Your favourite cake or afternoon tea treat?

grannyactivist some of us have a go-to one-pan 'emergency' cake that is made from a batter - my "family" one is a chocolate cake - so any type of chocolate with or without courgette it's not really a treat sort of cake to me.

Nor, as it happens, is banana bread, nor other "bung it" cakes involving dates and so on.

When our children were small we didn't keep any sugar in the house so cooked sweet things with apples, bananas, plums/prunes, apricots dates and dried fruits etc. We did keep bees so used honey.

The sort of sweet treats to me are the ones you are lazy about at home.
I should probably take scones off my list as I do make those quite a lot, sweet and savory.
It's very rare I make donuts though!

Malt loaf is delicious but I do make that now and again.

That’s odd. My berries and currants are the only thing that’s done really well this year, despite the ceaseless rain.

I’m surprised no-one has mentioned a chocolate courgette cake. It freezes really well so I batch bake and stick some in the freezer.

I tend to bake weekly through the summer, but mostly make ‘loaf’ cakes as they fit in the freezer well. Favourites are:

Lemon drizzle
Date and walnut
Ginger (using home preserved ginger)
Banana cake (never gets as far as the freezer)
Almond cakes using various recipes
Raspberry and white chocolate muffins

We have an allotment that produces lots of fruit, but most of it tends to get frozen to supply my husband with winter puddings. At this time of year when the new harvest is in I usually empty some of the previous year’s fruit from the freezer and make wine. It’s been a rubbish year for berries though.

watermeadow

I love making cakes and if a recipe says ‘simple’ I pass it by.
I find making a cake for tea with older friends very frustrating because they all want the most boring cake in the world - a Victoria sandwich.
There are hundreds of lovely cakes, old and new, English or from other countries. I never again want to waste my time on Victoria sandwich, lemon drizzle, carrot cake, flapjacks or brownies.

I'm intrigued watermeadow.. what sort of cakes DO you make?

Victoria sponge boring???
Wash your mouth out, watermeadow! IMO a freshly homemade one is among the best!

Tuaim

I have a friend coming round for a cup of tea and she is brilliant at baking cakes to perfection. I am rubbish at baking but did notice today that the late Queen loved jam pennies. Problem solved! A nice cup of Earl Grey and some jam pennies. What's not to like? What cakes or afternoon tea favourites do you like to make or eat?

Chocolate cake filled with lots of cream and thick chocolate fudge icing on the top.

shysal

Baggs' Apple Cake, baked as a tray bake, is my go-to recipe when I want to make something foolproof and delicious. I swap her caster sugar sprinkle with Demerara, but lovely either way.
www.gransnet.com/recipes/dish/6620-Apple-Cake

What size/shape of tin, please? I can’t see it in the recipe.
Thanks!

NotSpaghetti

Oooh, malt loaf.
Yum

With lashings of butter NotSpaghetti

Oooh, malt loaf.
Yum

Witzend

shysal

Baggs' Apple Cake, baked as a tray bake, is my go-to recipe when I want to make something foolproof and delicious. I swap her caster sugar sprinkle with Demerara, but lovely either way.
www.gransnet.com/recipes/dish/6620-Apple-Cake

Thanks for that - apple cake is lovely. I used to make a GF one for a strictly GF visiting BiL - IIRC with some ground almonds as well as flour - the apple stopped it being too dry, like some GF cakes.

Baggs' Apple Cake recipe printed off. To be baked later today/early tomorrow as a trial run. Thank you so much for this. Love the idea of the apples stopping it being too dry.

So long as it's a good example of it's type I'm not too choosy.

Plain iced bun (^not lemon or pink)
Ginger cake,
Coffee and Walnut,
Dundee,
Homemade donut,
Scones
Lemon drizzle,
Baked cheesecake

Whilst I love these I'd actually rather have something savoury!

Thank you very much, flappergirl - much appreciated, and I will definitely give it a go soon.

Sorry MissInterpreted, just logged back in. It's really easy. Soak chopped dates in warm water and a teaspoon of bicarb for around 10 minutes then drain. In another bowl mash 2 ripe bananas. Just make a sponge mixture to your usual recipe, adding vanilla extract then fold in the dates and mashed bananas. Add dried cinnamon to taste and cook.

Meanwhile mix mascarpone, icing sugar and a little lemon juice in another bowl, making sure the mixture is quite stiff. Once the cake has cooled ice it with the mascarpone mixture. I usually put icing in the middle and on top.

I then sprinkle with a little more cinnamon and decorate with caramelised bananas. I slice bananas lengthways, sprinkle with brown sugar and use a kitchen blow torch to caramelise them but this is obviously optional!

It's the sort of cake that you don't have to be too precious about and it really is delicious. Let me know if you make it.

flappergirl

Lemon polenta syrup cake served with whipped coconut cream.

My own banana, date and cinnamon cake with mascarpone frosting. (Not too modest).

A nice fruity danish pastry which seem to have become obsolete except for a few ubiquitous offerings.

I love the sound of that banana, date and cinnamon cake! Any chance of the recipe, please?

I dislike anything creamy so for me it would be ginger cake and/or Yorkshire curd tart.

Lemon polenta syrup cake served with whipped coconut cream.

My own banana, date and cinnamon cake with mascarpone frosting. (Not too modest).

A nice fruity danish pastry which seem to have become obsolete except for a few ubiquitous offerings.

My son’s lemon drizzle cake and my own scones. No jam though 🤢just clotted cream.

Scones with fresh jam

Summer pudding

Just went to the Garden Centre and bought myself two slices of the best Victoria sponge ever 😋- just had one with a cuppa

Nurse came to see me today. Said lost too
much weight and told me to eat all the naughty things.
I like baking so will make ( promises promises)-
Victoria sponge
Scones+ cream and jam
Fruit cake
Bran loaf / cake + butter on etc.

Oh my goodness ... my mouth is watering .... I wish I'd ignored this thread!

I love making cakes and if a recipe says ‘simple’ I pass it by.
I find making a cake for tea with older friends very frustrating because they all want the most boring cake in the world - a Victoria sandwich.
There are hundreds of lovely cakes, old and new, English or from other countries. I never again want to waste my time on Victoria sandwich, lemon drizzle, carrot cake, flapjacks or brownies.

That sounds like a lovely idea for tea with your friend! Jam pennies are a delightful choice, especially with a cup of Earl Grey. As for my favorite cakes or afternoon tea treats, I enjoy making classic scones with clotted cream and jam. There's something comforting about the combination of warm scones paired with the richness of clotted cream and the sweetness of jam.

I also have a soft spot for lemon drizzle cake — it's tangy, moist, and just the right amount of sweet. It's always a hit whether I bake it or enjoy it at a café.

Scones with clotted cream and raspberry jam
Meringues sandwiched with fresh cream

Tiffin bites

Can you all please stop! You are making me very hungry. No carry on
I'll go to a less delicious thread.