The recipe for this Jumbly cake came from my stepmother in about 1980. It arrived handwritten on a piece of orange paper, signed “Grandma”. The children voted to rename it Bumbly cake after our wheaten cairn terrier, whose coat was the same colour as the cake. She then turned into a red brindle cairn whose coat matched the chocolate pieces in the cake.
The cake is excellent brain and energy food, and it became a family favourite to eat before, during and after exams. It’s now much loved by the grandchildren. The joy is in the eating, but of course also in the making, as it is so quick and easy.
Jumbly cake
Margot Hill, 75, Aylesbury
Ingredients
3 eggs
220g butter
220g soft brown sugar
240g self-raising flour
100g glacé cherries, chopped in half
100g walnuts, chopped
130g dark chocolate (70 per cent), chopped into chunks
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 150C/gas 2.
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2. Cream the butter and sugar.
3. Beat the eggs together and add them slowly to the creamed butter and sugar.
4. Mix in the flour.
5. Mix in the goodies.
6. Put into a 20cm round baking tin and cook for 1 hour or longer if still soggy.
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