Ivy Lane: Winter: (15 page)

This is the recipe I had in mind for the cake that Toni brings to the Ivy Lane Great Cake Competition. If you haven’t got the right tin, you can buy disposable tin foil trays from most supermarkets which are the perfect size for this recipe.

You will need . . .

Preheat the oven to 190°C, fan oven 170°C, gas mark 5. Grease and line a shallow 30.5 × 20.5cm (12 × 8in) baking tin with greaseproof paper.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Sift in the flour and baking powder, stir to combine, then add the eggs, zest, vanilla and milk and beat together until light and fluffy.

Fold in half the blackberries gently using a metal spoon. Pour the batter into the tin and dot over remaining blackberries, then sprinkle the almonds on top.

Bake for 40–45 minutes until springy to the touch. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out and cool on a wire rack.

Dust the top of the cake with icing sugar and serve.

I used to work for Mary Berry, years ago, when my company did the PR for her salad dressings company. We had working lunches on two occasions in Mary’s kitchen. She was just as delightful to work for as you’d imagine and the food was delicious too! Anyway, this recipe pays homage to one of Mary’s recipes which uses Terry’s Chocolate Orange. I adapted it through necessity i.e. I didn’t have any Terry’s Chocolate Orange to hand!

You will need . . .

Preheat the oven to 190°C, fan oven 170°C, gas mark 5.

Cream the butter and sugar until soft. Stir in the flour and cornflour and mix until it becomes a smooth paste. This is much easier to do in a food processor if you have one. Stir in the chocolate chunks and orange zest.

Shape the dough into eighteen even sized balls and space out on to two greased backing sheets. Press the top of each ball with a fork, this will leave a nice pattern when it cooks.

Bake for about 15–20 minutes until the biscuits are golden brown. Leave to cool on the tray for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool fully.

After four years of flinging herself round the dancefloors of Nottingham’s nightspots, Cathy somehow managed to get an honours degree in business. She then plunged herself into the corporate world of marketing, working on high-powered projects such as testing the firing range of SuperSoaker water guns and perfecting the weeing action of Tiny Tears. After making it onto Timmy Mallet’s Christmas card list, she realized it was time to move on and so in 1995 set up her own marketing agency.

She now lives in a Nottinghamshire village with her husband, two daughters and a dog called Pearl.

Random Facts about Cathy Bramley:

Lucky charm: pottery frog out of a Christmas cracker
Favourite tipple: Polish cherry vodka
Best ever Christmas present: potter’s wheel (toy version)
Hates the expression: ‘Compliments to the chef’

You can get in touch with Cathy via her website
www.CathyBramleyAuthor.com
, her Facebook page
www.Facebook.com/CathyBramleyAuthor
or on Twitter:
@CathyBramley
.

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IVY LANE: WINTER PART 4
Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781473509719

First published in Great Britain
in 2014 by Transworld Digital
an imprint of Transworld Publishers

Copyright © Cathy Bramley 2014

Cathy Bramley has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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