Mrs W’s Dairy free Chocolate Cake

Inspired by Grandma’s baking, Mrs W. writes to me after I did a baking talk at her Ladies' Club, and sends her Dairy free Chocolate Cake recipe. 

She writes : Dear Meryl    I’ve made this recipe dozens of times without a failure. V. good for people who eat dairy free cake without eggs. Hope you enjoy it. All the best. EW  P.S. Really enjoyed the talk.

Dairy free Chocolate Cake

8oz/225g self raising flour

½ level tsp salt

3 level tbsps cocoa

4oz/110g sugar

1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda

¼ pint/150ml water

¼ pt/150ml corn or vegetable oil

3 level tbsps golden syrup

½ tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180C/Mark 4/350F. Sift the flour, salt, cocoa and sugar into a mixing bowl. Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in a little water. Add to the flour mixture with the rest of the water, golden syrup, oil and vanilla extract. Mix well. Pour into 2 lined 8inch/20cms cake tins. Bake for approximately 40 minutes. When cool sandwich together with dairy free butter cream filling and decorate with melted (dairy free) chocolate or dust with icing sugar. 

 Dairy free Butter Cream Filling

3 oz (75g)  sunflower or dairy free margarine

6 oz (150g) icing sugar
few drops of vanilla extract

water to mix

Cream the margarine and icing sugar until soft. Add the vanilla extract and then the water. Mix well. You could replace the water with orange juice. 

Chocolate Topping
Chocolate (dairy free) for decoration

Finish off by melting a block of Dairy Free Chocolate and spreading over the top of the cake. 

For more Chocolate Cake recipes, check out the Recipes page on Grandma Abson’s Blog - there's one for everyone. Which is your favourite? 

And don't forget to keep sending me your family recipes - we're building a baking legacy here!

Make time for Dorset Apple Cake

 Dorset Apple Cake

One of the great things about doing talks about Grandma Abson’s Traditional Baking legacy is meeting people and picking up more traditional family recipes. Barbara from Bournemouth passed on her Great Aunt Madge’s recipe for Dorset Apple Cake. The recipe has been in the family for generations.

Dorset Apple Cake

12oz/340g self raising flour

6oz/175g butter

4oz/110g soft brown sugar

 3 cooking apples (preferably Bramley)

3 eggs

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp mixed peel or zest of a lemon or orange

Milk to mix

1 tbsp caster or demerara sugar for topping

Rub the butter into the flour. Peel, core and chop the add the apples into chunky pieces and add these and the soft brown sugar to the mixture. Add the beaten egg, spices and mixed peel. Put into a 9 inch/23 cms cake tin and sprinkle the sugar on top. Bake in a moderate oven 180C/350F/Mark 4 for approximately 1hour.

Meryl’s tip : Double the quantities and bake as a tray bake then cut into squares. For a fruity decoration, thinly slice another apple and layer the slices on the top of the cake.

Barbara told me that many Dorset Teashops used to serve this recipe warm with butter or clotted cream as part of an afternoon tea time treat. That’s sounds delicious!

There are more of Grandma’s recipes with apples in the Recipes page. What’s the apple of your eye recipe?