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Many recipes originate in one county and are then adopted by another.  Deal Date Shortcake was taken to Lancaster by relatives of a Deal resident in the late 1930s.

DEAL DATE SHORTCAKE

4oz butter                                 4oz caster sugar
4oz cornflour                           4oz S.R. flour      
1 egg

 

8oz chopped dates
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp water

Cream together the butter and sugar.
Sift in the flour and cornflour.
Beat in the egg to bind the mixture.
Cover the bottom of an 8in. round greased tin with half of the mixture.
Place the dates, lemon juice and water in a small pan and warm until soft and malleable.
Cover the shortcake base with the date filling.
Top the filling with the remaining shortcake mixture.
Bake for 30 mins. at 180C/ 350F/ Gas mark 4.
Sprinkle icing sugar on top of the shortcake or top with lemon icing  (icing sugar and lemon juice.)

Serve warm with custard or cream as a dessert, or as it is with a cup of tea or coffee.



FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE.


This is an excellent way to use up any ground almonds left over from your Christmas baking.

100g/4oz butter                          140g/5oz dark chocolate, broken into pieces
6 eggs, separated                         140g/5oz ground almonds  
1 tbsp kirsch (optional)               85g/3oz caster sugar      
Cocoa powder for dusting

Preheat the oven to 170C/Gas 3/ fan oven 150C.
Butter and line the base of a 23cm/9in spring form cake tin.
Melt the butter and chocolate, stir until smooth, leave for 5 mins.to cool.
Stir in the egg yokes, ground almonds and liqueur, if using.
Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until soft peaks form.
Continue whisking  adding the sugar a little at a time until stiff peaks form.
Stir 2 tablespoons of the whites into the chocolate mixture then carefully fold in the remainder
Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 30-35 mins until well risen  and just firm.
Cool in the tin.
Dust with cocoa powder and serve with crème fraiche
This cake can also be decorated with chocolate spread in the middle and covered in chocolate. .