Making a cake

it’s really only fun to make a cake if you’re making it for someone else; I love cake-making but I’m not really a great cake-eater and when the children are away from home and when we have no visitors there are no cakes baked in this house. I used to enjoy the children’s birthdays when I would plan a special cake for them… I would usually make chocolate cakes for them, that was always their favourite, so although I like fruit cake and seed cake, it was nearly always chocolate.

The recipe I always use is one I first read when I was little and my mum would use the Be-Ro cookery book. it is the simplest recipe imaginable, if you want a bigger cake, just double or triple or whatever the amount of mixture:

• 4 oz (100gr) butter (or margarine)
• 4oz (100gr) caster sugar
• 4oz (100gr) self-raising flour
• 2 eggs ( and a little milk if the mixture seems too dry) – vanilla essence if you like

1. beat sugar and butter until the mixture is plain and fluffy
2. add flour (sieved) and eggs (beaten) alternatively, mixing lightly
3. pour into a greased and lined 7″ pan (one deep one or two shallow ones)
4. bake in a pre-heated oven 180ºC, 350ºF, Gas Mark 4, for 20-25 mins for two cakes, 40-45mins one deeper one
5. turn onto a rack and wait to cool
6. ice/decorate etc as you like

This is a plain cake – to make a chocolate one, substitute 1 oz (25gr) of flour with cocoa – NOT drinking chocolate, but cocoa. The mixture might be a little stiffer so the milk might be necessary, just a little. You may also find it takes a little longer to cook. I sometimes add a secret ingredient; I’m usually good at keeping secrets but I’ll share this one with you, I add a couple of dessert spoonfuls of Nutella or chocolate spread to the butter and sugar mixture. This makes a denser cake and needs a little longer to cook, but it is moist and delicious.

You see, it’s easy!