Victoria Sandwich - and some of its twists

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Effort: minimal

Makes: 1 cake

Ingredients:

6oz self raising flour

6 oz caster sugar

6 oz margarine

3 eggs

Jam

Icing sugar

Method:

1.     Preheat oven to 180C / 356F / GM4.

2.    Line two 7" round, shallow cake tins with baking paper.

3.    Put flour, sugar, margarine and eggs into a mixer and beat until just mixed together - don't overbeat! The mixture should be creamy looking and there should be few lumps of flour. Once it reaches this stage do not beat any further or the air which helps it rise will be lost.

4.    Tip into the tins and bake for 20 minutes until lightly golden brown, you can put a skewer in it and it comes out clean, you can touch the top and it springs back or the edges start to shrink away from the sides.

5.    Cool on a wire rack

6.    Place one cake on a plate. Spread jam over.

7.    Place the other cake layer on top of the jam and sprinkle with icing sugar using a sieve.

Note: If you have no mixer use the following method:

1.     Preheat oven to 180C / 356F / GM4.

2.    Line two 7" round, shallow cake tins with baking paper.

3.    Put margarine and sugar into a bowl. Beat with a wooden spoon until thoroughly mixed together.

4.    Break in the eggs and mix again, incorporating as much air as possible.

5.    Sift in the flour then fold it in until it is fully mixed in. The mixture should be creamy looking and there should be no lumps of flour. Once it reaches this stage do not beat any further or the air which helps it rise will be lost.

6.    Tip into the tins and bake for 20 minutes until lightly golden brown, you can put a skewer in it and it comes out clean, you can touch the top and it springs back or the edges start to shrink away from the sides.

7.    Cool on a wire rack

8.    Place one cake on a plate. Spread jam over.

9.    Place the other cake layer on top of the jam and sprinkle with icing sugar using a sieve.

Twists:

Chocolate cake:

Remove 1oz of flour and replace with 1oz of cocoa. If you are sifting your flour, sift the cocoa too.

Lemon or Orange cake:

Grate the rind of 1 lemon or 1 orange. Add it to the mixture with the other ingredients if using a mixer. If beating the mixture by hand, add to mixture at the same time as the flour but not sifted.

Vanilla Cake:

Add a teaspoon of vanilla essence to the mixture.

Springier sponge:

For even springier sponge replace a third of the margarine with the same quantity of olive oil spread.

Cheap but fantastic dessert

Ingredients: 

2 scoops ice cream

2 rich tea biscuits

a few squirts of runny honey

Serves 1

Method:

1) Put 2 rich tea biscuits in a freezer bag and bash them over the head with a rolling pin.

2) Scoop out the ice cream, cover in honey to taste and top with crushed biscuits.

Variations

• Use 2 chocolate chip cookies instead of rich tea biscuits and discard the honey.
• Smash up 3 KitKat fingers to replace the biscuits and honey.

Natalie's Loaded Potato Skins

Ingredients

4 large baking potatoes (baked)

8 rashers bacon (chopped into small squares and fried off)

100g medium cheddar (or more to taste)

Instructions

1) Chop the potatoes in half.

2) Scoop the potato out and put in a large bowl leaving the jacket intact.

3) Mix the bacon and cheese into the potato using a potato masher.

4) Put the potato mixture back into the jackets.

5) Return to the oven for a couple of minutes because the potato cools down while you mash it.

6) Serve with sour cream and chives.

Alternatives

Tomatoes, onions, eggs or tuna could replace the bacon.

Andy’s Cheese on Toast

4 slices of bread

Margarine

Mature cheddar (grated)

Worcestershire sauce to taste

Place bread under grill in 2 stacks

Grill until light brown

Turn over and grill until golden brown

Turn back over and spread with margarine

Cover with cheese and sprinkle Worcestershire sauce

Grill until cheese is golden brown

Beef and Mulukhiyah Casserole

Ingredients

2 lb (900 g) braising steak cut into 2 inch (5 cm) squares

15 fl oz (425 ml) Leffe beer

1 tablespoon olive oil

12 oz (350 g) onions, peeled and cut in quarters

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 heaped tablespoon plain flour

1 tbsp dried thyme

2 bay leaves

salt and freshly milled black pepper

2 large handfuls of fresh Mulukhiyah leaves

1 small packet of croutons

4 oz (110 g) grated mature cheddar cheese

Method

1. Preheat the oven temperature to gas mark 2, 300°F (150°C). Take the flameproof casserole and place on direct heat, then heat oil until sizzling hot and fry the meat 3-4 pieces at a time, until they turn a dark mahogany colour on all sides. Don't overcrowd the pan or they will not brown. As the meat browns remove it to a spare plate.
2. Add the onions to the pan, still keeping the heat high. Toss them around for about five minutes until they become darkly tinged at the edges.
3. Add the garlic and fry for about 30 seconds or so, then turn the heat down, return the meat to the casserole and sprinkle the flour in. Using a wooden spoon, stir until all the flour has been absorbed into the juices. (If it looks stodgy at this stage that is to be expected.)
4. Now gradually stir in the beer and let the pan gently come up to simmering point.
5. Add salt, black pepper, thyme and bay leaves.
6. Just as it begins to bubble, put the lid on, transfer it to the centre shelf of the oven and leave it there for 2½ hours.
7. Just before you want to serve the beef, pre-heat the grill, spread the croutons with the mustard and sprinkle them with the cheese, then arrange them on top of the meat and pop the casserole under the grill until the cheese is bubbling. Serve straight away.

Roast Potatoes

Ingredients:
5 average size potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
a pinch of salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp dill

Method:
1) Preheat the oven to 250 C.
2) Cut the potatoes into bitesize pieces and place them in a shallow Pyrex dish.
3) Sprinkle the salt, pepper and dill over the potatoes.
4) Pour the oil over the top as evenly as possible.
5) Cover with foil.
6) Put in the centre of the oven for 30-40 minutes.
7) Baste every ten minutes and move the potatoes about at the same time so that they don't stick.

If you are cooking meat too and the dish is large enough you can put the meat in the dish next to the potatoes for a quick midweek basic roast.

Joshua's Lamb Stew

Ingredients:

400g shoulder of lamb

2 baking potatoes cubed

2 carrots sliced

6 brocoli florets

5 vegetable Oxo cubes in 2 pints of water

3 dried apricots

pepper to taste

1 tsp mixed herbs

1 tsp rosemary

1/2 tsp sesame seeds

shake of garlic salt

Serves 2 adults and a small person

Method:

Put all the ingredients into a pressure cooker and cook for 20 minutes.