Being domesticated . . .

I had the mood seize me to do some baking at the weekend, so I made a Chocolate Cake and some Cheese and Mustard Scones. I thought I would share the recipes with you:

MY FRIEND FRANCES’ RICH CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE

6 eggs, separated

4 oz (125g) ground almonds

6 tablespoons castor sugar

8 oz good quality chocolate, broken into pieces

2 tablespoons milk

Firstly, place the chocolate pieces and milk in a heat-proof bowl, in a large pan with a little boiling water in the base. Continue heating, and stir regularly as chocolate melts. Once melted, turn heat off, but keep bowl in pan to stay warm.

Separate eggs, and beat up whites until hard peak. Combine egg yolks well with a fork and reserve. Place ground almonds in a large bowl, and add sugar and melted chocolate/milk mixture. Mix well. Add egg yolks and combine well. Finally add beaten egg whites and gently combine. Spoon into greased and lined 8” loose-bottomed cake tin and cook in oven (180 degrees) for 30 minutes. IF allowed to become cold, this cake becomes deliciously fudgy and is wonderful with a spoonful of icecream . . .

CHEESE & MUSTARD SCONES

8 oz (225 g) Self Raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

50g (1 ¾ oz) butter, cut into small pieces

125g (4 ½ oz mature (sharp) cheese, grated

1 teaspoon Mustard powder

150ml/ 5 fluid oz buttermilk

Pepper

Lightly grease a baking tray. Sieve the flour, salt,& baking powder into a bowl, and rub in the butter with your fingers until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the grated cheese, mustard and enough milk to mix to a soft dough.

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough very lightly, then flatten it out with the palm of your hand to a depth of about 2.5cm/1 inch. Cut the dough into 8 wedges with a knife. Brush each one with a little milk and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper to taste. Bake in a preheated oven, 220 deg. C/425 deg. F/Gas mark 7, for 10-15 minutes until scones are golden brown.

Transfer the scones to a wire rack and leave to cool slightly before serving.

Eat same day as they quickly go stale (though I cheat and reheat briefly in microwave).

Today, with the gale force winds and spells of lashing rain, I spent the afternoon indoors and managed to keep my nose to the grindstone and sew the quilt block for the current swop I am taking part in, so this one is for Alice, and it was fairly straightforward to piece (though I still managed to sew one part on back to front!)