DEVILs FOOD CAKE by Nigella Lawson

Forget the name, this cake is heavenly. The crumb is tender, the filling and frosting luscious. When I made it one friday, I expected my children, resident food critics much in the mould of the Grim eater, to find it too dark, too rich, not sweet enough: you get the gist. Instead, I came down on Saturday morning to find nothing but an empty, chocolate-smeared cake stand and a trail of crumbs. You may prefer to prepare this the other way round from me, and get the frosting underway before you make the cakes. Either way, read the recipe through before you start cooking (I shouldn't have to remind) to get the shape of things in your head, not least because the frosting is softer, stickier than you may be used to. While you're making it, don't panic. The mixture will seem very runny for ages once the chocolate has melted and you will think you have a liquid gleaming glaze, beautiful but unfit for purpose; leave it for about an hour, as stipulated, though, and it will be perfect and spreadable. It never quite dries to the touch, but this is, in part, what makes the cake so darkly luscious. Goo here is good. Recipe posted by Nigella Ingredients : For the cake:

50g best-quality cocoa powder, sifted 100g dark muscovado sugar 250ml boiling water 125g soft unsalted butter, plus some for greasing 150g caster sugar 225g plain flour 12 teaspoon baking powder 12 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 eggs for the frosting: 125ml water 30g dark muscovado sugar 175g unsalted butter cubed 300g best-quality dark chocolate finely chopped 2 x 20cm sandwich tins

Method Serves: 10 - 12 1. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. 2. Line the bottoms of both sandwich tins with baking parchment and butter the sides. 3. Put the cocoa and 100g dark muscovado sugar into a bowl with a bit of space to spare, and pour in the boiling water. Whisk to mix, then set aside. 4. Cream the butter and caster sugar together, beating well until pale and fluffy; I find this easiest with a freestanding mixer, but by hand wouldnt kill you. 5. While this is going on or as soon as you stop if youre mixing by hand stir the flour, baking powder and bicarb together in another bowl, and set aside for a moment. 6. Dribble the vanilla extract into the creamed butter and sugar mixing all the while then drop in 1 egg, quickly followed by a scoopful of flour mixture, then the second egg. 7. Keep mixing and incorporate the rest of the dried ingredients for the cake, then finally mix and fold in the cocoa mixture, scraping its bowl well with a spatula. 8. Divide this fabulously chocolatey batter between the 2 prepared tins and put in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. 9. Take the tins out and leave them on a wire rack for 510 minutes, before turning the cakes out to cool. 10. But as soon as the cakes are in the oven, get started on your frosting: put the water, 30g muscovado sugar and 175g butter in a pan over a low heat to melt. 11. When this mixture begins to bubble, take the pan off the heat and add the chopped chocolate, swirling the pan so that all the chocolate is hit with heat, then leave for a minute to melt before whisking till smooth and glossy. 12. Leave for about 1 hour, whisking now and again when youre passing the pan by which time the cakes will be cooled, and ready for the frosting. 13. Set one of the cooled cakes, with its top side down, on a cake stand or plate, and spread with about a third of the frosting, then top that with the second cake, regular way up, and spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides, swirling away with your spatula. You can go for a smooth look, but I never do and probably couldnt.

LITTLE LEMON PUDDING by Nigella Lawson

These uplifting, citrusy beauties are a quick-time, short-cut version of the traditional English canary pudding: instead of being steamed, these are baked in the oven, and the fact that you use shop-bought lemon curd and they are made in individual servings cuts down time and trouble, too. Try to make sure the ingredients below are at room temperature before starting. I make them just before serving the main course, so that they cook while we eat. Recipe posted by Nigella

Ingredients

- Express recipe 6 tablespoons lemon curd, or about 1/2 jar 125g soft unsalted butter, plus more for greasing 125g caster sugar 125g plain flour 2 tablespoons baking powder 2 eggs 1 lemon, juice and finely grated zest 6 ramekins (8 x4cm) 1 sturdy oven tray

Method
Serves: 6 1. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4 and grease the ramekins. Dollop about 1 tablespoon of lemon curd into the bottom of each one to cover. 2. In the food processor, mix all the remaining ingredients except the lemon juice. When all has combined into a thick batter, add the lemon juice and blitz quickly to mix. 3. Add the batter to the ramekins, blobbing it on top of the curd, until the mixture comes three-quarters of the way up. Smooth the tops, then place on a thick oven tray and bake for about 20 minutes. 4. Remove from the oven, take the ramekins off the tray and ease the sponge gently away from the edges, using a small spatula, table or palette knife.

5. Un-mould each pudding onto a side plate or shallow bowl of your choice, spooning over any lemon curd that has stuck to the bottom. 6. Serve immediately with custard, cream or ice cream as you wish. And you could consider heating up the remaining lemon curd in the jar in a microwave and spooning it over.