Jamie Oliver's Party Cake

When I met Mr Boo the only reason for him to enter a kitchen was in order for someone else to hand him a lovingly cooked meal. Now I love to cook and deem great pleasure from cooking for those that I love but didn’t exactly want to spend everyday for the rest of my life cooking for someone who would not be able to return the favour every now and then. Mr Boo occasionally made murmurings along the lines that he wouldn’t mind possessing the skills to enable him to knock together a tasty dish from time to time. Then Jamie Oliver broke onto the scene and all of my prayers were answered. This little Cockney sparrow with all of his ‘pukka’ food only served to heighten Mr Boos eagerness to learn.

I could have kissed him, but there was a plane journey involved and I was spoken for, as was he so I didn’t. Anyhoo, when Mr Boo’s birthday rolled around I decided to get him Mr Oliver’s book as one of his little presents. He was delighted and wasted no time in getting himself into the kitchen and knocking out some very tasty dishes. Now, we didn’t have instant success, not by any means. I do remember one very bad night when I took a forkful of something WAY to salty but politely smiled and continued eating so as not to offend his efforts. Approximately 4 forkfuls later I had to make a mad dash for the loo where I was violently ill. I apologised, he apologised. “It was just a little to salty”, says I. “That’ll most probably be the anchovies”, says he. “How many did you put in”, I enquired. “Just the one jar” he replied. Yep that’ll do it I thought to myself before suggesting next time he trust the recipe and just put in the two fillets as specified.

Once we got that initial teething period out of the way we were flying and it became quite the tradition that of a Friday if his mam and dad popped out in the evening that he would cook a lovely romantic 3-course meal for me, complete with candles and soppy music. I loved those evenings. Something else he would do regularly but has not done in the last few years was to make me Jamie Oliver’s Party Cake and arrive at my door with it. It didn’t have to be a special occasion, just any random Friday or Saturday he might turn up outside my house in his bottle green Punto and produce this delicious chocolate concoction from his backseat all for me, because he loved me and because I love chocolate. That remains for me one of my favourite things he has ever done for me. All of that time, and love baked into a cake for me to eat and carry inside me. I don’t think a chocolate cake ever tasted so good.

As I have said he hasn’t made that cake for me for as long as I can remember. We are married and live together now so he shows his love in different ways. He might occasionally clean the kitchen, he buys pretty plants and plants them in the back garden for me to find when I have time to stop and smell the roses, he paints that room that I have been hinting about decorating and when I come home and decide I don’t like the colour he paints it a second time and only complains a little, when I hear a noise in the middle of the night he gets up from his sleep to investigate and returns with the news that all is well with the world and I can return to slumber. He does these ordinary mundane things and many more that show me he loves me every day, but he doesn’t bake me chocolate cakes that ooze cream and strawberries as you bite into them anymore. So, I have decided that I will bake him a chocolate cake that oozes cream and strawberries as you bite into it, because you know, I love him to, and I want to bake that into a cake for him to eat and carry around inside of him.

Party Cake

I have made a couple of alterations to the original recipe.  I omitted some flaked almonds and doubled the quantity of strawberries in favour of half strawberries and half raspberries, well it is National Strawberry Week after all.

3-rounded tbsp Cocoa Powder
200g/7oz Caster Sugar
200g/7oz Butter
3 Large Eggs, preferably free-range
200g/7oz Self-Raising Flour, sifted
1 rounded tsp Baking Powder
200ml/7floz Double Cream
2 large handfuls Strawberries, hulled and chopped

Chocolate Topping:
100g/3 ¾ oz Butter
100g/3 ¾ oz best quality Plain Chocolate
100g/3 ¾ oz Icing Sugar
3tbsp Milk

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4.

2. Line the bases of 2 x 20cm/8” cake tins with greased greaseproof paper.

3. Mix the cocoa powder with 4tbsp of boiling water until smooth.

4. In a separate bowl, beat the sugar and butter until fluffy, add the cocoa mixture, eggs, flour and baking powder.

5. Mix well and divide between the baking tins.

6. Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 25 minutes (a skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean when cooked).

7. Allow to cool then remove from the tins.

8. Melt the chocolate topping ingredients in a bowl over some lightly simmering water. Stir until blended well and allow to cool.

9. Whip the double cream to soft peaks and sweeten with a little sugar to taste.

10. To assemble the cake, remove the greaseproof paper from both sponges.

11. Spread the cream over one of the sponges, and then sprinkle the strawberries on top.

12. Sandwich the second sponge on top and press down.

13. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to smooth if off and drizzle over your chocolate topping.

14. Allow the chocolate topping to firm up slightly before getting stuck in.

Easter Cake (GF)

When we were little the Easter Bunny was always very good to us and remembered to bring us our favourite treats on Easter Sunday.  Our tastes changed as we grew and just as Santa knew exactly our hearts desire every Christmas the Easter Bunny knew which would be our favourite egg each year.  I remember having a deep love for Cadbury's Buttons, Crunchie and Caramel as well as Nestle Yorkie(even though technically not for girls) depending on the year and my mood. 

When I moved into teenage years my tastes became far more sopihistimacated and nothing but the very fine Leonidas would do.  These probably remain my favourite to this day.  A moreish, thick belgian chocolate egg and nestled inside, jewel coloured foil wrapped eggs all with different fillings.  We were always permitted a chocolate breakfast on Easter Sunday, such a luxury to my childlike self but if I am honest something I indulge my adult self in every now and then, probably a subconcious effort to relive those deliciously pampered days. 

In the weeks leading up to Easter my mam would arrive home on a Thursday with a bag of broken chocolate from Leonidas for myself and my sister, so I must now thank the clumsy easter egg dropper for this treat.  Chunks of thick belgian plain, milk and white chocolate in a little cellophane bag proffered forward were always a most welcome sight.  I am not sure anyone else knows how much I enjoyed those Easter Eggs and so it has been a good many years since I have seperated it's two halves to reveal the multi-colored bounty within.  But now that I have conjured this memory I may just treat myself this weekend.

For all of you who will be treating your loved ones to Easter lunch this year I hope you enjoy this Easter Chick Cake.  It is probably one of the most delicious chocolate cakes I have ever baked and one that I have many times had to stop myself from baking as I would be in danger of eating it all myself only to be found in a chocolatey heap in a darkened corner Sr. Assumpta stylee.  Enjoy, and a very happy easter to you and your loved ones. x

Easter Chick Cake

for the cake
250g/7oz Plain Chocolate (chopped)
125g/3.5oz Unsalted Butter (softened)
6 Eggs (2 whole, 4 seperated. Reserve the seperated yolks to mix with the whole eggs)
175g/6oz Caster Sugar (75g for the egg yolk mixture and 100g for the egg whites)
1tsp Vanilla Extract

for the topping
125g/3.5oz Plain Chocolate
250ml Double Cream
1tsp Vanilla Extract

to decorate
Sugar coated chocolate eggs (I use Cadbury Mini Eggs, also available in M&S)
Toy easter chicks

To make the cake
1.  Preheat the oven to 180°C/356°F/Gas 4. 
2.  Line the bottom of a springform cake tin with grease proof paper.
3.  Melt the chocolate with the butter and set aside to cool slightly.
4.  Whisk the egg whites using an electric whisk until firm and then gradually add the 100g of caster sugar, continue whisking until stiff peaks are formed and the mix is glossy.
5.  In a seperate bowl using the electric whisk beat the 2 whole eggs with the 4 egg yolks, the remaining caster sugar and the vanilla essence and then gently fold in the chocolate mixture.
6.  Drop a spoonful of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and quickly stir through to lighten the mix.  Add the remaining egg whites in three batches and gently fold in.
7.  Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes.  The cake is ready when it is risen and cracked and the centre does not wobble.
8.  Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.  (if it looks like it has sunk in the centre do not worry, this is how you want it to look, trust me)

To make the topping
1.  Melt the chocolate and leave it to cool slightly.
2.  Whip the cream until firming up but still soft.
3.  Add the vanilla and fold in the melted chocolate.

To decorate the cake
1.  Fill the crater of the cake with the topping.
2.  Arrange the sugar coated eggs and toy chicks on top as you wish.