Bonfire Cake

Serves 6-8 The cake

• 85g (3 oz) soft butter
• 125g (5 oz) soft light brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 55g (2 oz) self raising flour
• 55g (2 oz) plain flour
• 25g (1 oz) ground almonds
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 25g (1 oz) cocoa
• 85ml (3 fl oz) milk
• 1 tbsp golden syrup

The icing

• 55g (2 oz) soft butter
• 175g (6 oz) icing sugar, sieved
• 1 tbsp cocoa dissolved in a little hot water

Decoration

• 4 Flake bars, split vertically
• Ready to roll icing, coloured orange and red

Grease a 1.1 litre (2 pint) pudding basin.

Cream together the butter and sugar then gradually add the egg, alternating with a little of the flour. Add the remaining flours, ground almonds, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa, milk and syrup. Mix well together. Place the mixture into the pudding basin and cover with a circle of non-stick baking parchment, pleat a piece of foil over this and tie tightly with string.

Stand the pudding basin in an AGA saucepan and pour in boiling water to come halfway up the basin, cover with the lid. Simmer for 15 minutes.

2, 3 and 4 oven AGA: Transfer the covered pan, complete with water and basin to the Simmering Oven and steam for about 1½ hours until firm and cooked. Turn out and cool.

To complete the bonfire cake, make up the butter icing by gradually beating the butter with the icing sugar, then beat in the cocoa mixture. Spread over the cake and arrange the chocolate flakes to represent a bonfire. Make up flames from the ready to roll icing and decorate the cake.

Conventional cooking: Steam the cake on the hob, topping up the hot water as necessary.

Tip: to make it easier to lift out the basin in and out of the saucepan, when cooking is finished, make a collar of folded foil to go around and under the basin.

By Dawn Roads, AGA Food Editor.