The use of cocoa powder rather than chocolate is another topic that has been the subject of much discussion down the years.

In 1962, the recipe for a chocolate sponge cake was published in its current form. It used a small amount of cocoa powder. The recipe was provided by our founder, Mrs. Doughty-Jones, and has remained something of a monument to her ever since. The only change since that time has been to present metric equivalent quantities in the list of ingredients.

The Management committee is satisfied that people overstate the difference in quality between cocoa powder and chocolate. Nonetheless, these ingredients do produce different flavours and textures when married with different fats due to the marked difference in the amount of cocoa butter present in chocolate.

The Doughty-Jones recipe calls for margarine and cocoa powder. Before the new book goes to press we would like members to consider whether it is appropriate to present the Doughty-Jones chocolate cake recipe as a valued part of our history, whilst also presenting a more contemporary recipe for a chocolate sponge that would include the use of chocolate and some vegetable oil, rather than margarine and cocoa powder.