Chocolate Cinnamon Gâteau

This one’s from Cooking With Herbs and Spices by Josceline Dimbleby, published in 1979.  As David Dimbleby’s first wife this book is an intriguing insight into the bizarre eating habits of the rich and famous. Only kidding, it’s a collection of dubious seventies dishes, including Surprise Meatballs – “I love meatballs and there seem to be endless variations to try out. My husband suggested stuffing them with a nugget of cheese…” (It is my experience that if a dish has the word ‘surprise’ in the title then the surprise is very likely to be cheese*). But I wasn’t looking for savoury cheesy treats, but cake recipes, and went for this sumptuous sounding one.

Cherry Cobblestone Cake

For a barbeque at the weekend myself and Sarah had a vintage cake bake-off. The rules – bake an individual cake (ie no cupcakes) from a vintage recipe, release both cakes simultaneously on the BBQ attendees, and the first cake to be finished wins.  Sarah has already written hers up here, and I must congratulate her as the bake-off winner as her cake was polished off fastest. I feel compelled to point out that her cake was smaller than mine, and next time we might have to think a bit harder about the rules! (nb – am not bitter).

The cake I chose to make was a Cherry Cobblestone Cake, from my current favourite recipe resource, the Alison Burt Super Saving Recipe Cards (note to self – use other recipe books).