Black bottom cupcakes

The black bottom cupcake looks innocent but packs a punch! It's a dark chocolate sponge with a dollop of cheesecake baked into it. Makes twelve.

Ingredients (Makes twelve)

for the chocolate sponge base:
190g plain flour
120g caster sugar
40g cocoa powder, plus extra to decorate
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
40ml sunflower oil
1½ tsp white vinegar
½ tsp vanilla extract
for the cheesecake filling:
140g cream cheese
60g caster sugar
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla extract
a pinch of salt
100g milk chocolate chips
a 12-hole cupcake tray, lined with paper cases

Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas 3. For the chocolate sponge base, put the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda in a large bowl and mix with a handheld electric whisk on slow speed until all the dry ingredients are well incorporated.

Put the oil, vinegar, vanilla extract and 125ml water in a jug and whisk to combine. While the electric whisk is running in the flour bowl, slowly add the contents of the jug, increasing the speed of the blender as the mixture thickens. Continue to beat until all the ingredients are incorporated. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full. Set aside.

For the cheesecake filling, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, egg, vanilla extract and salt in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) on medium-slow speed until smooth and fluffy.

Stir in the chocolate chips by hand until evenly dispersed. Don't overmix, otherwise the cream cheese will start to split.

Scoop about 1 tbs of the cheesecake filling on top of the cupcake mixture in the cases and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until the cupcakes are firm to the touch and they have an even golden colour on the cheesecake filling. Don't overcook, as the cheesecake will become dry and crumbly. Leave to cool slightly before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. When the cupcakes are cold, spoon the cream cheese frosting on top and decorate with a light sprinkling of cocoa .

A Cake for Midsummer

Blueberries and peaches are rippled through the soft, almond-rich crumb of this pretty cake – the very essence of summer. I sometimes add a few rose petals and an extra handful of raspberries at the last moment, or perhaps a light scattering of caster sugar.

Ingredients (serves 8-10)

175g butter
175g golden caster sugar
200g ripe peaches
2 large eggs
175g self-raising flour
100g ground almonds
1 tsp grated orange zest
a few drops of vanilla extract
150g blueberries

Line the base of a 20cm, loose-bottomed cake tin with baking paper. Set the oven at 170C/gas mark 4.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a food mixer until pale and fluffy. Halve, stone and roughly chop the peaches. Beat the eggs lightly then add, a little at a time, to the creamed butter and sugar, pushing the mixture down the sides of the bowl from time to time with a rubber spatula. If there is any sign of curdling, stir in a tablespoon of the flour.

Mix the flour and almonds together and fold in, with the mixture at a slow speed, in two or three separate lots. Add the orange zest and vanilla, and once they are incorporated add the chopped peaches and blueberries.

Scrape the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Test with a skewer – if it comes out relatively clean, then the cake is done. Leave the cake to cool for 10 minutes or so in the tin, run a palette knife around the edge, then slide out on to a plate, decorating as the fancy takes you.