bon's Secret Fooj

This is very different from my grandmother's Chocolate Fudge recipe but is equally delicious and easier to make. The golden syrup adds a bit of texture and gives it a lovely glossy finish.

This recipe is credited to Ian Fleming, author of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car but perhaps better known as the creator of James Bond 007.

As a child, my brother was the proud recipient of the three volumes of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and this recipe is included at the back of Vol. 3. In the story, Madame Bon Bon gives the recipe of her world famous fudge to the Potts children as a reward for helping to prevent a burglary at their Parisian chocolate shop. Here it is, carefully written out by my grandmother on a scrap of paper. Enjoy!

450g granulated sugar

1 small tin of condensed milk (about 400g)

110g butter

1 tbsp water

4 tbsp dark chocolate (40g)

1 tbsp golden syrup

Butter a square tin (about 20cm)

Put all the ingredients into a saucepan. Melt slowly over a low heat until the mixture thickens slightly and is absolutely smooth. Then turn up the heat and boil very quickly (stirring occasionally) until it forms a soft ball when a sample is dropped into cold water. This takes about five minutes.

Remove from the heat and beat well with a wooden spoon.

Pour the mixture into a flat greased tin and when slightly cooled, mark into squares. Leave to set.

When cold, DEVOUR!