Dessert Delights...Warm Strawberry Jam Cake

I've been putting my lost-and-found recipe book to good use today, making my favourite dessert from it. The recipe in question is the Warm Strawberry Jam Cakes. It's quick and easy to make and you can either add jam to a teacup and then the sponge mixture to make a cupcake baked in a teacup, or use metal ramekins following the same method and then turn them upside down to serve as I did.

Ingredients (makes 6)
8 tbsp softened butter
4 tbsp strawberry conserve
115g caster sugar
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla essence
115g self raising flour
strawberrys and icing sugar for decoration (optional)

Method
1. Grease 6 heavy round teacups with butter. Spoon two teaspoons of the strawberry conserve in the bottom of each.

2. Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat together until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, beating well after each addition, then add the vanilla essence. Sift in the flour and, using a large metal spoon, fold it into the mixture. Spoon the mixture into the teacups.

3. Stand the cups in a roasting tin, then pour in enough hot water to come one-third of the way up the sides of the cups. Bake in the oven, 180C for 40 mintues or until well risen and golden brown.

4. Place a few whole strawberries on each cake and dust with ising sugar. Serve warm.