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PREPARATION TIME
10 minutes
COOKING TIME
20 minutes, plus chilling
100g (3½oz) caster sugar
200g (7oz) butter, softened and diced
300g (11oz) self-raising flour, sifted
400ml (14fl oz) dulce de leche or boiled condensed milk (see recipe introduction (#ulink_6885b0ce-7ada-5f6a-a98f-d0666d8771f6))
125g (4½oz) salted peanuts, roughly chopped
200g (7oz) milk chocolate, broken into pieces
20 x 30cm (8 x 12in) Swiss roll tin
* Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas mark 4. Line the base of the Swiss roll tin with baking parchment.
* In a food processor, whiz together the sugar, butter and flour for the shortbread base until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Alternatively, rub together the butter and flour in a bowl with your fingertips and stir in the sugar. Tip into the prepared tin and press down with your hands or a palette knife to level out the mixture.
* Place in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown all over, then remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin.
* Once it is cool, spread over the dulce de leche to cover the shortbread, then press the roughly chopped peanuts into it, making sure they are evenly distributed.
* Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water and allow to melt. Remove from the heat and pour over the peanut-studded dulce de leche, allowing it to cool, then leave in the fridge for 1–2 hours to set. Once set, cut the mixture into squares in the tin and serve.
Easy lemon cake (#ulink_e51f4dde-bfff-5397-b428-d26a399e37a2)
As the title of this recipe suggests, this cake is ridiculously simple to make. It’s just a matter of whizzing all the ingredients together in a food processor before tipping the mixture into a tin and baking in the oven. If you don’t have a food processor, it’s still very easy to make by hand and tastes just as delicious, either way!
Serves 4–6 (v)
PREPARATION TIME
10 minutes
COOKING TIME
30–35 minutes
110g (4oz) butter, softened and diced
110g (4oz) caster sugar
Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
2 eggs
150g (5oz) plain flour, sifted
½ tsp baking powder
1 tbsp milk
For the icing
175g (6oz) icing sugar
2–3 tbsp lemon juice
20cm (8in) diameter spring-form/loose-bottomed cake tin
* Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas mark 4. Line the base of the tin with a disc of baking parchment and grease the sides with butter.
* Place all the ingredients for the cake in a food processor and whiz for 1 minute or just until the mixture comes together. Alternatively, cream the butter until soft using a hand-held electric beater, then beat in the sugar and lemon zest, whisk in the eggs one at a time and fold in the remaining ingredients. Tip the mixture into the prepared tin, smoothing over the top with a palette knife or the back of a spoon.
* Place in the oven and bake for 30–35 minutes or until golden on top and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave to stand for 5 minutes before removing from the tin and placing on a wire rack to cool.
* To make the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add just enough lemon juice to make a soft icing with the consistency of thick double cream. (Too thick and it won’t ‘self-spread’, too thin and it will run off the cake and onto the plate beneath.)
* Place the cake on a serving plate and tip the icing into the middle of the cake, allowing it to spread itself, then cut into slices to serve.
Rachel’s tip
If the icing is a bit stiff and won’t spread easily, dip a palette knife in boiling water and use this to gently smooth the icing over the surface of the cake.
Orange torte (#ulink_3bbafd0e-bb6e-5df2-907c-e7b94f6d40e8)
My mum’s friend Maxine gave me this amazingly easy recipe. It uses unpeeled oranges, steamed and puréed, making the cake gorgeously moist with a taste that is unsurprisingly reminiscent of marmalade.
Serves 8–10 (v)
PREPARATION TIME
5 minutes
COOKING TIME
1¼ hours
2 oranges, cut in half and all pips removed
200g (7oz) ground almonds
200g (7oz) caster sugar
6 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
23cm (9in) diameter spring-form/loose-bottomed cake tin
* First steam the orange halves for 30 minutes, in a steamer or in a metal sieve covered with foil and set over a saucepan of simmering water.
* Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas mark 4. Line the base of the tin with a disc of baking parchment and grease the sides with butter.
* Once the oranges have finished steaming, remove from the steamer or sieve and discard any remaining pips. Place the steamed oranges in a food processor with the remaining ingredients and whiz for 2 minutes or until smooth.
* Tip the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 40–45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Allow to stand in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
Orange and almond cake (#ulink_ada6586a-464a-54f7-929b-70a18a61ea89)
Fresh from the oven, this rich almond cake is drenched in a sweet citrus syrup, making it fantastically moist and full of flavour. Being so moist means it will keep, covered, for up to a week. The cake is delicious on its own or with a dollop of Greek yoghurt.
Serves 6–8 (v)
PREPARATION TIME
10 minutes
COOKING TIME
1¼ hours
200g (7oz) butter, softened and diced
275g (10oz) caster sugar
Finely grated zest of 2 oranges
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
5 eggs
350g (12oz) ground almonds
For the syrup
Juice of 2 oranges and 1 lemon
75g (3oz) caster sugar
23cm (9in) diameter spring-form/loose-bottomed cake tin
* Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F), Gas mark 3. Line the base of the tin with a disc of baking parchment and grease the sides with butter.
* Using an electric food mixer or hand-held electric beater, cream the butter until soft. Add the sugar and lemon and orange zest and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, before stirring in the ground almonds.
* Tip the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 55–60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10–15 minutes before transferring to a plate or cake stand.
* While the cake is cooling, make the syrup. Pour the orange and lemon juice into a saucepan, add the sugar and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Boil for about 10 minutes or until the liquid has thickened to a syrupy consistency.
* Make 10–15 skewer incisions in the top of the cooled cake, then gradually pour the boiling syrup over the cake so that it absorbs the syrup evenly and becomes deliciously moist. Cut into slices to serve.
Gluten-free chocolate and orange polenta cake (#ulink_85537f21-66f9-50e6-b490-7c82cbde2011)
This cake has no flour (hence no gluten), making it light and moist. The polenta gives it a slight crunch. I like to have a slice of this cake with tea – if I can stick to just one slice, that is …
Serves 6–8 (v)
PREPARATION TIME
20 minutes
COOKING TIME
35 minutes
200g (7oz) dark chocolate, broken into pieces, or dark chocolate drops
100g (3½oz) butter
5 eggs, separated
225g (8oz) caster sugar
75g (3oz) fine polenta
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
Icing sugar, for dusting
25cm (10in) diameter spring-form/loose-bottomed cake tin
* Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F), Gas mark 3. Line the base of the cake tin with a disc of baking parchment and grease the sides with butter.
* Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water and allow to melt, then remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.
* Meanwhile, place the egg yolks in a large bowl or in an electric food mixer. Add 150g (5oz) of the caster sugar and whisk in the mixer or using a hand-held electric beater for about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Tip into the chocolate mixture and carefully fold in.
* Wash and dry the bowl and the whisk attachments of the mixer or hand-held beater, then whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the remaining sugar and continue to whisk meringue mixture for another 5 minutes or until stiff and white.
* Carefully fold the polenta, orange zest and the whisked egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then spoon into the prepared cake tin. Smooth over the top and bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to stand and cool slightly in the tin. Then remove the cake from the tin and allow it to cool completely on a wire rack before transferring to a serving plate and dusting with icing sugar.
