PREPARATIONS FOR A PARTY

Tomorrow one of my sons friends is celebrating his birthday and as has become the tradition will have a party here tomorrow after the game. A chocolate cake was requested and now sits on the kitchen table while the icing sets before being covered and put safely away until tomorrow
MARKS CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE FUDGE CAKE
For the cake
6oz butter softened
6oz caster sugar
6oz self raising flour
3 eggs
1 and a half teaspoons of baking powder.

This is easy. Put all the ingredients in to a bowl and beat for 3 minutes then spoon in to two greased and lined eight inch sandwich tins. Bake for 35 minutes at 160 c

For the fudge filling and topping
12 oz icing sugar
3 oz butter
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
2 to 4 tablespoons of single cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

Sieve icing sugar and cocoa powder together.
Melt the chocolate gently in a large sauce pan, when it is melted add half the icing sugar and beat well then add the cream ,essence and the rest of the icing sugar and beat until you have a creamy mixture which will spread. Spread half the mixture on to one of the cakes and them sandwich the two together and spread the remaining chocolate on the top.

For the hazel nut and chocolate cream

4 oz butter
8 oz icing sugar I tablespoon cocoa powder
2 oz hazel nuts chopped and toasted
1 tablespoon of single cream

Chop the hazel nuts and toast in a frying pan until they smell wonderful and begin to brown.
Place the butter, sugar, cocoa powder and cream in a bowl and beat well. The mixture should almost double in volume and become pale. Add the cooled toasted nuts and beat again for a few moments then spread the mixture around the outside edges of the cake.

For the finishing touch
about a table spoon of fine dark chocolate shavings
About a dozen round truffles, I used Tescos Swiss truffles but you could use any as long as they are round.
Sprinkle the chocolate shavings over the top of the cake.
Cut the truffles in half and push them firmly in to the hazelnut icing around the sides of the cake if there are any left use them to make a pattern on the top, or just eat them and say no more. You deserve a treat.

Apart from a little desultory shopping and tea with the neighbours that has been all for today.
We had gammon and eggs for dinner and then a photograph show of my sons huge collection of holiday snaps which was lovely, it will take ages to look at all of them as he took over a thousand .

Another nest of blackbirds fledged today and a nest on wrens, the spotty young robins are still in evidence and several young parakeets are favouring our feeding tables . The rain has done wonders for the garden and for now my equilibrium has been restored. Long may it last.