Mother’s Day delights

Who doesn’t love a home-baked cake, asks Rachel Allen, as she shares a trio of tasty recipes that are just perfect for the mother-figure in your life

For the day that’s in it, why not say ‘I love you’ with something delicious? It could be for your mum, your godmother, or the mother-figure in your life — I mean, who doesn’t love a home-baked cake?

A classic Swiss roll can be hard to beat. Fill it with raspberry jam; salted caramel sauce and bananas; lemon curd and cream, or even poached rhubarb. It’s simple to do, and a nice thing for a mother and child to do together — it’s a favourite of mine and Scarlett’s. Sometimes the simplest things are just the best: a freshly baked cake, with a cup of tea — that’s what I adore. Or if the mamma in your life loves a drizzle cake, then I recommend this version, far right, which has a summery-tasting elderflower syrup poured over the top. Let’s face it, we can always do with some more summer in our lives.

For the more ambitious bakers, I’ve included a recipe, also far right, for a chocolate mousse layer cake. It’s four layers of chocolate sponge sandwiched together with a rich, but light, chocolate mousse. This deeply luxurious cake is ideal for any celebration.

To add even more va-va-voom, I recommend decorating the cake with chocolate curls. To make them, carefully pour 250g of melted chocolate (milk, dark or white) onto the surface of an upside-down flat baking tray so that the chocolate is about ½cm thick. Leave the tray of chocolate somewhere cool to allow it to set — don’t put it in the fridge, though; it’s too cold.

Run a cheese slicer along the top of the set chocolate, shaving off curls as you do so. Put the curls directly on the cake, or store them in an airtight box for another day. With chocolate curls piled on top and a dusting of icing sugar to finish, this is a great way to say Happy Mother’s Day.

“Sometimes the simplest things are just the best: a freshly baked cake, with a cup of tea — that’s what I adore”