Eshaness Lighthouse is a long way from a supermarket and seven miles from a small shop.  It does not matter how far away the shop is I cannot reach it, as I have no car.  Getting use to being without easy access to a grocery was difficult for me, as I love to cook.  Back in the USA I could run to the store to pick up any items I needed to make the scrumptious dish I was planning.  But at Eshaness I have to make due with what is in the cupboards. 

I have begun work on a lighthouse cookbook to be published in about a year.  One of the biggest challenges for me were deserts or as they are known in Shetland, puddings.  The answer to this problem was the utilization of one recipe that could be made into lots of things with what I always have on hand.  Living in this kind of isolation I always have flour, margarine, sugar, and thanks to the lighthouse chickens eggs.  The recipe I found was called an All-in-one Cake.  It is basically a simple sponge cake.  From this humble beginning I have made pineapple upside down cake, rhubarb upside down cake, all kinds of trifles, plain chocolate cake, chocolate cherry cake, Boston Crème Pie, jam cake, strawberry shortcake, and my favourite, Dundee cake by adding orange juice and mixed dried fruit.  I imagine the list will continue to grow in the upcoming years.

In case you want a simple dessert here is the recipe

Michigan Dried Cherry Chocolate Cake Click on picture to enlarge Photograph by Sharma Krauskopf

All-in-one Cake

Makes one small cake

6 oz (1 ½ cups) self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

6 oz  (¾cup) caster sugar or superfine sugar made by blitzing in a blender

6 oz (¾ cup) soft margarine

3 eggs

Put all ingredients in a processor and run the machine until the mixture is just blended and smooth or in a bowl and beat for 2 minutes until smooth.  Do not over beat.  Grease and flour a 9-inch cake pan.  Bake at 190⁰C or 375⁰F for 20 minutes until risen, golden and the centre spring back when pressed.  Cool and remove from the pan.

For chocolate substitute 1 oz (2 TBSP) unsweetened cocoa.

It really is a good cake and so versatile.

Sharma

I love to hear from you so contact me by email at sharma@eshanesslighthouse.co.uk

You can find more articles in the archive under Island Miniatures/Lighthouse Letters.

I have two books which are directly related to this column. The Last Lighthouse tells how we bought our lighthouse and in Scottish Lighthouses our lighthouse is featured in the 31 lighthouses presented. You can order autographed copies by clicking on the name of the book.

Other books you might be interested in ordering and having me sign are my book for children, Moonbeam Cow, and "Scotland - The Complete Guide and Road Atlas", a beautiful book for which I did the text and "Irish Lighthouses" featuring 30 beautiful Irish lighthouse stations.