Ginger Fox Cake - made with Carlin Peas

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

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