I like to have a cake in the tin at weekends, it make me feel a bit Ma Larkin and reminds me of proper weekend teas when I was young.  There was usually a good walk on a Saturday afternoon so when you got home tea was well deserved.  Crumpets, scotch pancakes or cheese on toast followed by scones perhaps or cake, probably accompanied by the wrestling on World of Sport – that sort of thing.  I don’t know if these feasts were purely a reward for hiking up hill and dale or whether the grown ups were using them to line the stomach before those epic 70’s dinner parties.

I remember them well and watched them through the bannister halfway up the stairs.  The ladies in long dresses with hair up would arrive in a cloud of Diorella or Rive Gauche.  The men in velvet jackets or occasionally in slightly racy frilly shirts, hair slicked back – it was a different sartorial time.

Quite a different time for food too and the puddings stick particularly in my memory.  The first thing being the choice, there were always several puddings on offer, why was that?  Back then there were profiteroles, brandy snaps filled with cream, lemon mousse always towering high above the sides of the white souffle dish, pots au chocolate in regulation little china urns, sliced oranges with caramel shards in the juice – all of them still delicious to this day but also very much of the time.  Being in possession of the Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook, an early Mary Berry, I was keen for my Mother to offer such thrills as the Loganberry Mousse which looked a proper treat in the crystal bowl in the picture.  Loganberries being in short supply in North Yorkshire during the 70’s this sadly never graced the table chez nous.

Following this array of desserts, the cupboard of the sideboard would be opened and the stickies would appear, Cointreau, Kummel, Royal Mint Chocolate Liqueur, Port… You know what, it is not surprising a few crumpets were required as ballast before dinners like these.

So I like a cake in the tin.  Whilst I am more than happy with a simple bake, the fabulous weather we had this week required something special, more celebratory as we heralded the arrival of Spring (so late it is almost time for summer).  Thus my triple layer lemon cake for what could be more sprightly and springlike than lemon.  A light sponge with tangy lemon curd and smooth soothing cream as an extra little treat.  It is simple but thoroughly spoiling, worthy of a birthday as much as being a Saturday tea cake.  It is not however obligatory to follow this with a four course 1970’s dinner.  Now, where is my roll on lip gloss….

Lemon Cake

165g soft butter

165g golden caster sugar

3 eggs

165g self raising flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

75 ml milk

1/2 pot lemon curd

300ml double cream

Icing sugar

Preheat oven to 170 and grease a deep (7-8cm) 20cm tin.  Cream the butter and sugar together for five minutes until light and fluffy, add the eggs one at a time whisking well between each one, then sift in the flour and baking powder.  Stir in the milk and then put the mixture into the tin, smooth the top and bake for 45-55 minutes until well risen and a skewer comes out clean.  Leave to cool for five minutes in the tin and the cool completely on a wire rack.  Meanwhile whisk the cream until it holds soft peaks but is not stiff.  When the cake is cold cut into three, I find a bread knife easiest for this, and spread the bottom layer with lemon curd and then cream, top with another slice of cake and repeat.  Put on the top layer, dust with icing sugar and serve.   This is squidgy and fabulous and you may need forks to eat it.  Keep in the fridge if you don’t finish it off in one go.

I have entered this cake into Layer Cake Tea Time Treats hosted by What Kate Baked and Lavender and Lovage – check out both these sites for delicious things to cook!

I have been reading a lot recently about the benefits of alternative ingredients, spelt and buckwheat instead of regular flour, agave nectar and honey in place of sugar etc.  I’ve already reduced the sugar in my normal brownie recipe, use maple syrup and or/honey in my granola and so on.  Little steps but I don’t want to simply throw out all those recipes that we love – I can just do a bit of tinkering here and there.

I often make spelt bread and like its earthy slightly nutty flavour but was a little apprehensive about cake baking with it, how would it behave, would it rise, would it be heavy?  Well, what a marvellous surprise, these little cakes are fluffy and light, rose perfectly and are a real treat.

We have chocolate left over from Easter and an open packet of amaretti biscuits I was keen to use which is what gave me this idea.   I crumbled some of the amaretti over the top of the cakes as you can see in the picture and also crushed a few and added them to the batter before baking.  They add a nice extra dimension and texture but if you really want that almond hit you might add a couple of drops of almond extract.  Or, I hear myself think, perhaps add some Amaretto to the icing (grown ups only)….  Alternatively dispense with all things almondy and make them simply chocolate if you prefer.  Anyway, here they are, the cakes themselves are not seriously sweet but taste just right when combined with the chocolate ganache topping and am I right in thinking these almost qualify as health food…..

Chocolate and Amaretti Spelt Cakes

100g butter

100g golden caster sugar

100g white spelt flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons cocoa

2 eggs

2 tablespoons milk

6 amaretti biscuits

Preheat the oven to 180 and put 6 large (muffin rather than fairy) cake cases on a bun tin.   Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, add the eggs and then sift in the flour, cocoa and baking powder.  Mix in the milk and add 4 crumbled amaretti if you are using them.  Divide the mixture between the cases and bake for 15 minutes.  Leave to cool on a wire tray.

For the topping melt 25g dark chocolate, 25g milk chocolate and 4 tablespoons double cream, mix together and leave to cool and thicken.  Spread over the cakes and sprinkle over the remaining 2 crushed amaretti if using.  Makes 6.

I feel I have just got over the Christmas cooking and eating and now New Year’s Eve presents itself.  Whilst I realise the dates remain the same year in year out, it can take me by surprise.  Perhaps because of the way days drift into one another and we seem to be asking ourselves is it Monday or Tuesday.  Thus, if you are like me you may need a last minute pudding up your sleeve and this could be it.

A rich, elegant and delicious pud, a perfect way to finish dinner, not just at the end of the year but anytime – special enough for a treat but not fussy or frilly.  The little black dress of puddings if you will.  You can make this today and it will still be fabulous in a couple of days if you wrap it in foil and keep in a cool place, not hard at this time of year.  In fact the cake you see in the photograph was one I made before Christmas and froze – it was just as good as if made on the day.   We had it with cold double cream but whipped would be lovely too, or creme fraiche if you prefer.

Chocolate Pudding Cake

175g butter

175g plain chocolate

175g caster sugar

175g ground almonds

6 eggs

Preheat the oven to 160.  Butter and base line with parchment a 20cm cake tin. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over simmering water.  Meanwhile, whizz the sugar and butter together in a processor, add the eggs one at a time and the ground almonds.  Finally add the melted chocolate and stir to combine.  Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes.   Leave to cool and peel the paper off bottom before putting onto a serving plate and dusting with icing sugar if you want.   Serves 8.

Happy New Year!