Anyone made a nice cake recently?

[taffetacat]

I'm in a cake rut. I need to make one for some guests for afternoon tea tomorrow. I have most ingredients, bar weirdy stuff.

Anyone made any good uns recently they'd care to recommend?

lemon drizzle top fave

I made the orange yoghurt one in the mumsnet recipes. Came up a treat.

I do like a nice lemon drizzle. Hmmm.

Sadly no yoghurt in. Looking in the fridge I have some divine pear puree I made the other week that needs using. I wonder if I could make a pear puree cake? With some ground almonds maybe? Problem is, as its liquid I'm not sure what proportion to do of eggs/butter/sugar/flour.

Sorry, I'm not very good on improvising! I am a cake novice.

Nigella's Clementine cake - it is so easy to make, and is delicious and moist. You can find the recipe with the amounts here, but basically you gently boil 3 or 4 clementines for two hours, leave to cool, squeeze gently and then put in the blender. Whizz to a nubbly puree, then add eggs, sugar, baking powder and ground almonds and blitz again - and hey presto cake batter.

It does need a bit longer in the oven than the recipe says, but is absolutely wonderful with cream or clotted cream, or just sliced. It is supposed to keep really well, because of the moistness, but is so nice it doesn't actually last very long. Plus as it has no flour, it is good for gluten-intolerant people.

Proportions for cake mix are. 4/4/4 + 2 eggs. In ounces obviously. Makes about 12 cupcakes or a victoria sponge.

I bet if you folded the pear purée into the mix it would be lovely!

Nigella's ginger cake. Not the Guinness one from the Kitchen book. I've got it written down and can send it to you if you like. It's fantastic. Also, there's a great banana loaf in the Hummingbird bakery book, ideal if you have a couple of near dead bananas to use up.

I made a fatless sponge the other day - it turned out exactly like something you would get in a nice restaurant.

Thank you all for your suggestions- SDTG I have made an almond and orange cake before for these guests and would like to do somthing different this time. No ripe bananas and ginger cake is better made ahead isn't it? I'm being difficult, I know.

I am thinking lemon drizzle - either in a loaf tin or preferebaly as there are going to be 10 of us, a 23cm ring cake.

If I went for the 23cm ring, anyone any idea on quantities and temperature/timings?

Will start cooking in an hour!

Rachel Allen does an upside gown apple and cinnamon cake thats cooked in the frying pan...really easy but AMAZING. I urge you to try. Will post recipe if you want to try.

Dan Lepard's Whisky and Ginger cake from the Guardian website was lovely - really dark and aromatic.

Thanks all for your suggestions. I played safe and went lemon drizzle in the end - a big traybake and I did a sugar syrup whilst hot and then iced as well. Very wicked. Just have to keep the DC off it til the guests arrive eh.

Theants - that sounds yum - do you need a frying pan with a detachable handle so you can put it in the oven? Is it like a tarte tatin?

ChewyToffee - I saw that recipe in the Guardian and have torn it out. Sounds very adult! May well do it Jan/Feb when its all a bit depressing, and serve with a whisky chaser maybe.

So, even though I have made my cake for the day, I do love a good cake ideas swap thread, so please keep posting with any good ones you'd recommend.

I love Nigel Slaters coffee and walnut cake. Easy and delicious.

And another one which is a bit hit and v. easy is the Naughty Chocolate Fudge cake on bbcgoodfood. It's made with oil instead of butter and is light and delicious.

Going to try the Orange and yoghurt one, I love Orange cake.

No Taffetacat, I have a cast iron one with wooden handle and it goes in the oven just fine. It is devine. Supper quick and easy.

Upside-down apple & cinnamon cake

Serves 8

Ingredients:

50g (½ stick) butter
150g (¾ cup) brown sugar
3 eating apples, peeled, cored and sliced 5mm thick
200g (2 cups) plain flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 generous teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs, organic and free-range if possible
200ml (1 cup) buttermilk
75ml (½ cup) vegetable or sunflower oil

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Melt the butter in a medium-sized oven-proof frying pan (measuring 25cm in diameter). Stir in half the sugar and cook over a gentle heat for about five minutes. Add the apple ? there's no need to stir ? and remove from the heat and set aside.

Sieve the flour, baking powder, salt, bicarbonate of soda and ground cinnamon into a bowl. Whisk the eggs in a measuring jug or small bowl and add the remaining sugar, buttermilk and oil. Mix together, then pour into the dry ingredients and whisk to combine into a liquid batter. Pour this over the apple in the pan. Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the cake feels firm in the centre.

Cool for five minutes before turning out onto a serving plate. Serve warm or at room temperature with softly whipped cream.

theants - thank you, that looks delicious. will def have a go at that.

thighs - I haven't made a coffee walnut cake for aaaages. Problem is I often make for adults and children and I suppose worry the children won't like coffee walnut. ( Apart from DS who can eat his own bodyweight in any cake, not fussy, given half a chance ).

I am always searching for a really good coconut cake. I've made Delia's Lime and Coconut one which is lovely, and I know Nigella has one, but have never tried it.