This is a lovely Easter cake recipe.

Ingredients

For the cake
100g Green and Blacks chocolate, broken in pieces
100g caster sugar
100g softened butter, plus extra
3 eggs, separated
50g ground almonds
50g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp apricot jam

For the Marzipan
50g caster sugar
100g ground almonds
50g  icing sugar
1-2 drops of almond extract
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

For the Icing
175g Green and Blacks chocolate, broken in pieces
142ml carton double cream

For the Decoration
1 large orange
100g white chocolate
25g Green and Blacks chocolate

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
2. Butter an 18cm deep cake tin.
3. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.
4. Mix together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
5. Beat in the yolks, one at a time.
6. Gently stir in the almonds and chocolate.
7. Whisk the egg whites in a bowl until stiff peaks form, then fold a quarter of the egg white into the chocolate mixture, next  sift in a quarter of the flour and baking powder. Repeat three more times until the egg white and flour is mixed in thoroughly.
8. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin.
9. Bake for 35-40 minutes until risen and cooked. Cool for five minutes, turn out on to a wire rack and cool completely.
10. Make the almond paste by putting the caster sugar and almonds in a bowl and sift in the icing sugar. Mix well, add the extract and egg –  mix to form a stiff paste.
11. Knead briefly on a surface dusted with icing sugar, then cut off a quarter of the paste and divide into 12. Return one piece to the main lump of paste and shape the other 11 into balls. Leave on a plate to dry slightly. Roll out the remaining paste to the size of the cake, trimming to neatly fit the cake.
12. Warm the jam and two tbsp of water in a pan, then press through a sieve into a bowl. Split the cake in half, putting one half on a plate.
13. Brush with jam. Cover with the marzipan and brush with jam. Top with the other cake half. Brush the cake top and sides with jam.
14. Make the icing: put the chocolate and cream in a bowl. Microwave on Medium for one to two minutes to melt the chocolate, then stir. Cool, then chill for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick enough to spread.
15. Spread over the cake top and sides with a palette knife. Leave to set.
16. Chop the orange in half. Melt the white chocolate in a bowl, as before. Spear a ball of paste with a cocktail stick and dip into the chocolate, turning it to coat, then hold it over the bowl for a few seconds until a point forms. Flip the ball and stick into the orange. Repeat with the remaining balls and leave to set.
17. Melt the Green and Blacks chocolate. Using the tip of a tsp, drizzle lines back and forth over the chocolate balls. Leave to set. Re-melt a little leftover chocolate and use to attach the balls to the cake.

This is a very dense, moist and delicious white chocolate cake – one of my favourites and perfect for Chocolate Week!

Ingredients

For the cake:
310g plain flour
5g baking soda
2g baking powder
3g salt
170g white chocolate, chopped
120ml hot water
225g butter, softened
300g caster sugar
3 eggs
235ml buttermilk

For the icing:
200g white chocolate, chopped
20g plain flour
235ml milk
225g butter, softened
200g caster sugar
5ml vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/175C/Gas Mark 4.
2. Grease two 9inch round cake tins.
3. In a bowl sieve together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and the salt.
4. In a small pan mix together the white chocolate and hot water over a low heat until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth, leave to cool to room temperature.
5. In a bowl mix together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
6. Add eggs one at a time beating well.
7. Stir in the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately.
8. Mix in the melted chocolate.
9. Put the cake batter into the cake tins and bake for approximately 30 minutes.
10. Use a fork to see if the cake is cooked, if it comes out clean then it’s ready, if it has some batter on it, cook it for a little longer.
11. When cooked take out of the tins and cool on a wire rack.
12. For the icing, in a pan, add the chocolate, flour and milk and melt over a medium heat, stirring constantly, until it is thick and creamy. Allow to cool completely.
13. In a bowl mix together the butter, sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy.
14. Mix in the white chocolate mixture and beat until it’s thick and creamy.
15. Spread  between the two layers of cake and over the top and sides of the cake.

There you have it, your delicious, white chocolate cake. Enjoy!

What’s your favourite, dark and bitter or milky and sweet? Whichever, there is nothing like chocolate to make a bad day much better!

As we know, Britain is a nation of chocaholics and we spend more than £3.5 billion a year on the lovely choccy stuff, which is way more than any other European country.

Now experts have confirmed that chocolate truly is good for our health (well the dark stuff anyway). According to Swedish scientists, people who eat chocolate after a heart attack may be less likely to have another heart attack. Chocolate boosts brain power and lifts depression too.

Nestle were asked to bring back Black Magic by the dark chocolate fans, so, after two years away from the shelves, Nestle brought back Black Magic!

The best dark chocolate has the highest percent of cocoa, so 70%, or even better 85% and dark chocolate has around 40 less calories per 100g than milk chocolate. It is full of antioxidants and anti-coagulants which make the blood flow more freely and help fight conditions that can lead to heart problems.

Dark chocolate can reduce cholesterol, cutting it by up to 10% and it also reduces the risk of blood clots by upto 75%.

It’s a myth that eating chocolate is addictive and causes spots. It’s more likely that hormones or general bad diet are to blame.

So, go on – give it a go, try a good, high cocoa content, dark chocolate and make yourself feel truly better!

There may be a recession on at the moment, but that means nothing to us chocolate lovers as Thorntons sales are proving.

The Thorntons company has revealed that they have had a 2.3% rise in their first quater sales compared to the same time last year (which included Woolworths and Birthdays contributions neither of which exist now). This will make their investors very happy as the shares have shot up by 5.75p to 123.75p!

The Chief Executive of Thorntons said that they have just launched their Christmas range and are now ready for the festive season – good lots of delicious new choccys ready for everyone to buy us for Christmas!

Thorntons continentals are very good for decorating the top of my delicious chocolate cake.