Swedish sunshine cake

Ingredients

100g caster sugar

2 eggs

150g unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

150g self-raising flour

1 tsp vanilla paste

50g ground almonds

handful flaked almonds

Method

Preheat oven to 200 C / Gas 6. 

Grease a 23 cm silicone cake tin and sprinkle with ground almonds.

Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla.

Stir in the melted, cooled butter.

Add flour; mix until smooth (it will look lumpy to begin with, keep mixing until it's smooth)

Spread the batter into the prepared tin. 

Sprinkle flaked almonds on top.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. 

Allow cake to cool slightly before removing from the tin. 

Cool completely on a wire rack. 

This cake keeps very well for up to a week in an airtight container or plastic bag.

Focaccia recipe

You will need: 
500g strong white flour 
7g sachet of dried yeast
80ml extra virgin olive oil
400ml lukewarm water
pinch of salt
good pinch of sea salt
few more drizzles of extra virgin olive oil

Mix the flour, yeast, salt, oil, and 300ml of the water in a large bowl and bring together to form a dough. Knead in the bowl for a few minutes, gradually incorporating the last 100ml of water (the more water you can get in the lighter the crumb will be).

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. It is ready when if you press a finger gently into tit, the indentation springs back - if it stays pressed in, knead for a few more minutes.

Lightly oil (normal olive oil will do for this, or even vegetable oil) and put in a tea-towel covered bowl. Leave in a warm place for about 1 and half hours until doubled in size.

Once it has doubled in size, gently knock it back by pressing it lightly with your fingers, then knead gently for a minute or two. Divide into two equal balls. You can either shape them into two rounds, sprinkle with oil and sea salt and bake, or you can make them into a sandwich with delicious things inside! I always do it this way.

Shape the first ball into a large round, then add the fillings. I use a torn up mozzarella, some sun-dried tomatoes chopped up, some olives, a few splashes of pesto, maybe some salami. It's quite nice with Gruyère cheese, or some ham and basil leaves, or halved cherry tomatoes - basically you can go wild with anything you like!

Then shape the second ball into a round and press it down onto the first round and fillings. Then press your finger all over it, drizzle with more oil and scatter with sea salt. Leave this somewhere really warm for about 40 minutes to prove. The longer you leave it the fluffier the crumb will be. I like to leave it near the oven with the oven on low. Now is a good time to preheat the oven to gas mark 7 (200 degrees).

Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown on top (I turn it halfway through, and also turn the oven down to gas mark 6 / 180 degrees). Turn onto a cooling rack and drizzle with (yet more) extra virgin olive oil. It's lovely still warm, but will keep until the day after. 

Welsh cakes

Here's my version. They're a little bit spicier than usual, but still delicious.

Here's my recipe for Welsh cakes

You will need:
450g SR flour
220g salted butter (diced)
Big pinch of salt
2 large free range eggs
150g granulated sugar
Handful of raisins or currants
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Method:
Rub the butter into the flour and salt until it resembles breadcrumbs
Stir in the sugar, raisins (or currants) and spices
Mix in the eggs with a butter knife, and combine until a dough forms
Knead for a few minutes on a floured surface
Roll out to about 1cm, cut into fluted rounds (must be a fluted cutter or you're breaking tradition!)
Heat a griddle or frying pan to a low heat and cook 1 cake as a tester - should take 1-2 minutes each side to get a little brown, and the middle should still be a little squishy
Cook all cakes for about 1-2 minutes each side and stack in towers on a cooling rack, the heat from the cakes continues to cook them to the perfect consistency
As soon as they are nearly cool, store them in a tin

They last for a good few days, but I guarantee they'll be eaten long before that.