Raspberry & Lemon Torta

Recipe

This is a Tana Ramsay recipe - I've never tried any of hers before but this came out really well. It was easy to make - it's quite 'pudding like' in that is is quite dense and moist so would be nice served warm as a dessert. Haven't tried it yet cool as I've just had some after it came out of the oven.

115g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

450g raspberries (I used frozen ones defrosted. I used about 350g though and thought that already seemed like quite a lot)

juice 1/2 lemon

225g golden caster sugar

3 eggs

250g plain flour

2 tsps baking powder

finely grated zest 1 unwaxed lemon

1. Preheat oven to 160c/140c fan/325f/gas 3. Butter a 20cm round tin and line base with greaseproof paper.

2. Place raspberries and lemon juice in a bowl and put to one side. In another bowl whisk the sugar and eggs until pale and thick. Carefully fold in the flour, baking powder and lemon zest then stir in the melted butter.

3. Put the batter in the tin and then add the raspberries including juice on top. Sprinkle the top with sugar.

4. Bake for 70 mins (I had to bake mine for more like 90-110 mins). Cool in tin and then on rack.

Rhubarb Friands

I found this recipe in You Mag. They are friands although I don't have a special friand tin so baked mine in a normal muffin tin. Friands are little French tea cakes similar to the rectangular Financiers (Bars of Gold). These ones have rhubarb in although I reckon you could put loads of different types of fruit in instead. Maybe blueberries or fig? I just had mine with a cup of tea but would be great with ice cream as a pudding.

The recipe can be found here on the Daily Mail website.

Pumpkin & Coconut Cake

The jury's out on this one. It's a really moist cake, all in one recipe so easy to make but can't decide if I really like it or not! The recipe comes from weekend supplement so not sure of it's origins. It's sweet and unusual and so different to any other cake I've tried. I'm thinking it would probably work well baked in individual muffin tins.

The recipe

350g butternut squash flesh, grated (put in food processor on grater setting if have one as much easier)

120g desiccated coconut

200g self-raising flour

150g demerara sugar

4 eggs, beaten

butter for greasing

Preheat oven to 180c.

Grease a loaf tin and line with baking parchment.

Basically just combine all the ingredients together in a bowl and mix well.

Spoon into prepared tin and bake for about 1 hour.

Cool a little in a tin and then on a wire rack.