Culinary icon and superstar Julia Child once said, “A party without cake is just a meeting.” I could not agree with her more. For me, cake makes everything better, especially when made with the best quality ingredients like butter, Trinidad cocoa, freshly-grated coconut, and island spices. Happy baking this weekend!

Nutty n’ fudgy chocolate cake

⅔ cup butter

1¼ cups granulated sugar

⅓ cup cocoa powder, preferably Trinidad cocoa

3 eggs separated

2 cups flour

1 cup finely-chopped walnuts

2 tsp baking powder

¾ cup water

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350F.

Line, grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans.

With an electric mixer cream butter with sugar until light, add cocoa powder and beat for a few minutes to incorporate.

Beat in egg yolks.

Combine flour with walnuts and baking powder.

Fold this mixture into the butter and egg mixture alternately with the water, adding the dry ingredients in three parts and the water in two, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Beat egg whites in a small bowl until soft peaks form, fold lightly into chocolate mixture.

Spoon batter into prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

Turn onto a wire rack to cool.

Spoon whipped cream onto one cake, place other cake on top, dust heavily with icing sugar and serve, or slice cake and serve whipped cream on the side.

Serves 8 to 10.

(This cake will keep for 2 days out of the refrigerator without the whipped cream.)

Cornmeal coconut cake

This combination of cornmeal and coconut makes a delicious cake just right to be served at tea time.

½ lb butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp grated nutmeg

1 cup grated fresh coconut

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup milk

Line, grease and flour a 9-inch cake pan.

Pre heat oven to 350F.

In a bowl of an electric mixer cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy, add eggs one at a time.

Sift flour, add baking powder, spices and coconut.

Combine milk with vanilla.

Add flour mixture alternately with milk in three additions, beginning and ending with flour.

Turn into prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted into the centre is clean and cake begins to shrink from the sides of the tin.

Remove and cool five minutes then turn out.

Makes 1 9 inch cake.

Carrot walnut cake

[caption id="attachment_967327" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Carrot cake -[/caption]

¾ lb carrots, peeled and grated

2 cups, sifted, all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp grated nutmeg

4 eggs

1½ cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease and line and flour a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan, or 2 9-inch cake pans.

Beat eggs with sugar until light and tripled in volume, add vanilla, with beater on medium speed slowly pour in vegetable oil, and beat for one minute.

Sift together dry ingredients, reduce mixer speed to low, and add the flour mixtu