Chocolate sponge cake

A simple and basic chocolate sponge recipe that makes one cake or if you want a layer cake, double the quantities. This is from my grandmother's book and I imagine she made this frequently as the pages in her book are a bit tattered.

2 large eggs, beaten

110g caster sugar

110g flour

85g butter, softened

50g cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

Line the bottom of a 20cm sandwich tin with greaseproof paper.

Sieve the flour and cocoa into a bowl and add the baking powder.

Cream the butter and sugar together, then add the beaten eggs one at a time, alternating with some of the flour mixture. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and the milk and mix well. If you need to loosen the mix further (as the cocoa can make it dry) add a little more milk.

Pour the mixture into your prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Once the time is up, insert a skewer into the cake and if it comes out clean, it's done. Allow to cool and spread with your choice of icing.

My grandmother suggests a plain icing but I prefer buttercream. Or if you make a layer cake, fill it with whipped cream and serve with strawberries.

I've also tried this with a very indulgent chocolate ganache icing -

150g dark chocolate, 150ml double cream,

1 tsp vanilla extract and a knob of butter.

Simply put all the ingredients into a heavy saucepan and warm through slowly until the chocolate is melted. Take off the heat and whisk till smooth and thickened. Pour on top of the cake and let it drizzle down the sides.

Mint jelly

Mint is known to take over a garden, its roots burrowing underground and suddenly appearing just where you don’t want it. This is the answer, a home-made mint jelly to accompany your Sunday roast lamb! A very easy recipe with no straining through muslin required!

From my mother's recipe book -

1kg of apples, washed, cored and sliced (no need to peel)

450g (or more) of granulated sugar

600ml cider vinegar

(I did as my mother suggested and used 300ml water and 300ml vinegar)

1-2 tablespoons of finely chopped mint

Put your prepared apples into a saucepan with the liquid and cook slowly until tender. While this is happening, chop the mint.

When the apples are cooked, pour them into a fine sieve over a large bowl. Let this sit for up to an hour until all the juice is through.

Don’t be tempted to push it through the sieve or your jelly will be cloudy

Measure the liquid into a saucepan and add 450g sugar for each 600ml of juice. Boil for 8-10 minutes and test for set.

See my post on 'All you need to know about making jam' for instructions on how to do this.

If it’s ready, add the finely chopped mint – 1 tablespoon per 600ml of jelly.

Spoon the jelly into jars (you will get about 4 small jars from 1kg of apples) and store. As the recipe says, it will keep indefinitely given a chance!

While mint jelly is perfect for your Sunday roast, I've also added it to my pea and mint soup for that extra hint of mint.

Chocolate Fudge

A crumbly melt-in-the-mouth chocolate delight! Making fudge is easy as long as you keep an eye on it, and the results are well worth it. Here is my grandmother’s basic recipe.

550g caster sugar

350ml evaporated milk

110g dark chocolate, grated or chopped into small pieces

60g butter

Butter a square tin (about 20cm)

Melt the butter in a heavy based saucepan, then add remaining ingredients and allow to dissolve over a low heat, stirring continually.

Turn up the heat and bring to the boil quickly. The mixture will bubble up inside the pan, so keep stirring in case it catches on the bottom.

If you have a sugar thermometer (I don’t), keep boiling until the temperature reaches 115ºC. Or you can use the ‘soft ball test’ which is to drop a teaspoonful into cold water and if it forms a soft ball, it’s ready. Check after about 10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and beat with a wooden spoon until ‘granulated’. This takes about five minutes and you will notice it changing consistency. Now you can customise it by adding nuts or dried fruits, or just leave it plain.

Pour into the greased tin and when nearly set, mark into cubes. When it's completely cool, remove from the tin and the marks you made will allow you to cut it into squares without it breaking. This makes a lovely gift wrapped in tissue paper or cellophane.

If you have mastered this, try the famous fudge recipe from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ... Monsieur Bon Bon's Secret Fooj