Best cake recipes

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 6. Lightly butter and line a 23cm/9in square cake tin with baking paper. For the biscuit base, put the flour, butter and salt in a food processor and pulse to a fine crumb. Add the coconut and sugar and pulse again. Beat the egg yolk with the vanilla and 1–2 tablespoons cold water and add to the food processor with the motor running, to make a soft dough.

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Grease and line a 900g/2lb loaf tin or 20cm/8in round tin. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric whisk in a large mixing bowl until very pale and fluffy. Add the beaten egg, a little at a time, whisking well after each addition. Then whisk in the vanilla extract. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl, then fold it gently into the butter and egg mixture. Divide the cake batter into two equal portions (about 350g each).

Orange blossom and rosemary polenta cake Polenta has a unique texture and can carry other flavours really well, especially citrus. When baked in a cake, it produces a sturdy structure and acts like a sponge, drawing in all the flavour from the orange syrup. Ingredients For the cake For the thyme and orange syrup For the icing and decoration Method Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Grease and line a 20cm/8in round, loose-bottomed cake tin.