Something for the weekend: five super easy but comforting cakes to bake 

It's the season for bakes that will comfort and soothe and these recipes promise hugs in every slice 

These classic cake recipes are the best reason to spend time in the kitchen this weekend.

Chocolate & muscovado fudge cake

recipe by:Anna Jones

My insatiable sweet tooth knows almost no bounds, so cake is something I take very seriously. This dense, gooey (and incidentally vegan) chocolate cake made with coconut oil is as much of a hit with my two-year-old as it is with my vegan brother

Servings

10

Preparation Time

 30 mins

Cooking Time

 40 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 10 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• For the icing:

• 100g olive, coconut or vegetable oil

• 65g dark muscovado sugar

• 2 tbsp cocoa powder

• 200g dark chocolate finely chopped

• For the cake:

• 200g plain or light spelt flour

• 1 ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 75g cocoa powder

• 250g dark muscovado sugar

• 75g olive, coconut or vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing

• 1 ½ tsp vinegar (I use cider)

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180°C/16O°C fan/gas 4. Grease a 20cm round springform cake tin with oil and line the base with baking paper.

2. Put all the icing ingredients except the chocolate into a saucepan with 60ml cold water. Heat until everything is melted, making sure the mixture doesn’t boil, then turn off the heat, add the chocolate at once and leave it to sit. After about a minute, the chocolate should have melted. Whisk until you have a thick icing and set aside. It should be cool by the time the cake has baked and cooled.

3. For the cake, whisk the flour, bicarbonate of soda, a good pinch of sea salt and the cocoa together in a bowl. Make sure there are no lumps of bicarbonate of soda.

4. In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, 375mI of just-boiled water, the oil and vinegar. Stir the mixture into the dry ingredients, then pour into the prepared tin (it will be quite a wet batter). Bake for 30-40 minutes.

5. When it is ready, the cake should have pulled away from the edges of the tin and a skewer inserted into the centre will come out clean. Cool for 30 minutes in the tin, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Spoon over the icing and decorate as you like.
   
   Decoration ideas: 
   Grated chocolate
   Fresh flowers
   Chopped candied nuts
   Chopped stem ginger
   Crumbled chocolate
   Flakes of sea salt
   
   Extracted from One pot, pan, planet by Anna Jones, published by Harper Collins. Photography © Issy Croker

Kerry apple cake with cinnamon sugar

recipe by:Darina Allen

Fresh, juicy apples combine beautifully with cinnamon sugar to enhance the flavour - serve with softly whipped cream for a delicious treat

Servings

10

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 40 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• 2 eggs

• 225g caster sugar

• 110g butter

• 150ml creamy milk

• 185g plain flour

• 3 tsp baking powder

• 3-4 Bramley cooking apples

• 30g sugar

• 25g caster sugar

• ¼ tsp fresh ground cinnamon

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Grease and flour a 20 x 30cm (8 x 12 inch) roasting tin or lasagne dish.

2. Whisk the eggs and the caster sugar in a bowl until the mixture is really thick and fluffy.

3. Bring the butter and milk to the boil in saucepan, and stir, still boiling, into the eggs and sugar.

4. Sieve in the flour and baking powder and fold carefully into the batter so that there are no lumps of flour. Pour the mixture into the prepared roasting tin.

5. Peel and core the apples and cut into thin slices, arrange them overlapping on top of the batter. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar.

6. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180°C for a further 20-25 minutes, or until well risen and golden brown. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Cut into slices. Serve with softly whipped cream.