Baking Made Easy

Put the pecans in a frying pan and toast for a few minutes until brown, then remove from the pan and set aside.

Put the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat well until it begins to go pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla and 1 egg and beat well. Add all of the flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder and the rest of the eggs and beat for 1 minute. Stir in the bananas and pecans and dollop the mixture into the prepared tin.

Bake in the oven for 55–60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Meanwhile, put the rum and sugar in a pan over a high heat, mix then boil furiously until it begins to get thicker, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Once the cake is cooked, remove from the oven and pour over lots of the sugar syrup then sprinkle over some extra toasted pecans to decorate.

Serve with an ice cold daiquiri in a hammock under a palm tree.

‘I just don’t give a damn’

Chocolate Cake

No whisking, creaming or folding for this sponge, just throw it all in the bowl, mix like mad, then wait for the magic to happen in the oven. Thick, dark and lovely, it makes you want to just dive in with a spoon, with no friends invited. Serves 8 (V)

Vegetable oil, for oiling

140g (5oz) crème fraîche

130g (4½oz) very soft butter

230g (8¼oz) soft light brown sugar

Seeds of ½ vanilla pod or

2 drops of vanilla extract

4 eggs

180g (6½oz) plain flour

Pinch of salt

40g (1½oz) cocoa powder

10g (1/3oz) baking powder

Chocolate frosting

80g (1½oz) good dark chocolate (at least 64% cocoa solids)

130g (4½oz) butter, softened

Seeds of ½ vanilla pod or

2 drops of vanilla extract

250g (9oz) icing sugar

Equipment

Two x 20cm (8in) loose-bottomed sandwich tins

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas Mark 4. Oil the cake tins then line the bases with baking paper.

Put all the sponge ingredients in a large bowl and beat well for 2–3 minutes with an electric mixer or 3–4 minutes by hand until everything is combined. Dollop the mixture into the prepared cake tins, level the tops and bake for about 25–30 minutes, or until the cake is well risen and is coming away from the sides of the tin. The cake will be super, duper moist. Remove the cakes from the oven and leave to cool in the tins for about 5 minutes, then remove from the tins and cool on wire racks.

To make the frosting, put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure that the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching the water, and leave to melt. Remove the bowl from the pan and set aside to cool slightly.

Put the butter, vanilla and icing sugar in a bowl and whisk together with an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Add the chocolate and beat until combined.

Once the cakes are cold, using a palette knife, spread one of the cakes with some of the frosting, then sandwich them both together and spread the rest of the frosting on the top.

Mojito Genoise

-The Genoise is a traditional Italian cake from Genoa, with a very light, buttery texture, and which uses no chemical raising agent. Needless to say, for this cake to work it needs the living daylights whisked out of it. Serves 8–10 (V)

Sugar syrup

150g (5oz) soft light brown sugar

40ml (1½fl oz) water

Finely grated zest and juice of 2 limes

80ml (3fl oz) white rum

Bunch of fresh mint, leaves only

Sponge

260g (9oz) caster sugar

6 eggs, lightly beaten

115g (4oz) butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for greasing

260g (9oz) plain flour

Buttercream

100g (3½oz) butter, softened

200g (7oz) icing sugar

Seeds of 1 vanilla pod or