These days I am spending my spare time trying out new recipes. Well, new to me even though the recipe books have been on my shelves for some years. Walnut and halva cake Three of the books lingering on the shelves are Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty , Plenty More and Jerusalem . Plenty More has definitely found favour with me. I made Ottolenghi's walnut and halva cake . Not just full of flavour but also full of texture: the chalkiness of the halva contrasted with the moist baked batter and chopped nuts. The savoury recipes were for cauliflower cake , ricotta and rosemary bread pudding (the recipe is more interesting than the taste), and aubergine cheesecake (essentially, roasted slices of aubergines baked in a cheesy custard). This year's simnel cake While Felicity Cloake's recipe for tagine worked well, it's her cake recipes that have scored me lots of likes on FB: her rhubarb frangipane cake was heavenly. More importantly, her simnel cake has ra