Matilda's Chocolate Cake No 1

A simple, easy to make but very tasty Chocolate Cake

1/2 Cup Sugar
1 TBS Butter
1 Cup Flour
2 TSP Baking powder
1/4 Cup Milk
1/4 Cup Water
1 TBS Golden Syrup
1 Egg
1 TBS Cocoa
1/2 TSP Bi-Carb. Soda

Beat butter and sugar to a cream, add egg, then syrup. (we use a hand whisk) Beat in the sifted flour, baking powder and cocoa, then add in the milk. Finally add in the bi-carb soda.

The mixture will be very moist, this is how its supposed to be. Bake in a 8" 20 cm sandwich tin in a 180 deg C (375 deg F) oven for 3/4 of an hour. We start checking after 1/2 an hour as our oven can be a bit fast.

1 TBS =  20 ml
1 TSP =   5 ml
1 Cup = 250 ml

Ice the top by mixing 2 TBS butter, with 2 TBS cocoa and enough icing sugar to make a workable icing, you may add a little water if the mix becomes to thick. When the cake has cooled spoon icing on to the top of the cake and spread out with the back of the spoon

ANZAC Biscuits

125g Butter
2         Tbs golden syrup
1         Tsp Baking soda
1         Tbs Boiling water
1/2         Cups Coconut
1         Cup rolled oats
3/4         Cup of flour

Melt butter golden syrup in a saucepan large enough to hold and mix all ingredients. Once melted cool slightly, Dissolve baking soda in in the tablespoon of boiling water and add to the sauce pan with the remaining ingredients. Mix well. Place rounded teaspoon of mixture on to an oven tray covered with baking paper, (alternative is a greased baking tray), allowing room for spreading, flatten the balls with the back of a spoon.

Bake at 180 deg C for 10-15 minutes or until golden.

Remove from tray quickly after removing from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Store in an air tight container.

Apple Tea Cake

Image courtesy of Google.

The thing I like about this cake is its simplicity, it is not overly sweet and doesn't require a great deal of butter/margarine as some cakes do. An electric mixer is not required, this one is easily whipped up with a hand held whisk.

Apple Tea Cake Ingredients
1 Level Tbs marg or butter
4 Level Tbs sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 Tbs milk
1 Heaped cup flour
2 Tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 Tsp vanilla essence

Base Ingredients
Apple slices usually one apple is enough
1 Tsp Cinnamon
2 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 Tbs butter

Turn on the oven to 180 deg C

To prepare the base:
Cut a round of baking paper to fit a 20cm round cake tin
Grease/oil the cake tin
Place the baking paper round in the cake tin
Sprinkle the base with brown sugar and Cinnamon
Cut small pieces of butter and place into the brown sugar
Arrange the rounds or thin slices of apple over the base to totally cover the bake paper
Set aside and make the cake batter.

The cake batter:
Whisk butter and sugar together in a bowl, add egg and all moist ingredients in a bowl, whisk until well combined. Sift in flour and baking powder gradually until well combined and is a smooth batter. Pour into the cake tin on top of the apple slices.

Place in the centre rack of the stove and cook for 20 - 30 Minutes cake is cooked when a skewer comes out clean.
Let cooked cake cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Loosen around the edges with a knife, turn out onto a wire rack, turn the cake over on to its base leaving the paper on.

When cool cut into wedged serve and enjoy

To simplify cake just oil/grease the tin, place in the batter, cover the top with the apple slices and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Cook as per the instructions.

To really simplify the cake just omit the apple all together and sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon on the top when cooked. However it just wont taste as good as the full recipe cake with the caramelised apple slices in cinnamon on the base.

Notes:

We no longer use self-raising flour, this is for a couple of reasons, being on a boat it helps with storage not having to carry 3 or 4 variety's of flour. For example plain self-raising whole grain and bread making flour. We also found the raising agents don't work as well as the flour is coming toward the use by date. This time is also reduced in the warmer weather of Asia. So by adding the raising ingredient when mixing we have found the finish product has risen better.