17. Divine Chocolate Birthday Cake

This cake had been on my immediate 'to do' list for ages, and kept being put off by the lack of an appropriate occasion (a familiar tale: did I really think that husband and I would eat so calorifically every week?). Anyway, an occasion presented itself, and was made even more pleasurable by the inclusion of this cake. Despite appearances to the contrary, I was very pleased with how it turned out. This cake is described by Mary as 'dense' and 'fudgy' and contains 6 eggs, most of which were separated and relied upon to work different kinds of chemistry and different stages. (That just means that I whisked and added the whites separately!)

I was a bit worried about scrambling the eggy mixture by pouring the melted chocolate into it, but it didn't appear to create any problems. It was all very satisfying to mix, and pretty straightforward really. I baked it for the required 50 minutes; perhaps I could've braved less and then it wouldn't have cracked - I was just worried about the egg content and wanted to ensure it was cooked through without risking open-oven sinkage. The cracking, and resulting near-disintegration when I released it from the base of the tin was quite alarming, but actually didn't matter a jot once it was iced. The thrill of this cake isn't an aesthetic one; it's all in the eating and the texture. That said, I did fear a large-scale collapse once I'd got to the spreading of the apricot jam and then the icing, but both acted like the required glue to help hold it all together. Of course, once it had set, there was no chance of it falling apart. It was just very difficult to move around, from tin to rack, to cake stand!

Baker's verdict: absolutely divine. I'd be less stressed about the look of the thing next time, because I know it all turns out alright in the end. I'll definitely make it again: this has been my favourite cake to eat so far. We both thought that it was like something you'd buy in a cafe - maybe I should start trading...

Husband rating: 9.5/10. Loved it. Chocolate nice and thick; not the best looking cake but really tasty.

16. Tarte Tatin

Not the most photogenic of bakes, and, as it turns out, not the most successful either, this was my first attempt at this French classic. I've dabbled with pastry from time to time, and was actually really surprised to find that the foundation of this was a shortcrust one. I'd always thought Tarte Tatin was made with puff pastry, and anticipated lots of fiddly rolling and buttering. The pastry, it being short and all, was easy to make; an egg yolk added to make it richer and popped into the fridge for an hour or so until I was ready to make it for Sunday dinner dessert. Lots of apples were needed - about 950g (a standard supermarket-sized bag of 6), and it turned out to be a bit of a problem that the variety I used were really juicy. When it came to draining the juice off the tart once it had baked, the mixture was all juice and no caramel.

It was all very straightforward really, but one thing I've never had experience of, is making caramel. It seemed to take ages to thicken, and being the impatient so-and-so that I am, I cranked the heat up and was then lucky to save it before it got too dark and burnt. I think it was rather more 'over' than 'on' by the time I poured it over the apples, and there were some chewy, toffee-like bits to get our teeth around, which weren't very nice. Another issue I had was with the flipping of the tart onto a plate; I can never do this, be it with a cake or anything else. I'm naturally cack-handed; it doesn't help trying to do plate gymnastics wearing a bloomin' great oven glove either.

Baker's verdict: a bit of a fiddle; the processes were quite awkward in some ways, although the preparation of the ingredients was fairly simple. Tasted pretty good, but I'm not falling over myself to make it again in a hurry. More of a box-ticking exercise really!
Husband rating: 7/10 - didn't like the 'toffee' on top; loved the apples; pastry was nice but not really what was expected of a tarte tatin.

15. Sultana Malt Loaves

Several months ago, I developed a craving for some malt loaf, and was pleasantly surprised to find a really cheap 'value' version in a local supermarket which managed to satisfy my appetite for the chewy, sticky 'lump' that is this particular breed of cake. However, I was looking forward to making some of my own, and curious to see how it would turn out.

My first challenge was finding a jar of malt extract; eventually tracked down in a health food shop. My Dad tells me they used to feed him and his fellow pupils this by the spoonful at school; can't say that appeals after smelling the stuff!

The cake was fairly easy to make; it was handy having some cold tea stewing away in the pot to save fiddling about with that. It made two moderately sized loaves, full of sultanas, and possibly even a bit of scrambled egg: pouring the hot malty, treacley mixture into raw egg wasn't the best idea! It wasn't the easiest mixture to mix well; I thought I had, but there were a few floury bits in the loaves once they'd been baked. Not that it affected the taste/texture though; they were quite pleasant really, and did what it said on the tin.

Baker's verdict: turned out well, but didn't bowl me over. If I'm going to give myself extra butter, I'd rather do it by eating something tastier than these.

Husband rating: 7/10. Nice - especially with some 'vegetable spread' on them.