5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional but why leave these out?)
a small splash of vanilla extract


1 large coffee mug


Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well.Add the egg and mix thoroughly.Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract and mix again.Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high).The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world?Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

CLASSIC COFFEE WALNUT CAKE(Recipe courtesy of Lilly )

Preparation and Cooking Time is 1 hour 15 minutes
(I used an 8 inch tin )
200g softened butter

3/4 cup (165g) firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup (110g) caster sugar

3 eggs

2 cups (300g) self raising flour

1/4 cup (60ml) strong espresso coffee (equal to a double espresso)

1/2 cup (125ml) milk

1/2 cup (35g) walnuts

18 walnut halves for decoration

COFFEE BUTTER CREAM

200g softened butter

2 cups (300g) icing sugar

2 tablespoons very strong espresso coffee

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (160 degrees fan forced). Grease a deep round pan and line the base with baking paper.

2. Beat the butter and both sugars in a small bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time; beat until just combined between additions.

3. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Stir in half the sifted flour, then half the combined coffee and milk, stir in remaining flour, coffee mixture, the chopped walnuts.

4. Spread mixture into prepared pan. Bake for about 50 minutes or until skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Stand for 5 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool.

5. COFFEE BUTTER CREAM: Meanwhile, beat the butter in a small bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the sifted icing sugar and coffee until well combined.

6. Optional. Split cold cake in half. Place one cake layer on serving plate, cut side up. Spread with 1/3 of the Coffee Butter Cream. Top with remaining cake, cut side down, then spread top and side of cake with the remaining Coffee Butter Cream. Arrange walnut halves over the cake.

Suitable to freeze. Not suitable to microwave.

Sultana Cake

A good moist,easy to make, cake that keeps well if it gets the chance. The only snag is you have to remember to soak the fruit overnight !

8 oz sultanas
4 oz butter
6 oz sugar
6 oz SR flour
2 small eggs , beaten
fruit juice, cold tea or water
Chopped nuts if desired

Put the sultanas in a bowl, cover with the liquid and leave to soak overnight. Next day set oven to 350°F, 180° C. or Gas Mark 4. Grease and line a 6-7 inch round cake tin. Bring the sultanas and liquid to the boil in a pan . Then strain and mix the fruit whilst hot with the butter in a bowl. Mix in the sugar and eggs, fold in the flour and mix well . Lastly add the chopped nuts . Put in the tin and bake for 30 minutes. Lower the oven to 300°F 150° or Gas Mark 2 and continue baking for a further hour until firm in the centre. Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes , then turn out onto a wire rack
Enjoy

Seville Orange Marmalade

SEVILLE ORANGE MARMALADE 1 (Quick and easy -using Pressure Cooker to soften fruit )

2 lbs Seville Oranges
4 lb Granulated Sugar
2 pints water
2 Lemons

Wash oranges. Squeeze juice and collect pips in muslin bag and tie up. Put water, orange peel, orange juice and pips into pressure cooker and cook on high for 10 mins.( Peel should be very soft )Cool. Squeeze bag of pips to extract maximum pectin . Remove peel, cut up and return to pan.Add juice of lemons and sugar. Boil rapidly until a set is reached(15-20 mins )
Leave to stand a few mins and put in jars.Yield about 6 lbs.

SEVILLE ORANGE MARMALADE 2

1½lbs Seville Oranges
4 pints water
juice 1 lemon
Sugar

Wash the oranges and cut into halves. Squeeze out juice. Collect pips in a muslin bag. Cut the peel into shreds and put into bowl with bag of pips,orange juice,lemon juice and water.Leave overnight
Transfer to pan and cook gently until peel is soft-about 1½ hours.Remove bag of pips.
Add 1lb of sugar to each pint of liquid and bring to the boil .Boil rapidly until a set is reached -15 -20 mins. Leave to cool a few mins then pot. Yield about 6 lbs
ENJOY !

A FEW NOTES

The second recipe is from Seville. I think perhaps the Barber used it when he wasn't cutting hair or singing .

If no muslin bag is available a J. cloth is a good substitute

A pressure cooker reduces softening time considerably. Peel must be soft before sugar is added because it won't soften after.

For a darker marmalade substitute 1 ounce of treacle for 1 ounce of the sugar .

If a lot of scum forms on the surface of the marmalade as it boils a small piece of butter helps disperse it.

To test for set.Put a spoonful of marmalade on a cold plate.If the surface wrinkles when pushed with the finger it is ready.10 to 15 minutes cooking is usually enough.If it's boiled too much it won't set

I used to have a sugar boiling thermometer but two years ago I happily plunged it into boiling marmalade and to my amazement it came out minus the glass bowl and mercury so I had to throw the lot away I haven't bothered with one since.

When cooked leave the marmalade in the pan until a skin forms -- about 15 minutes then pot in warm jars-- this stops the peel from floating to the top.

Fellow Marmalade Makers have I forgotten anything or have you any more tips?

If all this sounds a bit of a hassle wait until the supermarket has marmalade on offer (this usually coincides with your labelling of your very last jar) and get stocked up .
GOOD LUCK !!

Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Cake

6 ozs. plain flour, 3 tablespoons cocoa powder,1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, 5 ozs. caster sugar, 2 tablespoons black treacle, 2 eggs, beaten, 5 fluid ozs. sunflower oil, 5 fluid ozs. milk .Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and sugar into a large bowl. Add treacle, eggs ,oil and milk. Beat well , for at least two minutes, until smooth..Divide mixture between two 7" greased and baselined sandwich tins. Bake at 325°F . 160° C. or Gas 3 for 30- 35 minutes or until well risen .Fill and decorate as required ( I used chocolate and vanilla butter cream with melted chocolate topping)
SHARE AND ENJOY !

Pikelets

Make a batter with :- 5 fl.ozs water, 5fl.ozs milk, 1tbs oil , 8 oz (bread or plain) flour, 1 tsp salt ,1tsp sugar, 1½ tsp dried yeast.I use the dough programme on a breadmaker (Total time 1½ hrs. consisting of- 5 mins mix -5 mins rest- 5 mins mix again- 1¼ hrs rise) but it could equally be mixed in a processor or by hand and put to rise in a warm place.When risen and bubbly mix ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda with 4 tbs water and add to batter. Leave another 30mins Batter ready and pikelets ready for flip
Put spoonsful of batter on hot griddle or in large frying pan . When bubbles rise and pop flip over and cook other side ( No shortage of helpers at this stage-although they seem to melt away at the clearing up stage )Makes about 10 and they freeze well.

Isabella's Sponge Gingerbread

ISABELLA’S SPONGE GINGERBREAD
8 ozs sugar
12 ozs plain flour
9 ozs corn oil
9 ozs water
2 eggs
4 ozs treacle
5 ozs syrup
1 tsp bi-carb
2 tsp ginger
Preheat oven to 150 º, Gas Mark 2.Grease and line baking tin.
Cream sugar and eggs. Beat in oil with syrup and treacle
Sift flour and add a tablespoonful at a time.
Dissolve bi-carb in water. Add ginger. Add
liquid to mixture and pour into tin.
Bake for about an hour.