With Mother’s Day just around the corner, the eternal question of what to do / buy / make long-suffering mums across the country surfaces yet again.
Here at Epigram Food, we’d like to propose cake is the answer. Cake is great. I like cake. My mum likes cake. My family all like cake so there's plenty of people to eat it. And at the end of the day, it's also pretty straight-forward to make, to be honest. To inspire you, here are some of the recipes which have gone down best with my family & friends alike over the years… Enjoy!.
Date & Banana Flapjacks
Epigram / Sarah Roller
- 1 banana
- 125g pitted dates
- 250g oats
- 3 tbsp golden syrup / Carnation caramel
- 100g melted butter
- ½ tsp cinnamon
Method
- Roughly chop dates and mash one of the bananas.
- Mix all the ingredients together and pop in a tin.
- Cook for 30 mins at 180 degrees, but check regularly depending on how chewy you like your flapjacks…!
Coffee & Walnut Cake
Epigram / Sarah Roller
- 150g butter / marg
- 100g soft brown sugar
- 50g caster sugar
- 3 eggs
- 150g self-raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 75g walnuts, chopped.
- 1 tbsp instant coffee mixed with 1 tbsp hot water
- 225g icing sugar
- 100g butter
- 1 spoon hot water mixed with 1 spoon instant coffee.
Method
- Cream butter and sugar together.
- Add the eggs, whisking after each one.
- Mix in self-raising flour, baking powder, coffee and walnuts.
- Place in a tray-bake tin and cook at 180 degrees for 20-25 mins.
- Whisk butter and icing sugar together, then add coffee.
- Once cooled, ice and top with some more chopped walnuts.
Millionaire’s Shortbread
Epigram / Sarah Roller
- 175g butter
- 60g caster sugar
- 225g plain flour
- 140g butter
- 397g condensed milk
- 4 tbsp golden syrup
- 20g caster
- 200g dark chocolate
Method
- Rub butter, sugar and flour together until they resemble breadcrumbs - it can take a while!
- Press into a tin and poke all over with a fork.
- Bake at 140 degrees for 25 mins or so, until golden brown.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter for the caramel, then stir continuously whilst adding in other ingredients.
- Simmer for 10-15 minutes until golden and resembling caramel.
- Pour over the (slightly cooled) shortbread - be warned it will be incredibly hot!
- Refrigerate until set.
- Melt the chocolate and pour over the caramel. Again, refrigerate until set.
- Slice into bars / squares and enjoy!
