In the 1980s, my brother Godfrey used to make sponges using this recipe, which came from the local public health nurse, Ailsa Gathergood. Godfrey, then a sheep farmer, busy entrepreneur and father of five, reckoned the secret was to ‘beat the s--t out of it’. Use electric beaters, even if you have forearms honed by wrangling sheep and small kids.
A delicious Mexican Fresh Fig cake for the perfect dessert.
I promise you can’t actually see, taste or smell the zucchini in this cake. Instead, the vegetable adds moisture and helps create a beautiful, classic chocolate cake that makes a perfect celebration centrepiece when loaded up with berries and slathered in the best icing ever.
This take on the classic Victoria sponge can be served with lashings of cream and jam of your choice as well as baked cherries.
The rich flavour of gingerbread is so inviting, and the combined aromas of the spices used in this cake make it a wonderful treat any time of year. I’ve included it in this chapter because I think serving it warmed with a rich caramel sauce makes the perfect winter dessert.