Mother's Day is right around the corner and it's a chance to celebrate the maternal figures in our lives.
Many of us will be spending the day away from our families this year and relying on delivered treats to brighten our mum's day.
But for anyone who lives with, or at least in the same local area as their mum, it's a chance to gift her with something handmade.
Jack Monroe, known to many as the Bootstrap Cook, has shared a cake recipe that's simple enough for kids and uses basic store cupboard ingredients.
The total cost of all the ingredients in the peach drizzle cake comes to less than £3.
Award-winning food writer Jack is famed for creating healthy recipes for those on a low income and has worked with dozens of charities and food banks.
She's partnered with Del Monte to show how tinned and basic store cupboard ingredients can be used to make a delicious Mother's Day drizzle cake.
How will you be celebrating Mother's Day this year? Let us know in the comments below.
Recipe for Jack Monroe's peach drizzle cake
Serves eight
Prep time: 15 minutes, Cooking time: 60 minutes, plus 30 minutes cooling time
Difficulty level: Easy
Ingredients
1 can (425g) Del Monte® Peach Slices in Juice
250g butter (softened) or baking spread
200g finely ground white sugar
3 medium eggs
250g self-raising flour or 250g plain flour plus 1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
100g icing sugar
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180 o C, Gas Mark 4. Lightly grease a large loaf tin.
2. Strain the can of Del Monte peaches, reserving the juice to use later on for the icing.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter (or baking spread) and sugar. If using butter, dice it into 1cm cubes and leave them in a bowl at room temperature for 20-30 minutes to soften, or use the large hole side of a grater to grate it cold from the fridge. Mix well unt to form an even buttercream.
4. Break in one egg and mix well, using a fork to combine it with the buttercream mixture. Repeat the same process with the remaining two eggs.
5. Add the baking powder, a pinch of salt and then add in the flour a quarter at a time, mixing well to combine evenly each time before adding more.
6. Finally, add in the drained peaches and stir in. They will carry some residual juice that will pool at the edges of your batter, so mix this in well, but try not to break up the soft peach slices too much in the process.
7. When the batter is even and smooth, pour it into your prepared tin, jostling the peach slices so that they are evenly distributed throughout.
8. Bake in the centre of the oven for 50 minutes to an hour or until a knife inserted in the centre comes out almost clean (if the knife comes out with some batter attached, turn the oven down to 140 o C and check every 10 minutes until done).
9. Remove from the oven and loosen the edges of the loaf with a sharp knife or palette knife and let it stand for 30 minutes before removing from the tin and leaving to cool completely on a wire rack.
10. For the icing: Ensure the loaf has cooled enough before you start icing - you want to be able to touch it with your fingertips for a few seconds and not register that it’s warm. Sieve the icing sugar into a large mixing bowl and add 1 tbsp of the reserved peach juice. Mix well to make a smooth, thick icing. Drizzle the icing over the top and leave to set for 30 minutes.
Extra tips:
Tip 1: If you would like a little more moisture on the cake, you can boil the juice down a little to make a syrup (add a few teaspoonfuls of sugar if you want it really sticky and sweet). Gently punch some holes in the top of the cake with a fork and drizzle the syrup over and allow it to sink in a little before topping with the icing drizzle.
Tip 2: Leftovers will keep for up to four days in an airtight clean container in a cool dark place, or 4 months in the freezer. Best frozen in slices and defrosted whenever you fancy a quick treat!
