Sift the flour, almonds, cocoa and baking powder into a bowl with a good pinch of salt. In another large mixing bowl, beat the butter with the sugar using an electric hand mixer until pale and soft. Beat in the vanilla, then the eggs, a bit at a time, alternating with a spoonful of the flour mixture to stop the mixture curdling. Once all the eggs are incorporated, whisk in the chocolate milk, then fold in the rest of the flour mix with a metal spoon or balloon whisk. Finally, fold in the remaining whole milk.

Bin the Knife, Save a Life: For the sake of all our children we must unite to stop another knife-crime tragedy Matilda is notable Roald Dahl's best recognised character. The little girl with special powers is always a World Book Day favourite and following the release of the remake earlier this year, it's bound to be even more popular than ever this year.Generously top one layer of chocolate cake with the chocolate cream cheese frosting. Place another cake layer on top of it and repeat the process until all the layers are done. Remember to frost the outside of the cake as well. And it's incredibly simple to pull off. All you need is a denim dress, skirt or shorts, teamed with a pair of tights and a cardigan and finish it off with a red hair ribbon and be sure to grab a book as a prop! Bruce Bogtrotter For the sponge, heat 100ml of the milk with the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water (don’t let the water touch the bowl), stirring occasionally, until the chocolate has melted. Cool slightly. There are SO many ways you can celebrate World Book Day. One of our favourite nods to the occasion is to bake up a storm (or a bit of a mess in my case). It’s always so much fun as anything goes, and you can let your imaginations run completely wild!

It’s World Book Day you guys, and being an author, this day holds a very special place in my heart. Books can help start interesting conversations across different generations and I have personally seen that books bring people together. Whether it’s to discuss a topic or to spend an afternoon baking from that cookbook on your book shelf, books have the capability of making a dull day seem brighter. On this World Book Day, I want to talk to you about my two books, what’s next in store as well as share a beautiful recipe from my book, Desserts for Every Mood. Where's Wally makes an appearance every year. All you need is a red and white stripy top and some glasses but if you don't have those items you could always create your own by drawing red stripes on to an old white t-shirt with a felt tip and use facepaint or an eyeliner to draw the glasses on. Chocolate sponge– This is by far the easiest and the best chocolate sponges I have ever made in my life. It’s chocolatey, dark and most importantly, EGGLESS! I know that so many of you ask me for eggless recipes and this is just one of those cakes that you have to make in your kitchens. Since this is an eggless cake, I use yogurt as a substitute for eggs. Yogurt is a great alternative and one of the most common ingredients used as a substitute for eggs. It gives the cake a very similar texture and makes it fluffy and light. This one is possibly the easiest on to pull off simply pop some underpants over the top of your clothes, preferably white or light in colour and you've got yourself Captain Underpants! Sophie from The BFG Roald Dahl's Matilda is still one of his best-loved books, and the new musical adaption is fast becoming a firm favourite. What more reason do you need to wear a costume from Matilda this World Book Day?WORLD Book Day was celebrated at Haslingden High School with the ‘Great British Book Off’ a book-themed cake decorating competition. Her Victoria sponge cakes were decorated with white icing, she added red icing for blood and made a crown and dagger as props then wrote quotes from the play on the cake. Librarian and teacher Yasmine Choudry said: “It was an affirmation of the students’ commitment, love of books, of reading, writing and wanting to celebrate literature. It was a good day, both busy and lovely.” He said: “The effort and thought that went into all the of the cakes was incredible. It was so exciting and it was a pleasure and a privilege to asked to judge them.

Students also took part in a sponsored readathon to raise money for Read for Good, a charity that makes sure children in hospitals have books and a sale of new and pre-loved books was held. I find baking replaces any negativity and helps me have a more positive attitude. It also gives me confidence as well. Melt the chocolate – if you have a microwave put it in a microwave safe bowl and give it 30 seconds at a time, stir after each turn and continue until melted. If you don’t have a microwave put the chocolate in a bowl above a pan of boiling water and stir continuously until it has all melted. Leave it to cool for 5 minutes. We also shared updates about the very exciting new projects we have coming up: Share a Story Corner and World Book Day Book Club! Our campaign plan for the upcoming years will aim to reach more children that ever before. We want to make sure every child has access to books, and ourupcoming events – all digital for the year ahead – will help children enjoy reading for pleasure as a life-long habit.

My two very special books

There were certificates for the winners and the runners-up (2nd and 3rd places in each year group) and prizes of books for the first place winners. The overall winners also won a bake off apron. A big 'Thank You' to FORAS members for organising the event and well done to everyone who took part - there were about 90 cakes altogether and they were sold after school to raise funds for FORAS. A dress for Betty O'Barley and dungarees or shirt and pants for Harry O'Hay and they're ready to plan their perfect wedding. The Boy In The Dress With World Book Day just around the corner ( Thursday, March 2 this year), if you're planning to get dressed up it's the perfect time to start working out your kids' costumes. Cut 2 tiny pieces off the remaining blueberry for eyes, and pop them on your ladybird head to finish it’s face. Heat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Lightly oil and fully line 3 x 23cm sandwich tins (see tip) with baking paper and set aside.