MY FAVOURITE CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE and a few other goodies

This is the chocolate cake recipe I use for all the family birthdays, except my hubbies as he prefers fruit cake but we still have one of these as well for everyone else.  It is large and foolproof.

RECIPE
1/2cup cocoa mixed with 1/2cup hot water
2 large cups S.R flour
1/2cup milk
3 eggs
1/2tsp carb soda
1tspn vanilla essence
11/4cups sugar
4ozs(125grms) butter
1tspn cream of tartar
1/4tspn salt

METHOD
Cream butter and sugar well, add beaten eggs a little at a time beating well between. (my mothers tip to prevent this mixture curdling at this stage, sprinkle in a little flour)  Add sifted flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt.  Lastly stir in milk and cocoa mixed with hot water.  Bake in a flat baking dish in moderate oven for about 25-30mins.
 I nearly always use my ring or square cake tin to make a nice birthday cake but just cook it longer, I touch it with my finger at about 40mins and if it springs back when I release, it should be cooked, but I double check with a cake skewer too.  Cool in the tin and then turn out onto a rack.  Ice with chocolate butter icing when cold.


My best bean recipe
I grew these beans from some dried ones that I use for cooking, they grow easily.

Put the beans through a shredder if you have one.  Chop up some spring onions and capsicum, asstd coloured capsicums look nice but I only had red today.  Stir fry in olive oil and a little butter until just done.  You can also add some crushed garlicand skinned deseeded chopped tomatoes which is nice too.

Don't throw away the root part of the spring onion, plant it in the garden, it will grow again.  The one in the photo with the green shoots is one I planted 2weeks ago.

Another of my mums tips

My mother said that during the war when some ingredients were unavailable they substituted lots of other ingredients.  One that I had to use today was a teaspoon of cider vinegar in place of  an egg yolk for the biscuits I baked, I used my last 3 in the chocolate cake. As you can see in the photo they are fine and taste very good (yes I sampled one while they were still warm, only a tiny one)