Waking up on a Sunday and watching cooking shows all morning may be your idea of the perfect end to a weekend, but have you ever wanted to use some of those recipes in your own kitchen? Baking a gooey chocolate cake or a fruity tart can look easy on TV, but if you’re like me, they can be a lot trickier when you’re the one doing the whisking.

But with Tilly Pamment’s new book, The Plain Cake Appreciation Society, baking has never been so simple. And delicious, of course. With 52 seasonal recipes to choose from, you’ll have a cake or dessert to bake for every week of the year. From a Weekday Lemon Cake to a Simple Chocolate Cake, Pamment has your sweet treats sorted for every weather and mood.

A Simple Chocolate Cake

Tilly says: “This is a very simple chocolate cake. It’s a melt-and-mix number that delivers a nostalgically light, uncomplicated cake. Quite a lot of sour cream in the batter helps keep it lovely and soft, and topped with a simple chocolate icing and sprinkles or dried petal confetti, it’s pure childish delight.”

Makes one 22cm (8½ inch) cake

Ingredients

• 200g (7oz) self-raising flour
• 65g (2¼oz) Dutch (unsweetened) cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 220g (7¾oz) caster (superfine) sugar
• 300g (10½oz) sour cream
• 125ml (4 floz) full-cream (whole) milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 125g (4½oz) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• sprinkles or dried edible flowers to decorate (optional)

Chocolate icing (frosting)

• 200g (7oz) icing sugar
• 30g (1oz) Dutch (unsweetened) cocoa powder
• 25g (1oz) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2 tablespoons boiling water

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C (315°F) fan-forced. Grease a 22 cm (8½ inch) round tin with butter and line the base and side with baking paper.

Place the flour in a large mixing bowl. Sift in the cocoa and baking powder, before adding the salt and caster sugar and whisking to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk the sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla and melted butter together until smooth. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix gently until the batter is smooth.

Spoon the batter into the tin, smoothing the top and tapping the tin gently on the bench a few times to remove any air bubbles. Bake in the oven for 55–60 minutes, or until the cake has risen and is cooked through.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin before carefully turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. When the cake is cool, make the icing. 

Place the icing sugar, cocoa and butter in a mixing bowl. Add the boiling water and stir until smooth. Spread over the cooled cake and top with sprinkles or edible flowers (if using).

Store any leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for two to three days.

Weekday Lemon Cake

Tilly says: “A while ago, I spent a couple of days working in a little studio looking out on the most gloriously laden lemon tree I have ever seen – fruit drooping from its branches by the dozen. It truly was a magnificent sight. In honour of that beautiful tree, and the philosophy of The Plain Cake Appreciation Society – the appreciation of good, simple cake – I give you my weekday lemon cake. A (very) simple melt-and-mix number, perfect for when cake is in order, but fuss is not.”

Makes one loaf cake

Ingredients

• plain (all-purpose) flour, to dust
• 220g (7¾oz) caster (superfine) sugar
• finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 225g (8oz) self-raising flour
• 125g (4½oz) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 130g (4½oz) Greek-style yoghurt
• 60ml (2 floz) full-cream (whole) milk

Lemon glaze

• 120g (4¼oz) icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C (315°F) fan-forced and grease a 1.5 litre (52 fl oz) loaf (bar) tin thoroughly with butter. Dust with a little plain flour, tapping out any excess.

Place the caster sugar and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl and use your fingertips to rub the zest through the sugar, releasing the oils and perfuming the sugar. Add the flour to the bowl and whisk to combine.

Pour in the melted butter, eggs, yoghurt, milk and lemon juice and whisk to a smooth batter, taking care not to overmix.

Spoon the batter into the tin, smoothing the top with a spatula and tapping the tin lightly on the bench to remove any air bubbles.

Bake in the oven for 45–50 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

When the cake is cool, make the lemon glaze. Combine the icing sugar and lemon juice in a bowl and stir until smooth. Check the consistency of the glaze and add a little more lemon juice if needed until you have a nice drippy glaze.

Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake and allow to set (or not) before cutting the cake into thick slices and serving with a big cup of tea.

This cake with keep happily in an airtight container at room temperature for two to three days.

Lumberjack Cake

Tilly says: “Another one for the Cake for Breakfast Club, this lumberjack cake is one of my favourite ways to start the day (just don’t tell my mum). It is a reassuringly old-fashioned bake – a wholesome, generous cake filled with dates and apple, and topped with crunchy caramelised coconut. A cake that is just begging to be eaten warm with a generous dollop of yoghurt and a bottomless cup of tea.”

Makes one 22cm (8½ inch) cake

Ingredients

• 160g (5½oz) dried dates, roughly chopped
• 185ml (6 fl oz) full-cream (whole) milk
• 2 eating apples, peeled, cored and diced
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (optional)
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 150g (5½oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 220g (7¾oz) caster (superfine) sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 2 eggs
• 225g (8oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt
• Greek-style yoghurt or cream, to serve (optional)

Coconut topping

• 60g (2¼oz) unsalted butter
• 110g (3¾oz) brown sugar
• 80ml (2½ fl oz) full-cream (whole) milk
• 75g (2½oz) shredded coconut

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C (315°F) fan-forced. Grease a 22 cm (8½ inch) round springform tin with butter and line the base and side with baking paper.

Place the dates, milk, apple, ginger and bicarbonate of soda in a medium saucepan over low heat and bring to just below a simmer. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, caster sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Place the flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Add half to the butter mixture, stirring gently. Fold through half the cooled apple and date mixture before adding the remaining flour, then the remaining apple and date mixture. Stir until just combined, then spoon the batter into the tin, smoothing the top and tapping the tin on the bench a few times to remove any air bubbles.

Bake in the oven for 45 minutes.

While the cake is baking, make the coconut topping. Combine the ingredients in a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.

When the cake has been in the oven for 45 minutes, carefully take it out – the cake should be set, but not cooked through at this stage.

Gently spoon the coconut topping over the cake in an even layer, starting from the outside and working your way in. Return the cake to the oven for a further 30–40 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.

Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before carefully turning it out onto a wire rack to cool further.

Serve the cake warm or at room temperature with Greek-style yoghurt or cream.

This cake keeps well in an airtight container at room temperature for two to three days.

The Plain Cake Appreciation Society: 52 Weeks Of Cake by Tilly Pamment (£22, Murdoch Books) is out now.

Images: Tilly Pamment