June 18, 2015
| Made with Hodmedod's Red Fox Carlin Peas, this moist, rich cake was served to great acclaim and devoured with much enthusiasm at our recent Open Day - another superb recipe from Lindsey Dickson of The Eating Tree. |
The guys at Hodmedod’s and I have been trying to think up a suitable name for this cake, one that would make it sound inviting if spotted on a dessert menu, despite the fact it is made of peas. Red fox Carlin Peas to be precise. (Though Black Badger Carlin Peas, cooked from dry or out of the can and drained, would work just as well.)
Being a lady of a certain age, I have made more chocolate cakes in my life than I can remember. Some recipes have become like old friends whose phone numbers are used so regularly they are indelibly written on my brain. Others only come to the fore for special occasions which will entail a degree of rifling through scribblings and notes to find the recipe and then there are the less memorable ones that have long been forgotten, consigned to the bookshelves never to be hunted out again.
The reader may be forgiven for having a mental image of a pea cake as something rather dry and worthy, and well, tasting of peas. Nothing could be further than the truth with this cake which has quickly become my new favourite in the heady world of chocolate cake.
Made with two of my favourite flavours which blend so well together, the ginger and chocolate combine with the peas to make a moist, rich cake which is not overtly sweet. Easy to make, beautiful to look at and an extremely good keeper, need I go on. It makes a large cake that will cut into 12 servings easily, making it an excellent cake for entertaining. Like most chocolate cakes it is even better the next day so for best results make the cake the day before, wrap in foil overnight and decorate the following day.
Serves: 12
Ingredients for the Cake
Ingredients for Decoration
|
MethodYou will need a 9” spring release cake tin, greased with butter, bottom lined with baking paper and the sides dusted with cocoa powder. Preheat the oven to 165C (fan) / 325F.
When cutting, wipe the knife blade between cuts to ensure a beautifully clean cut. |
November 28, 2025
Jens Hannibal, plant-focused chef and educator with over 15 years of experience, has shared this sumptuous recipe with us, a glimpse of the approach to cooking you can learn in Jens's new online course Cook with Confidence.
November 20, 2025
This recipe from Anna Warden makes for a cookie that is crunchy on the outside, and chewy in the middle - to our mind the best combination. The malted wheat flour and coffee create a gorgeous depth of flavour and a moreish caramelly base which pairs perfectly with dark chocolate and sea salt. These cookies will keep in the freezer (unbaked) for a couple of weeks, and so are the perfect thing to have to hand for times you want a cookie or for when you might just need a cookie.
November 17, 2025
As the nights cool and the leaves turn, so wild mushrooms emerge from the mossy forest floor. Leanne Townsend found a beautiful patch of winter chanterelles and cooked them up with some British-grown carlin peas.
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