Chocolaty Harvest Fruit Topped Cake Food

CHOCOLATE HARVEST CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease (and flour) two 9"x1 1/2" round baking pans.
• Combine and whisk all cake ingredients BUT flour and cocoa powder.
• Add flour and cocoa powder and whisk until even.
• Spread evenly into the two pans.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes until top springs back or toothpick comes out clean.
• Let cool.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together Pumpkin Cream Filling ingredients. (Make sure cream cheese is soft enough so you don't end up with cream cheese chunks!).
• Spread Pumpkin Filling on top of one cake and top it with the other.
• Boil whipping cream over medium-high heat.
• Remove from heat and add chocolate, DO NOT stir.
• Wait 5 minutes until chocolate is melty, then stir until smooth and chocolate is liquid.
• Wait until glaze has thickened (10 minutes) and then pour over top of cake.
• Refrigerate cake or let set until glaze is fairly solid (15-30 min).
• OPTIONAL: top with seasonal berries or nuts.

CHOCOLATE FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Put the butter, sugar, chocolate, brandy, vanilla and dried fruits into a large saucepan. Heat gently, stirring occasionally until everything has melted together. Remove from the heat.
• Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Line a deep cake tin, 20cm round or 18cm square, with a double layer of baking parchment. Wrap a few layers of newspaper around the outside and secure with string.
• Mix the flour, almonds, cocoa and spice together. Stir the eggs into the slightly cooled chocolate mixture in the saucepan, followed by the flour mixture. Scrape into your prepared tin and bake for 1½ hrs- 1 hr 45 mins or until a skewer poked in comes out clean. Cool in the tin, then decorate (see 'Goes well with', right, for decoration ideas). Greaseproof-wrapped cake will keep for 2 months in an airtight container.

FRUIT-TOPPED CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F Grease a 9-inch round pan.
• Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a small bowl.
• In a medium saucepan, melt 6 tablespoons butter over low heat. Stir in 6 tablespoons sugar and let cool 10 minutes.
• Add egg to butter/sugar mix, stir well.
• Stir in flour mix, spread dough in pan with the back of a spoon.
• Arrange fruit slices in a circle filling in to the center, press lightly into the dough.
• Drizzle fruit with lemon juice and sprinkle with remaining 4 tablespoons sugar.
• Sprinkle with cinnamon and dot with remaining 2 tablespoons butter.
• Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until fork inserted in center comes out clean.
• Cool on a wire rack and serve warm or at room temperature.