Ingredients

4 oz SR flour

4 oz caster sugar

4 oz soft margarine

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

How to Make it

Preheat oven to 350F / 180C

Line 2 7″ sandwich tins.

1. Put all the ingredients in food mixer and mix for 2 mins.
2. Divide mixture between 2 tins and smmoth.
3. Bake for approximately 15 mins until golden brown and shrinking away from side of tin.
4. Turn out immediately onto cooling tray.
5. Whisk double cream until stiff.
6. Spread jam on cake, top with cream and sandwich together

For a special occasion, use fresh strawberries instead of jam, sliced up.

Tags: caster sugar, eggs, margarine, SR flour, Victoria sponge
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Ingredients

1 lb (450g) currants

6 oz (175g) sultanas

6 oz (175g) raisins

2 oz (50g) glace cherries , chopped

2 oz (50g)  mixed peel, chopped

brandy or sherry

8 oz (225g) plain flour

1/2 level teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground mixed spice

8 oz (225g) unsalted butter

8 oz (225g) soft brown sugar

4 large eggs or 5 small

2 oz (50g) chopped almonds or walnuts

1 level dessertspoon black treacle

grated rind of 1 lemon

grated rind of 1 orange

4 oz (110g)  whole blanched almonds to decorate if not icing.

The dried fruit, peel and cherries can be substituted with mixed luxury dried fruit to simplify. Just make sure the weight totals the same.

How to Make it

             You will need an 8″ round or 7″ or 8″ square tin, lined.

             Start the night before.

 Weigh out the dried fruit into large bowl. Mix in about 3 tablespoons brandy or sherry and stir       thoroughly. Cover and leave overnight, adding more sherry and stirring thoroughly as needed.

Next day

1. Preheat oven to 275F / 140C
2. Sift flour, salt and spices into large bowl.
3. Beat sugar and butter together until light, white and fluffy.
4. Whisk eggs separately and add a tablespoonful at a time to butter mixture.
5. Fold in flour and spices.
6. Fold in everything else.
7. Put mixture in cake tin and spread the surface flat.
8. Decorate with blanched almonds.
9. Cover top of cake with doubled greaseproof paper, with hole the size of 50p piece cut out of centre.
10. Bake on lowest shelf of oven for 4 1/2 – 4 3/4 hours, at least 4 hrs. Check with skewer.
11. Allow cake to cool for at least 30 minutes before trying to remove from tin.

Tags: almonds, butter, Christmas cake, currants, eggs, glace cherries, lemon, mixwd spice, nutmeg, orange. almonds, plain flour, raisins, soft brown sugar, sultanas, treacle
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Ingredients

2 cups Plain flour

2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

2 cups shredded carrots

1 cup dessicated coconut

1 cup chopped walnuts (if you like)

1 8oz can crushed pineapple (i/2 small can)

1 cup raisins

3 eggs

3/4 cup buttermilk (add a tablespoon of lemon juice to ordinary milk and leave to stand for 5 mins).

3/4 cup vegetable or sunflower oil

1 1/4 cups caster sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

pinch salt

2 teaspoons vanilla essence

How to make it

1. Preheat oven to 350F / 175C / 165C Fan oven
2. Sift together flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and cinnamon.
3. In a large bowl combine eggs, buttermilk, oil, sugar and vanilla essence. Mix well.
4. Add the flour moxture to the egg mixture.
5. In another bowl combine carrots, coconut, walnuts, pineapple and raisins. Mix wel.
6. Add the carrot mixture to the flour mixture. Mix well.
7. Pour into 8″ x 12″ pan and bake for 1 hour, till skewer comes out clean.
8. Leave for at least 20 mins to set before cutting.

Tags: buttermilk, carots, carrot cake, caster sugar, cinnamon, coconut, eggs, pineapple, plain flour, raisins, vegetable oil, walnuts
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