Would a competent cook share a great chocolate cake recipe with me??

Some of the most famous archaeological samples of almonds are the fruits found in Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt but these days we are more likely to find them on the top of a cake, as in this recipe, rather than buried alongside our kings and queens.

This almond cake recipe uses a very easy sponge cake topped with almonds, and glazed with honey. The delicious homemade cake is nice and nutty with a hint of honey from the glaze. It is a very easy and quick cake recipe to follow. Try different honeys for a slight variation in flavour.

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Ingredients

3oz…85g soft butter, or margarine
3oz…85g light brown sugar
2 medium eggs, beaten
6oz…175g self-raising flour
(or plain flour with baking powder added)
1 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp milk
2 tbsp clear honey
2oz..60g flaked almonds

For the glaze:
8oz…225g clear honey
2 tbsp lemon juice

One greased and lined 7in/18cm round cake tin

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Preheat the oven to 180 deg C, 350 deg F, Gas Mark 4.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Add the beaten eggs, margarine, brown sugar, milk and honey. Beat with a wooden spoon for about one minute to produce a well blended cake mixture with a soft dropping consistency – that is, the mix should just drop from the wooden spoon when tapped on the side of the mixing bowl.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin and level the surface with a knife or the back of a spoon. Scatter the sliced almonds in a single layer on the top of the cake, or arrange them in a neat and tidy pattern if you wish!

Transfer the cake to the oven and bake for about 45-50 minutes until springy to the touch, or until a skewer, or similar, comes out clean from the centre of the cake.

While the cake is baking make the glaze by mixing the lemon juice and honey in a small pan and heating gently for a few minutes. Test the glaze by pouring it over the back of a spoon to see if it leaves a sticky coating.

Remove the cake from the oven when cooked and while still hot, pour the glaze over the cake. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before removing from the tin and leave to cool completely before serving this delicious homemade cake.

Easy Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

4 oz…110g self raising flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
4 oz…110g soft margarine at room temperature
4 oz…110g caster sugar
2 large eggs
1 tbs cocoa powder

For the filling

2 oz…55g butter or quality margarine
4 oz…110g icing/confectioners’ sugar
1 rounded tbs cocoa powder
A little milk (approx 2 teaspoons)

Two 7 in (18cm) cake tins, at least 1.5in (4cm) deep, greased and bases lined with greaseproof/waxed paper

This is a really easy chocolate cake to make. Sift the baking powder and flour into a large mixing bowl. Next, make sure the margarine is soft, then simply add all the other ingredients to the bowl and beat them well until everything is thoroughly mixed together. An electric hand mixer will give better results. The mixture should just drop off a wooden spoon when tapped on the side of the bowl, so if needed mix in 1-2 teaspoons of warm water to get the right consistency.

Put half the mixture in each of the prepared tins and place on the centre shelf of the preheated oven for about thirty minutes. The top of the sponge should be springy to the touch when cooked.

Meanwhile prepare the filling. Put the margarine, sieved icing sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl and mix it together with a little milk until it’s very smooth.

When the cake is cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool for about a minute. Loosen the edges with a knife and turn the sponges out onto a wire rack to cool. Carefully remove the lining paper and when completely cool spread the filling onto one sponge and sandwich together. To finish, dust the top with icing/confectioners’ sugar if you like.

Stand back and admire your easy chocolate cake masterpiece!

Easy Lemon Cake

Ingredients

4 oz…110g self raising flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
4 oz…110g soft margarine at room temperature
4 oz…110g caster sugar
2 large eggs
Grated rind of a medium lemon
3 tsps of lemon juice

To finish:

Icing/confectioners’ sugar, lemon curd

Two 7 in (18cm) cake tins, at least 1.5in (4cm) deep, greased and bases lined with greaseproof/waxed paper

This easy lemon cake recipe only takes a few minutes to mix. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Next, making sure you use soft margarine, simply add all the other ingredients to the bowl and beat them well. A hand-held electric mixer will give good results. The mixture should be wet enough to just drop from a wooden spoon when tapped on the side of the mixing bowl. If needed mix in 1-2 teaspoons of warm water to get the right consistency.

The mixture is divided between the prepared (greased and lined) tins. Bake on the centre shelf of the preheated oven for about thirty minutes, or until the top of the sponge is springy to touch.

Remove from the oven when cooked and allow to cool for about a minute. Carefully loosen the edges with a knife and turn the sponges onto a wire rack to cool. Gently, remove the lining paper and when cooled completely, spread lemon curd on the sponges and sandwich together. To finish, dust the top with icing (confectioners’) sugar if you like.

produces a cake that will be enjoyed by everybody as one of the ultimate comfort foods. Chocolate cakes come in all shapes and sizes but never fail to satisfy when a little indulgence is needed. I haven’t tried all the recipes yet but it’s my ambition to do so. It’s a tough job but somebody has to do it!!

Meanwhile, here’s a fairly standard moist chocolate cake recipe that produces a nice cake which everybody should enjoy. The ingredients are in both metric and imperial, but don’t mix them – use one or the other or this moist chocolate cake recipe may be a disaster!

Metric Ingredients

275g soft brown sugar
25g cocoa powder

225g flour
2 x 5m spoons baking powder
1 x 2.5 ml spoon bicarbonate of soda
1 x 2.5 ml spoon salt
100 g butter/margarine
1 x 5 ml spoon vanilla essence
2 eggs – separated
150 ml sour cream

Icing:

100 g softened butter/margarine
225 g icing sugar
100 g plain chocolate pieces
1 x 15 ml spoon milk
25 g chopped nuts

Imperial Ingredients

10 oz soft brown sugar
1 oz cocoa powder
3 fl oz water
8 oz flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 oz butter/margarine
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs – separated
1/4 pint sour cream

Icing:

4 oz softened butter/margarine
8 oz icing sugar
4 ozplain chocolate pieces
1 tbs spoon milk
1 oz chopped nuts

Heat the oven to 180 deg C, 350 deg F, Gas Mark 4.

Put the water, cocoa powder and 3oz/75g of the sugar in a pan, stir and heat gently until simmering. After a few minutes remove the smooth mixture from the heat and allow to cool down.

Place the all the dry ingredients in a suitable bowl and sift in the flour. In another bowl gently cream together the butter/margarine and the rest of the sugar until fluffy before adding the egg yolks and vanilla essence. Continue beating unti light. Add the cooled cocoa mixture, then fold in the dry ingredients and sour cream a little at a time.

Finally, beat the egg whites until stiff, and fold gently into the cake mixture to achieve a uniform mixture.

Grease a deep 7 in/17.5 cm round baking tin, pour the cake mixture in and transfer to the pre-heated oven.

Follow this moist chocolate cake recipe accurately and typically the cake will take about 1 1/4 hours to bake but as always, ovens vary and the cake should be tested. It is cooked When a skewer or cocktail stick comes out of the cake clean.

Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack for a few minutes before carefully removing from the tin and returning to the rack to allow it to cool completely.

For the icing, use an electric or hand whisk to beat the butter/margarine until fluffy and light. Continue beating gently while adding the icing sugar until well mixed.

Melt the chocolate with the milk in a bowl over a pan of hot water. When conpletely melted add it to the creamed butter and sugar mix and blend gently together.

Split the cake horizontally into two layers and spread about two-thirds of the icing onto the bottom layer.

Stack the top layer back on the cake and spread the top of the cake with the remaining icing.

Sprinkle with the chopped nuts to finish, and find some friends to congratulate you on finding a moist chocolate cake recipe, and to share the homemade cake with!

More links to easy recipes at the foot of the page – these are variations on the easy sponge cake where all the ingredients are mixed together in a bowl, split between two tins and baked – it really couldn’t be easier!

Easy Sponge Cake Recipe

Ingredients

4 oz…110g self raising flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
4 oz…110g soft margarine at room temperature
4 oz…110g caster sugar
2 large eggs
2-3 drops vanilla essence

To finish:

Icing/confectioners’ sugar, jam

Two 7 in (18cm) cake tins, at least 1.5in (4cm) deep, greased and bases lined with greaseproof/waxed paper

This is a really easy cake recipe. Sift the baking powder and flour into a large mixing bowl. Next, make sure the margarine is soft, then simply add all the other ingredients to the bowl and beat them well until everything is thoroughly mixed together. An electric mixer will give better results. The mixture should just drop from a wooden spoon when tapped on the side of the bowl, so if needed mix in 1-2 teaspoons of warm water to get the right consistency.

Divide the mixture between each of the lined and greased tins and place on the centre shelf of the preheated oven for about thirty minutes. When cooked, the top of the sponge should be springy to the touch.

Remove from the oven when cooked and allow to cool for about a minute. Loosen the edges with a knife and turn the sponges out onto a wire rack to cool. Carefully remove the lining paper and when completely cool spread your favourite jam on the sponge and sandwich together. To finish, dust the top with icing/confectioners’ sugar if you like.

Cakes like these are so versatile – you can make the basic sponge layers and freeze them until needed. Then choose your filling and topping and make a different cake every time.

No prizes for guessing that the Victoria sponge was named after Queen Victoria, who enjoyed a piece of plain sponge cake with her afternoon tea. The traditional Victoria sponge consists of jam and whipped cream sandwiched between two sponge layers, and the top of the cake is not iced or decorated, but many cooks like to finish the cake with a little sugar or icing.

So, enough of the history, let’s start the simple simple sponge cake recipes with this classic for a Victoria Sponge made the conventional way by creaming butter and sugar together, adding the eggs and then the flour and salt.

Metric/Imperial Ingredients

225g/8oz butter or margarine
225g/8oz caster sugar
4 eggs beaten
225g/8oz self raising flour
Pinch of salt
3 15ml spoons/3 tbs warm water

American Ingredients

1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
4 eggs beaten
2 cups flour sifted with 2 tsps baking powder
Pinch of salt
3 tbs warm water

Cream the butter/margarine with the sugar until light and fluffy, and then slowly beat in the eggs. Sift the flour and salt together and fold gently into the egg mixture. Sufficient warm water can be added to make the mixture just drop from a spoon.

Prepare two 8in/ 20cm cake tins (layer pans) by greasing and lining with paper before pouring half the mixture into each tin.

Bake in the centre of the oven at Gas 5, 190 deg C, 375 deg F until golden and risen. When cooked, turm out of the tins and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

Sandwich the layers together with jam or buttercream. Sprinkle the top with icing (confectioners’) sugar, or drizzle with glace icing and serve with an excellent cup of tea or coffee.

Double Chocolate Gateau

Ingredients

230g…8oz margarine or softened butter
230g…8oz soft brown sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
230g…8oz self-raising flour
60g…2oz cocoa powder
2-3 tbsp milk
250ml…9fl oz whipping cream, for filling
230g…8oz white chocolate pieces, for filling

For icing:
115g…4oz butter, or margarine
115ml…3fl oz double cream
350g…12oz plain chocolate pieces

Chocolate curls, or flakes, and icing sugar for decoration

One greased and base-lined 8in/20cm deep round cake tin

Pour into a bowl or small jug and allow to cool before chilling for about two hours. Gently whisk until the cream and chocolate filling just forms soft peaks.

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C, 350 deg F, Gas Mark 4.

Beat the butter, or margarine, with the sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Slowly and gently beat in the eggs, alternating with a little flour to prevent splitting. Sift in the remaining flour and cocoa powder, and carefully fold into the mixture. It should form a soft dropping consistency – it should just drop from a spoon when tapped on the side of the bowl. Add a little milk if the cake mixture is too dry.

Transfer to the prepared cake tin and place in the centre of the oven for about 45 minutes. Test towards the end of the baking time by pushing a skewer, or similar, into the centre of the cake. It will come out clean when the chocolate cake is cooked.

Place on a wire rack and leave in the tin to cool for 5-10 minutes. Turn out carefully and leave on the rack to cool completely before finishing.

When cool, carefully slice the cake into three equal layers. Use the chilled, whipped white chocolate filling to sandwich the layers together.

Melt the plain chocolate in a bowl over hot water. Add the butter and cream and stir gently to form a smooth icing. Allow to cool a little and then spread over the top and sides of the layered sponge cake, smoothing with a pallet knife.

For the finishing touch, decorate by sprinkling chocolate curls, or flaked chocolate over the cake and dusting with a little icing sugar.

Serve your double chocolate gateau with whipped cream to enjoy the ultimate chocolate luxury!