Recipe for salted peanut butter chocolate cake

SALTED PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CAKE

Ben from Pennoyer’s Café team dreamed up the idea for this decadent cake: salted peanut butter frosting on a dark chocolate cake, with a surprise caramel filling. It makes a perfect Easter treat, or indeed at any time…and a little goes a long way!

Serves 12

684kcal, 69 carbs per slice

INGREDIENTS Cake:

250g salted butter, softened 250g caster sugar 190g self-raising flour 60g good cocoa powder (we use Green & Black’s) 2 teaspoons baking powder, sifted 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 4 large eggs 100ml milk

Frosting:

200g unsalted butter, softened 200g smooth peanut butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste 300g icing sugar 15ml milk

Filling:

4 tablespoons tinned caramel (we use Carnation) Caramel shards (optional) 60g granulated sugar

METHOD 1. Preheat the oven to 190ºC (170ºC fan). Grease and baseline a 20cm loose-based deep tin. Put all the cake ingredients in a food processor and whizz until smooth. If you don’t have a processor, use the creaming method from any Victoria Sandwich recipe. Turn the mixture into the tin, smooth over and bake for 50 minutes or until risen and a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn onto a rack. 2. For the frosting, beat together the butter and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and salt, then beat in the icing sugar with the milk for 3 minutes or so. 3. For the caramel shards, sprinkle the sugar in a single layer on an A4-sized sheet of good kitchen foil on a baking tray. Grill until it melts and goes deep brown – but don’t let it burn. Allow to cool. As you peel back the foil, the shards will form. 4. Split the cake in two. Pipe two rounds of frosting around the perimeter of the base cake to form a ‘wall’, then spoon the caramel into the middle. Top with the other half cake and pipe on the remaining frosting. Decorate with shards just before serving.

The Pennoyer Centre’s volunteer BakeForce make delicious cakes for sale in the café, which won the EDP Norfolk Food & Drink “Best Baking” Award. Check the café’s Facebook page for up to date opening details.

www.pennoyers.org.uk 01379 676660 The Pennoyer Centre, Station Road, Pulham St Mary, Norfolk, IP21 4QT

Tip: The shards will dissolve after a day or two, but turn into a lovely caramel drizzle as they do so!

The Germination game

Not confident about growing plants from seed? Don’t panic… these top tips will help you achieve success with your seedlings

Don’t over water

This can be so tempting when you first grow from seed. Make sure the soil is damp, but not soaking wet, because leaving seedlings drenched in water will not help them thrive and could kill them off. Water every 3-5 days, depending on where you live, the temperature and the time of year. It’s often better to water seedlings from the bottom by placing them in a tray of water, but don’t leave them to sit in it.

Lots of light

Your seedlings need plenty of light, especially those grown early in the season such as sweet peas and cosmos. Without enough light they will turn ‘leggy’, which means they grow really quickly towards the light because they’re not getting enough. This will create slightly less healthy plants than those which get enough light.

Pinching

This is not a universal rule, but some plants do well from being ‘pinched’. This is where you pinch off the top leaves just above a set of leaves to prevent the plant growing taller, instead creating branching for bushier plants with more flowers. Use your fingertips or a clean, small pair of sharp scissors or pruners to snip off the top of the seedling stem, just above the point where a leaf or set of leaves connect to it. Don’t pinch right at the point where the leaves connect, or you may remove the bud that will become a new branch. Pinching will activate little buds which will create new stems. The auxin hormones will redirect to these new stems, bringing on new growth. Seedlings that thrive from pinching include cosmos, sweet peas and dahlias.

Air circulation

If you’re new to gardening, you might think that sowing as many seeds as possible is a good idea, just in case some don’t grow. But it’s best to sow seeds thinly, giving them plenty of space to grow, enough nutrients, light, and air circulation. A lack of airflow creates several problems such as wet or damp foliage, spores settling on leaves and unnaturally stiff stems on seedlings. If you’re keeping your seedlings in a greenhouse, open the doors during the day occasionally to allow plenty of air to circulate, particularly on hot days.

Thin them out

Plants don’t like to be crowded, and it’s the same with seedlings, which need all the sun and nutrients that they can get. It’s often better to have fewer stronger plants than a lot of weaker, less healthy ones.

Handle with care

If you need to move your seedlings, be very careful with the roots. Never pull the seedlings up from trays by the stem, always use a leaf. This will prevent the stem from snapping.

Many thanks to Elizabeth Fox from @therosepressgarden