Classic Chocolate Cake

Get your chocolate fix with this strikingly simple chocolate cake. 

Who doesn’t love cake? This is a great basic cake recipe that everyone should know. I remember the first time I made a cake, my mum helped but didn't know what to do when the eggs curdled, so we rang my dad (who was at work) and badgered him to instruct us remotely. That cake turned out well and ever since I've remembered the mantra four, four, four, and two (4oz sugar, 4oz butter, 4oz self-raising flour and 2 eggs)  or six, six, six, and three (6oz sugar, 6oz butter, 6oz self-raising flour and 3 eggs) for a sandwich cake, ever since and it has proved invaluable when a cake is needed in short order.

Topping the cake with a simple ganache elevates a simple cake to a whole new level and will impress anyone.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

So, it's terribly late and I've been rushing around all day sorting things out, but I did promise you the red velvet cake today. Therefore, with 10 minutes on the clock before midnight, I'm dashing this off. I apologise if this doesn't quite have my usual panache but I'm sure you can still tell it's me! And, to be honest, they say that a picture is worth a thousand words and this cake, if I do say so myself, is fairly spectacular. I also forgot to take photos of the snowman/penguin making process so I can't talk about that anyway!

Although all of these photos are of the cake I made for yesterday's christmas party, the recipe is actually for cupcakes, as I'm aware that students read my blog (hi there) and probably won't want to make a three layered cake and have access to all the tins etc. Cupcakes on the other hand only require cases and ideally but not necessarily a cupcake tray to support the sides as they cook. To make a three layered cake you just need to double all of the quantities and bake it for 25 minutes in three 8 inch cake tins. The mix makes 18 fairy cakes (the best size) or 12 american cupcakes (far too big, and anyway, you get less of them!). For the larger ones just add 3-5 minutes to the baking time.

Raspberry And Nectarine Upside-down Cake

Well, it's been a while, I tried to write a recipe for vanilla ice cream the other day but realised I hadn't made it quite right and I want to make sure it's a good recipe before I share it with you. I've been home for reading week and, in honour of my dad's flying visit back, we cooked a roast - for which I made pudding. It's a great dessert as it involves both cake and raspberries; these are a few of my favourite things (when the dogs bite, when the bee stings ... sorry, got carried away there!) and because you have to spoon it into a bowl it counts as pud, unlike a proper cake. Unfortunately for me I decided to make the cake part by hand and remembered how much easier it is when you have machines to do it for you. If you make your own cakes with the bowl and spoon method then I commend you - you obviously have better arm muscles than I do (maybe I should work mine more at the gym)!

Creaming thee butter and sugar

You can use either peaches or nectarines for the other part of the fruit, depending on what you can get in the supermarket. I prefer to use fresh fruit but so long as you drained them well I see no reason why you could use tinned fruit instead. Even if the cake looks cooked before the 40 minutes in the oven is up, don't take it out, like my one yesterday, it will still be liquid in the middle! Just put tin foil over the dish to stop the top from browning any more. I make mine in advance and reheat it in a low oven whilst we eat our main course, it saves on stress!

Red Velvet Birthday Cake

One of my friends came over for supper last night, and, since it's her birthday today (happy birthday, Grace!) I decided to bake her a birthday cake. The only flaw in this plan was when I realised, five minutes before serving said cake, that we didn't have any matches in the flat to light the candles with!  Cue a candle-less cake with an uninterrupted pattern.

I love to decorate the cakes I make but I often don't due to the amount of time and space it requires to do a proper job (halls of residence especially hindered my cake inspirations last year). However, I now have a lovely kitchen in my new flat with an orange KitchenAid mixer sitting in pride of place on the work surface; a fact that makes me keen to get out my toolbox and start decorating again.

My choice of cake for the occasion was a red velvet cake with cream cheese "frosting" (made from the Hummingbird Bakery recipe). Unusual ingredient of the day? White wine vinegar. Fortunately you don't taste that particular ingredient in the finished cake, it just helps the bicarbonate of soda to do its magic. To top the cake I used a curly stencil and filled it in with my new Callebaut cocoa powder (it smells so good!), which worked surprisingly well as only one bit of powder fell where it wasn't supposed to.

Grace was suitably impressed by the pretty pattern and white icing. Most importantly it tasted pretty good too!