The chocolate girl

Chocolate shortbread flake cakes. Basically, an extravagant shortbread: sandwiched together with chocolate buttercream, enrobed with milk chocolate and decorated with a flake! I have very fond childhood memories of something very similar bought from the local bakers for a Friday shopping day treat! Years later I began my career at that bakery. Shortbread 225g/8oz butter 115g/4oz caster sugar 350g/12oz plain flour Buttercream 90 grams/ 3oz Butter 140 grams/5oz icing sugar (sieved) 30 grams/1oz Cocoa powder(sieved) Decoration 390 grams/ 13oz milk chocolate (melted) A small bar of white chocolate (melted)  Makes approx. 8 Method Preheat oven to 180oC/350oC/Gas 4. Grease and line, two baking trays with silicone paper.  Cream together butter and caster sugar, sieve in flour then using hands bind together. Press down onto a floured surface and roll out, with a rolling pin. Shape into an oblong with your hands, measuring approximately 16 cm x 3

Chocolate fridge cake (Tiffin). This weeks recipe is an old favourite of mine, or it was until I very foolishly decided to adapt it for work. Now I make 30-40, 28"x18" bakery tray mixes a week, and use more than a ton of digestive biscuits. But you’ll be glad to know the original recipe is only for a 20 cm (8”) tin and needs just 225g (8ozs) of biscuits. M akes 16 small slices or 8 big. Base 225g (8oz) digestive biscuits 60g (2oz) glace cherries 2 tablespoons golden syrup 115g (4oz) butter 115g (4oz) milk chocolate Topping 115g (4oz) Milk chocolate, melted A small amount of white chocolate, melted (optional) Glace cherries (optional) Biscuit base Grease a 20 cm (8”) round springform cake tin. Cutting out a circle of silicone paper, line the bottom.  Place the biscuits into a bowl and smash them up into small piece, by using the end of a rolling pin. Add the cherries. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the golden syrup, t

Chocolate and banana cake. This is a great recipe for using up those old bananas that look a bit old and squidgy.  Ingredients 2 ripe bananas (approx. 225g/8oz in weight after peeling) 2 tbsp lemon juice 175g/6oz butter softened 175g/6oz light muscovado sugar 2 eggs, beaten 225g/8oz self-raising flour 85g/3oz pecan nuts, roughly chopped, plus a few extra to decorate 55g/2oz plain chocolate(melted) 85g/3oz white chocolate, for decoration(melted) Method Preheat the oven to 180oC/350oF/Gas mark 4. Lightly oil a 900g/2lb loaf tin and line the bottom with silicone paper.  Cut the bananas into rough pieces, sprinkle on the lemon juice then mash until it forms a puree. Set to one side. Cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy then gradually beat in the eggs, adding a little flour after each addition to minimalize curdling. When all the eggs have been added, stir in the banana puree, then fold in the remaining flour. Add the chopp