“Cake is happiness! If you know the way of the cake, you know the way of happiness! If you have a cake in front of you, you should not look any further for joy!”
C. JoyBell C
Lime & Strawberry Cream Cake … a very simple cake made in the Philips AirFryer a few days ago. 15 minutes was all I could manage that day. There have been no desserts of late and the kids were beginning to make strange unhappy sounds. There’s been barely any ‘free time’ what with final exams on for both teens which are well underway. The cake came out surprisingly nice. Didn’t take pictures of it once made as it was slightly domed and I didn’t have time to pretty it up. One bite down and I thought it was really nice.Lime and strawberries pair well. The second round of the strawberry season has finally begun here in North India. Can’t have too much of this delicious fruit.
The sponge was soft but not moist as always because I whisked in the flour instead of folding it in G E N T L Y. So I didn’t get a ‘light as air’ sponge. Still it was quite soft. Interesting!
The easiest way to get cake moist is to give it a good soaking with a simple sugar syrup. Love doing that when I make my pineapple cream cake. If you are doing a black forest cake, you can always reduce the syrup the cherries are canned in, and add a dash of Kirsch or lime juice to it to moisten the sponge.
I thought the Lime & Strawberry Cream Cake was nice enough to share, a quick easy cake, make ahead, light and delicious. A slice was hidden away for a picture opportunity while the rest of the cake was devoured by the happy family. Then late that evening the bell rang. It was the courier with the Samsung Netbook that I had won at the Del Monte recipe contest hosted at Indiblogger. My entry was the Tropical Cream Pie. Much excitement followed and we found a candy pink gizmo. Even though I’m not a pink person, the netbook is really pretty and very handy! I ♥ it!!
Seems to be an early Christmas over and over again. I am feeling quite pampered … maybe too pampered! First the Philips AirFryer, then Finla spoilt me silly, next Mr PAB got me a Samsung S3. My sister sent me more stuff as her better half was visiting … and just when I thought I had everything and more I could ever ask for, PINK came into my life!
December’s here already. A clutch of days to fly through, a year that’s been packed to the gills. So much happening in this foodie world. Oh, I forgot to tell you that I was pleasantly surprised with some fabulous tea from a beautiful tea company in China. Yes China! And yes tea!It’s funny because I am a 100% coffee addict and never drink tea. My first foray into tea was at the Aussie MasterChefs breakfast meet where Sangeeta talked me into sipping some lavender tea. It was wonderful. Then she got me some beautiful green tea from Darjeeling from a recent visit. This herbal and green tea from Teavirve was a nice coincidence. In the bag were samples for green tea, and for Blueberry Fruit Tea and Apple Awakening Fruit Tea. The green tea was similar to others that I have recently sampled, but it was the Blueberry Fruit Tea that was amazing, and stole my heart. Beautiful aromas and subtle flavours of blueberry, black currant, roselle and grapes. The teen is in love with this tea!
The Apple Awakening Fruit Tea is really refreshing too … teasing the palette with an intriguing combination of apple and lemon. With such an extensive selection which can be shipped across the world, Teavirve is a great gifting option. Green, white, black, Oolong, Pu-erh, herbal, fruit, ice, organic, flavoured … the variety is endless.To make the range complete, Teavirve offer a stunning range of teaware too. {They offers worldwide free shipping for orders over $30 … you should check out there collection.}
[print_this]Recipe: Lime & Strawberry Cream Cake
Summary: An almost fatless sponge cake layered with a whipped raspberry creamwith strawberries within … light, moist, flavourful and gone quick!
80g Del Monte rapberry fruit filling {chilled, from feezer}
250g strawberries, chopped, some saved for topping
Method:
Sponge
Preheat oven if using to 180C. If using the AirFryer, you can preheat it to 160C just before you begin folding the flour mix in as it requires only 5 minutes to preheat.
Line the base and sides of a 7″ round cake tin with baking parchment. {Please check first if the tin fits into the AirFryer}
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Reserve.
Beat the eggs with raw/powdered sugar, pure vanilla extract and lemon extract in a big bowl over a pan of simmering water until tripled in volume and mousse like, about 7 minutes. {Thermomix: Butterfly insert, Speed 4, 37c, 7 minutes}
Preheat the AirFryer to 160C at this time …
Gently add the flour mix and fold through, followed by the olive oil and milk.
Transfer batter to prepared tin and bake for 25-30 minutes in conventional oven, OR 15 minutes in the AirFryer until light golden brown
Cool in tin for 5 minutes, and demold and cool completely on cooling rack.
Raspberry Cream
Whip cream with sugar until medium peaks form. Add the fruit filling and whip again until smooth and firm. Taste & adjust sugar if required. The cream will be thick enough to spread.
Assemble
Slice cake into 2 horizontal layers. If the top is slightly domed, you might like to level it. {Reserve the trimmings and run in processor to make cake crumbs. I left mine domed}
Moisten both the layers with the simple sugar syrup.
Sandwich with about 1/3rd of the whipped cream. Scatter the chopped strawberries uniformly and top with second layer.
Frost the sides and top with the remaining cream. Top with quartered strawberries. Allow it to sit for about 30 minutes for the flavours to mature {chill in the fridge if the weather is warm, else leave on counter}
“Coffee smells like freshly ground heaven.”
Jesse Lane Adams
A Coffee & Vanilla Bean Layered Cake … this is what my dreams are made up of. Coffee in a birthday cake has become a quintessential part of my birthday, a flavour that inspires me like no other. A lot of friends express surprise, dismay and even chide me for baking on ‘my big day’ every year… yet this is what relaxes me the most – baking!
The teen did offer to bake for me the night before! She said she would begin baking after Grey’s Anatomywhich continued late into the night. She offered to do a rainbow cake {her current obsession} but I wanted coffee. “How about rainbow coffee cake?” she asked. I was soon out cold after a hectic Diwali. She passed out soon too!
I tiptoed into the kitchen the next morning to get a head-start while the teens snoozed. Throw coffee into the cake batter and I can climb the highest mountain, sail the roughest sea and still come out good! This is a cake I look forward to baking, one with no plan in particular.
It’s a good relaxed feeling when you are bake for yourself. No disappointments, no one judges your slips and you get to enjoy the fruits of your own ‘labour‘! Therapy at your own pace, in your own time, in your own space!
Coffee is my favourite flavour in dessert, so my birthday cake is predictable. The tiramisu we did for the Daring Bakers sang to me. The tiramisu variants that the Olive churns out call my name. I thrive on cold coffee even in the winter.
I use generous doses of Bru instant coffee to get depth of flavour. Bru is one of India’s best known and oldest chicory coffee powders. We love that first mug every morning! It’s a blend we grew up on, the green packaging a nostalgic bit of our teenage years.
When we were young, coffee was forbidden. As teens, we took our first steps into the delicious world of coffee. Both our kids are true lovers of everything coffee, often the first flavour they reach for. Sometimes, chocolate comes second.
A study from the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences found that a daily dose of caffeine may block the disruptive effects of high cholesterol that scientists have linked to Alzheimer’s disease. Coffee is now listed as one of many brain foods.
I am not advocating the benefits of coffee. Just saying that if you are a coffee lover, don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy a cake like this. Use your best loved coffee brand; indulge your palette!! This Coffee & Vanilla Bean Layered Cake is testament to it.
The flavours developed deeply and nicely. Alternate layers of vanilla bean and coffee sponge sandwiched with a light whipped coffee cream. I did contemplate a chocolate filling but the clock grew wings. Time flew away! So I grabbed a huge bowl of chilled low fat cream and beat the daylights out of it. 2 tbsps of coffee later, junior teen dug a spoon in …. “Yummm. Can I finish whats left?”
I asked him to take a teeny video of me assembling the cake if he wanted the cream! Bribery works. Little hands, sometimes shaky, sometimes distracted, tired easily, we did get something on camera. Will process and post it soon. It was shot basically for the chocolate lace collar as I get a lot of mails asking me how I make it.
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Recipe: Coffee & Vanilla Bean Layered Cake
Summary: Light as air vanilla and coffee layers of cake sandwiched with delicious whipped coffee cream make for a perfect dessert. Make a day ahead if you like. The tastes mature beautifully!
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
Vanilla Bean Sponge
3 eggs
75g raw sugar / bura {or powdered sugar}
75g plain flour
1tsp baking powder
pinch salt
2tsp extra virign olive oil
1tbsp 2% milk
1/2 vanilla bean scraped
Coffee Sponge
4 eggs
100g raw sugar / bura {or powdered sugar}
1/2 vanilla bean scraped
1 1/2 tbsp instant coffee powder
20ml warm water
100g plain flour
1tsp baking powder
pinch salt
2tsp extra virign olive oil
1tbsp 2% milk
Simple Coffee Syrup
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp instant coffee
2tbsp raw sugar {or powdered sugar}
Coffee Whipped Cream
800ml low fat cream, chilled
150g raw sugar / bura {or powdered sugar}
1 1/2 to 2 tbsp instant coffee powder {as per taste}
Method:
Vanilla Bean Sponge
Preheat oven to 180C. Line the base and sides of a 8″ round cake tin with baking parchment.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Reserve.
Beat the eggs with raw/powdered sugar and scraped vanilla bean in a big bowl over a pan of simmering water until tripled in volume and mousse like, about 7 minutes. {Thermomix: Butterfly insert, Speed 4, 37c, 7 minutes}
Gently add the flour mix and fold through, followed by the olive oil and milk.
Transfer batter to prepared tin and bake for 25-30 minutes in conventional oven until light golden brown.
Cool in tin for 5 minutes, and demold and cool completely on cooling rack.
Slice into 2 layers.
Coffee Sponge
Preheat oven to 180C. Line the base and sides of a 8″ round cake tin with baking parchment.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Reserve.
Stir the coffee into the warm water. Leave to mature flavours.
Beat the eggs with raw/powdered sugar and scraped vanilla bean in a big bowl over a pan of simmering water until tripled in volume and mousse like, about 7 minutes. {Thermomix: Butterfly insert, Speed 4, 37c, 7 minutes}.
Add the coffee mixture and beat to incorporate.
Gently add the flour mix and fold through, followed by the olive oil and milk.
Transfer batter to prepared tin and bake for 25-30 minutes in conventional oven until light golden brown.
Cool in tin for 5 minutes, and demold and cool completely on cooling rack.
Slice into 3 layers.
Simple Coffee Syrup
Stir together all ingredients, heat gently if required. Cool and reserve in bowl.
Coffee Whipped Cream
Make sure the cream is well chilled. {You can use whipping cream if available. Life just becomes a lot easier and quicker, but make sure you don’t over whip it and get butter}
Whip the cream and sugar {reserve a little to add later once you taste the sweetness} to stiff peaks. Low fat cream available in India takes quite a while to beat up if the weather is warm. It sometimes even fails to oblige. Feel free to use whipping cream if you like.
Assembling
Divide the coffee cream into 2 bowls, one for filling and the second half for frosting.
Place a layer of vanilla sponge on your cake plate/ dessert platter. Paint lightly with coffee syrup. Put a generous dollop of coffee cream and spread uniformly to the sides.
Top with a layer of coffee sponge. Repaet until you use all layers, alternating between vanilla & coffee.
Frost the sides and top of the cake with the remaining coffee cream. Pipe some rosettes on top if you like, garnish with chocolate flakes. Finish the cake with a piped chocolate lace border if desired.
Chill until ready to serve. Leave out for about 30 minutes prior to cutting.
“Find something you’re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.”
Julia Child
Those lines by Julia Child defined my spirit of blogging from day one. To celebrate Julia’s 100th birthday on the 15th of August, 2012, I chose and adapted this beautiful everyday dessert – Oven Roasted Plum & Almond Cakes from Baking With Julia.There was an energy about her, the chef who changed the way America cooked and baked. Food bloggers worldwide woke up to a new identity after Julie & Julia. People looked at us differently, suddenly recognising the band of foodies who passionately belted out deliciousness online day after day.The ever sweet Suma @ Cakes & More sent me Dorie Greenspansamazing book Baking With Julia as a gift. The book is packed with sweet and savoury recipes from the PBS series that Julia hosted, and doubles up as a baking encyclopedia too. The commentary is warm and friendly, puts you at ease instantly as Dorie talks to you through each recipe. Baking With Julia now shares place of honour on my bookshelf with both volumes of Julia Child’sMastering the Art of French Cooking!Bread is what I wanted to bake, a Fougasse, but I didn’t plan well in time as the dough needed to sit for 24 hours to get bubbly and squeaky! I love the way Dorie writes that because even the bread dough has ’emotions’! My next natural choice was a simple everyday dessert. With plums in the fridge, these little Oven Roasted Plum & Almond Cakes were but going to happen!I changed the recipe a little bit, and pretty soon realised that I might have to ‘grin and bear it‘ soon. The batter was runnier than required. Into it went some almond meal, and since the eggs were small I went for 3 knowing pretty well that 2 whole + 1 yolk should do the trick! Should have used ramekins, threw caution to the wind and used dessert rings. I knew I was in trouble when the plums on top sank right in; with them my heart!!I fixed it though, topped the cakelets with more plum halves {and slices} halfway through baking, safe in the knowledge that maybe an invisible Julia peered over my shoulder. This is the untold joy of baking with a good book.It keeps you company, the characters pop up all over the place giving you tips, hints, telling you all is well, yelling at you when not! My time in the kitchen is always virtually in good company!I am fortunate to have some good company in reality too – a little plum thief that I have raised. Coco, our cocker spaniel took a shine to plums when she came to our home in the summer of 2011! Nothing’s changed! She didn’t notice me looking at her, and soon nicked a ‘plum prop’ and made a meal out of it, the little blighter! It was really tart!!She has great taste and will be any Mums delight! Loves her greens {beans, spinach, purslane, peas – raw or cooked}, loves her protein {eggs, cottage cheese, chickpeas} and even loves fruit {banana, mango, kiwi , plums, peaches, cherries, strawberries!}That’s just how well my time in the kitchen is spent! I love it! Creating food is almost an obsession and I love the culinary adventures that great chefs like Julia Child encourage.“This is really good you know!” exclaimed the 16 year old aka the dieting diva. {She couldn’t resist my ‘maybe you’d like to try some’ nonchalant reference to a plum cake in the oven !} “YUM! Can I have another?” was the more excited response from the junior teen who was hoping for a yes but got a NO instead! The little cakes were indeed delicious. Well balanced, beautiful light crumb and just right with the sweetness too. The plums gave up their juices and became delectable part of the cake. Topped with vanilla ice cream or even some low fat unsweetened cream … mmm! Dorie suggests a chocolate sauce … that must taste divine!
Summary: Tiny little delicious dessert cakes that celebrate summer, stone fruit and plums! They are light and delightful, the almond meal adding beautiful texture to the crumb! Recipe adapted minimally from Marsel Desaulniers, Baking With Julia. {Makes 8 3″ cakes}
Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
1/2 cup raw sugar {khand}
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 small eggs
1/2 vanilla bean scraped
1 scant cup flour
1/2 cup almond meal
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup buttermilk
4 large ripe plums, halved and pitted
Whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or dark chocolate sauce if desired
Method:
Preheat oven to 180C.
Grease 8 3″ dessert rings or 12 2″ ramekins with melted butter {I used clarified butter} and place on a foiled lined rimmed baking sheet.
Sift the flour, almond meal and baking soda. Reserve in a bowl.
Combine raw sugar and 2 tbsp of brown sugar in a bowl with butter. Cream for 2-3 minutes on medium high speed.
Add the eggs, vanilla bean and cream on high for another 2-3 minutes.
Add the flour mix and beat in on low speed until just combined, followed with the buttermilk. Mix in on low speed until uniformly mixed, 30 seconds.
Divide batter equally between prepared rings / ramekins, sprinkle over the remaining brown sugar and bake in oven to 15 minutes. Once the top is somewhat set, quickly place half a plum, cut side up into each cup. Continue to bake for another 15-20 minutes until light golden brown and done {toothpick inserted into middle should come out clean.}
Cool the tray on the rack for at least 15-20 minutes, then gently ease out using a blunt bitter knife. Serve warm or at room temperature as is, or with low fat unsweetened cream or vanilla ice cream.
“Everything you own should have value, either because it’s functional or beautiful or you just love it.”
Peter Walsh
You can’t have too many kitchen & table accessories if you are a food lover. Add food blogger to that, and accessories magically double up as props, even if your house is bursting at the seams with things you love! This footed platter is something I love, the simplicity and classic appeal just perfect to show off this Fresh Peach Brown Streusel Coffee Cake.Neelam from Urban Dazzle asked a few days ago if I would like some accessories to showcase on my blog! How could I say no? One look at her online venture and I was smiling. So much to choose from!Whats not to love about this Palladio 4-in-1? A multi-functional dining set, this spectacular creation from Borgonovo can double up as a punch bowl set, cheese dome as well as a footed cake platter.
She was sweet enough to send me an Ego Alter Banquet Footed Platter which is great on a tea table or as a cake platter. Smooth lines, stylish, clean contemporary appeal … things that gel with me! Here’s the last remaining slice of the Rustic Peach ‘n Plum Summer Galette on it … I love how beautifully it showcases the colours. Elegant!
That morning I made wild Indian java plum {jamun} sherbet that morning inspired by Chinmayies beautiful post @ love food eat.Chinmayies memories woke mine up … and soon I was stirring some gorgeous purple sherbet! Mine had jamun, sugar, water, rock salt and some sour kokum water. The colours had me fascinated…In the parcel from Urban Dazzle was a Bottle Indro from the house of Borgonovo. With it’s tulip-like sculpting and blue top, it’s just what was missing from my collection. … I reshot the sherbet in the new ‘Indro‘! {The sherbet is an acquired taste as these wild plums are quite astringent in taste}.Next I shall make pure vanilla extract in this sweetly shaped aesthetic bottle! Other ideas … spice vinegar, chili oil, garlic herb infused vinegar …. or maybe a peach liqueur!So much to do, so little time!Online shopping is rapidly becoming the convenient way to shop in India, especially in the hot summer. How fun is it to sip a glass of cool ‘sherbet’ in a cool room and shop online in glad rags!!All the time to browse, compare, and then have everything neatly shipped to your doorstep!
Urban Dazzle was one such experience … and for bakers in India, it’s a must visit. Bakeware, dessertware, bottles, cake plates, decanters, kitchen essentials, table essentials, tumblers, carafes … a huge variety under one roof! Be it Drinking, Dining, Decor or Gifting, it’s the one-stop shop for all such items. While most of their current selection is made of glass, they intend to diversify into other items going forward.This is the season to be jolly stoned! The monsoons have arrived, it’s hot and now humid too. It’s raining peaches, plums and cherries here and I am rapidly becoming a peach monster. Daily oat-mango-peach smoothies, poached peaches, crisps, just peaches, frozen peaches, now some bottled in an attempt to make peach schnappes, and then the Rustic Peach ‘n Plum Summer Galette … we certainly are getting stoned this season! Here a peach, there a peach, everywhere peach peach is the song I sing, constantly looking for new peach ideas! I adapted an apple streusel bars recipe from a beautiful cookbook ‘Frame-by-frame baking‘. Light, tender crumb, a beautifully flavoured streusel with undertones of almond, clarified butter and brown sugar marrying well.The peaches were wonderful in there. I left the skin on, and the cake just melted in the mouth while warm. It was really good chilled too. It’s an easy straightforward tray bake, and you can dress it up a little bit with a drizzle of lime glaze, fresh peach slices and mint if you like. Use ripe but firm peaches … Enjoy!
Summary: A melt in the mouth coffee cake that uses fresh in season peaches. A light, tender crumb, a beautifully flavoured streusel with undertones of almond, clarified butter and brown sugar that come together well.
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 1 hour Ingredients:
Cake
125g unsalted butter, room temperature
125g demerera sugar
1t pure vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly whisked
150g plain flour
1 1/4 t baking powder
pinch of salt
4-5 peaches, pitted, chopped and tossed in juice of 1 lime
Streusel
30g almond meal
50g plain flour
40g demerera sugar
30g clarified butter {or unsalted butter}, melted
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C. Line an 8 X 8 square tine with baking parchment.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt.
Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla extract until pale. Gradually add the eggs, beating well.
Stir in the flour mix and fold evenly, then add the peaches and mix lightly. Spread evenly in the tin.
Mix the topping ingredients gently with a fork to make a crumbly texture, and sprinkle uniformly over the batter.
Bake for approx 45 minutes until firm and golden / till a tester comes out clean.
Allow to cool for about 20-30 minutes before slicing
“A great empire, like a great cake, is most easily diminished at the edges.”
Benjamin Franklin
“My tongue is smiling”, ‘Only good can come out of this”…. some of my favourite food quotes tumbled through my head as I mixed the batter. I was up early looking at the pile of sweet home made butter. The time had come for the Daring Bakers Batternberg, the Queen of Englands favourite cake. My take for her birthday celebrations – Coffee Vanilla Chocolate Chip Batterberg! It was delicious; pretty too, but an uphill task given the terrible weather!!
This cake has grand beginnings. It was actually created as a wedding cake for royalty. The first Battenberg cake was made to celebrate the marriage of Queen Victoria’s granddaughter, Princess Victoria, to husband Prince Louis of Battenberg. It’s traditionally flavoured with almond and has the signature Battenberg markings, that is, the yellow and pink squares, said to represent the four princes of Battenberg. The strips of sponge are glued together using jam (normally apricot) and the whole cake is covered in marzipan. Sometimes the edges are crimped and the top is patterned with a knife. This traditional Battenberg recipe comes from Mary Berry’s “Baking Bible”.
Flavours danced in my head, the possibilities seemed endless but the incessantly high temperatures and rampant power cuts held me back … until 4 days ago. The time had come as it was a now or never. Vanilla and peach, coffee walnut, cherry vanilla, dark cherry chocolate, chocolate orange, vanilla pistachio … the colours now dancing too.
Mandy of What The Fruitcake?! came to our rescue last minute to present us with the Battenberg Cake challenge! She highlighted Mary Berry’s techniques and recipes to allow us to create this unique little cake with ease.
So many choices, so much more confusion! We have a mini Queen of England at home, the dieting diva who has a strong dislike for walnuts and pistachios much to my dismay. The newly turned 13 teen is simpler to handle in food matters as he is more adventurous with his palette. MasterChef helps!Thankfully coffee is something we all agree on, so coffee was in!Pairings? The teens love for dark chocolate {last wished for in thisDark Chocolate Cherry Mousse Cake} had my flavours were sorted out. Next? Covering the Battenberg! India is not a marzipan country, and with the heat these days {45C feeling like 47C}, it’s a bother to make from scratch. In fact, you could easily bake the Battenberg on the sidewalk!I chose the plastique as I have wanted to try it ever since I spied it on sweet Allesios blog Recipe Taster ages ago.The time had come for plastique adventure; thats when the cookie crumbled! It was the hottest day of the season, a hot wind blasting its way through the city … and then a massive 7 hour power cut! Oh, the HORRID HEAT! “If it hadn’t been your birthday, your Majesty, wild horses couldn’t have dragged me to make a Battenberg, buttercream, chocolate plastique and all, given the conditions.”How my buttercream curdled and wept! The plastique behaved beautifully for a while. I LOVED IT; then I hated it.The camera was now thrown away! Rolled the plastique out to line the cake. That was the easy bit. A blast of hot summer wind and contact with buttercream kind of paved it’s plastic-y fate. Everything flowed and disintegrated in different directions. I patched up what I could and shoved it into a fridge already under stress.I tried to pretty it up and camouflage the tattered edges with cocoa, and dunked a plastique rose on top {beautiful tutorial here for chocolate roses}. The stalk wilted in the heat, but at least I managed something. It tasted darned good though, so here you are – Coffee Vanilla Chocolate Chip Batterberg thanks to Mandy …. and her Majesty of course!About the cake Mandy said, “It’s an all in one cake method, so very simple, quick and very few dirty dishes! Although there are specialised Battenberg cake tins available, you don’t need one. This can be baked in a square baking tin and a divide made with foil to separate the two batters. This recipe really is all about simplicity.” TRUE!
Thank you Mandy, and thank you as always Lisa of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice for hosting this fab kitchen!! Do stop by here to see the delightful Battenbergs our other daring bakers have squared up!!
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Recipe: Coffee Vanilla Chocolate Chip Batterberg
Summary: A simple, stunning and delicious traditional British cake. Adapted from Coffee and Walnut Battenberg from Mary Berry on the BBC Food website
¾ cup / 175gm unsalted butter, softened & cut in cubes
¾ cup / 175gm caster sugar
1¼ cups / 175gm self-raising flour {see notes on how to make your own}
3 large eggs, room temp
½ cup / 65gm ground almonds {or ground rice}
3/4 tsp baking powder
3 tsp / 15 ml milk
½ tsp / 2½ ml vanilla extract
1½ tsp / 7 gm instant coffee powder
3 Tbsp / 25gm mini dark chocolate chips
Coffee Buttercream
½ cup / 115gm unsalted butter
2 cups / 225gm powdered sugar
1 tsp / 2 gm instant coffee
1½ tsp milk or cream
Dark Chocolate Plastique To Finish
200gm Good Quality Dark Chocolate (70% Cocoa content)
¼ cup / 60ml Light Corn Syrup / Glucose Syrup
Method:
Cake
Preheat oven to moderate 180°C
Grease an 8”/20cm square baking tin with butter
Line the tin with parchment paper, creating a divide in the middle with the parchment (or foil) – Tip: See photos or watch video above for detailed instructions
Whisk together dry ingredients (except chocolate chips and coffee) and combine with the wet ingredients in a large bowl (except vanilla and milk) and beat together just until the ingredients are combined and the batter is smooth
Spoon half the mixture into a separate bowl and stir in the vanilla, 1½ teaspoons milk and chocolate chips.
Spoon the chocolate mixture into the one side of the prepared baking tin
Dissolve the coffee in the remaining 1½ teaspoon milk and add to the remaining batter, stir until just combined
Spoon the coffee batter into the other half of the prepared baking tin
Smooth the surface of the batter with a spatula, making sure batter is in each corner
Bake for 25-30mins until the cake is well risen, springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick comes out clean (it should shrink away from the sides of the pan)
Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out to cool thoroughly on a wire rack
Because it’s such a thick batter I find that if you spread the batter so that it’s higher at the edges, when it bakes it helps rise without as much of a curved surface
Once completely cool, trim the edges of the cake with a long serrated knife
Cut each sponge in half length ways so that you are left with four long strips of sponge
Neaten the strips and trim as necessary so that your checkered pattern is as neat and even as possible.
Coffee Buttercream
Combine the buttercream ingredients together and mix until combined.
Dark Chocolate Plastique
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water, stir occasionally. {I used the microwave}
Once completely melted, remove from heat and allow to cool a bit
Stir in corn syrup / glucose syrup, it will seize up almost immediately, just keep stirring until mixed and it comes away from the side of the bowl
Transfer chocolate into a seal-able bag, spread the chocolate out then seal the bag. Leave overnight or refrigerate for about 2 hours until completely firm
Turn out from the bag and knead on a surface dusted with powdered sugar, at first it will just break , but as you knead, it will warm up and start to become pliable
Knead until it’s pliable enough to roll out or mould, 5 – 10mins
To Finish
Spread a thin layer of buttercream onto the strips of cake to stick the cake together in a checkered pattern
Dust a large flat surface with icing sugar then roll the plastique in an oblong shape that is wide enough to cover the length of the cake and long enough to completely wrap the cake
Spread the top of the cake with a thin layer of buttercream
Place the cake on the plastique, buttercream side down
Spread buttercream onto the remaining three sides
Press the plastique around the cake, making sure the join is either neatly in the one corner, or will be underneath the cake once turned over
Carefully flip the cake over so that the seam is under the cake and score the top of the cake with a knife, you can also crimp the top corners with your fingers to decorate
Neaten the ends of the cake and remove excess plastique by trimming off a small bit of cake on both ends to reveal the pattern.
Note: How to make your own self raising flour: 1 cup Self Raising Flour = 1 cup / 115g All Purpose Flour + 1 ½ tsp Baking Powder + ¼ tsp Salt (omit salt if there is salt in the recipe) sifted together
“Chemically speaking, chocolate really is the world’s perfect food.”
Michael Levine
Days come and go, and amazingly years gallop by. The charming little poppet turned 13, entering into a much awaited phase of his life, scary for the parents in us us we lie in exhausted heaps having battled the other teen and her trying years. For his special birthday, celebrated at the height of the dreaded Indian summer, a Dark Chocolate Cherry Mousse Cake.I used to listen on in disbelief when ‘been there‘ experienced Mums would tell me that angelic little boys begin to become ‘something else‘ once they cross the 10-11 years milestone. Not mine I’d think, no question. Never seen a more charming lad, so thoughtful, so loving … one that planted little kisses on my knee when he was little!All that changed a year ago. Good heavens … where did the ‘angelic’ son go? At times I found him hidden in a monster, behaving in the most unbelievable manner; at other times as good as gold. June baby?Gemini = twins? While I battle the Jekyll & Hyde situation, heeding now to shared experiences and words of wisdom, it was time to bake … again!We’re in the throws of an awful Indian summer, relentless heat, getting worse by the day, power-cuts galore, water shortages … and then we decide to get the house painted. The work carries on, woefully long, taking its toll on our energy levels. Just the kids seem fine … and the dog of course, brimming with boundless energy, racing in and out of rooms. In a house full of ladders, boxes piled high, buckets of paints and masking tape, some pretty summer flowers, I set off on the 10th to bake cake! The lad had said it was OK. “No need for cake,I understand Mama“. But cake there had to be the “dieting once again“ diva declared. ‘She’ who is over 16 doesn’t seem to hold the magical spell over the younger sibling any longer, yet still calls the food shots! Cherries and chocolate was the royal call, and I was happy I had a theme, a dream to play with. Always a good idea to dream up some yumminess!The base was intended to be a sponge until I added melted chocolate to it. I panicked since it wasn’t light as air and soft … so it got a good sugar syrup soaking. Was the right medicine for the cake. It giddily drank up the juices on offer and was just right a base for the balsamic cherries and mousse filling!The mousse filling was adapted from a simple chocolate mousse recipe in my Thermomix cookbook. By the time I had the machine on, I was in panic mode again. Something told me that it was too hot for it to set as a cake topping. Goblets are different; chocolate mousse will always be delicious in any form, barely set in goblets too.I had to do better and couldn’t take a cake chance and eventually added a spoon of gelatin. It worked a charm and I was thrilled to see it had set beautifully when I demolded it the next morning. The birthday boy was packed off with Mr PAB for a film and lunch, so I got adventurous and decided to pretty up the cake a bit!Noel Cowards began playing in head “Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun“. Boy was it HOT at 43C! A lace collar in the heat might well have been the silliest of ideas but there you are. That’s what I decided to do … and that worked too. Some more balsamic and fresh cherries on top, a sprinkling of pistachios, chocolate flakes and we were set for the lads 13th!!
We had a sinfully delicious cake by the evening, one that looked as good as it tasted. 5 star quality declared the hub! The kids absolutely LOVED it down to the last chocolaty crumb, the birthday boy quite happy. I was glad I set 2 goblets of mousse too to make sure that the mousse would hold; a runny mousse cake would have been a mid summer disaster! So glad I got it right!
#lovestonefruit
[print_this]Recipe: Dark Chocolate Cherry Mousse Cake
Summary: A dark, rich chocolate cake layered with deep balsamic fresh cherries and satiny smooth dark chocolate mousse. A chocolate celebration dressed up in a lace chocolate collar, more cherries, dark chocolate flakes and slivered pistachios. Makes one 9″ cake. Serves 15.
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
Chocolate cake
4 eggs
50g clarified butter {or unsalted butter, melted}
100g dark chocolate
100g vanilla sugar
90g plain flour
30g cocoa powder
Pinch salt
Sugar Syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
Squeeze of lime
Balsamic cherries
500g cherries, pitted
2-3 tbsp vanilla sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Dark chocolate mousse
{adapted from the Thermomix cookbook}
5 eggs, separated {or 4 large}
Pinch of cream of tartar
80gm powdered sugar, divided
1/2 vanilla bean scraped
1/2 t vanilla bean powder {or paste}
60g unsalted butter
40g low fat cream, room temperature
220g dark chocolate, chopped
400g low fat cream, chilled, beaten to medium peaks
5g {1t} gelatin powder dissolved in 1 1/2 tbsp of water
Chocolate border
100g dark chocolate, melted
Fresh cherries, chocolate flakes, slivered pistachios for garnish
Method:
Chocolate Cake
Preheat the oven to 180C. Line the sides and bottom of a 9″ baking tin.
Sift the flour, cocoa and salt. Reserve.
Melt the chocolate with clarified butter in the microwave. Reserve.
Place the egg and vanilla sugar in a big bowl and beat over simmering water until light and moussey, and doubled in volume. About 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and continue to beat until cool, 3-5 minutes more.
Gently fold the flour mix into the beaten yolks in 3-4 batches.
Quickly yet gently fold in the melted chocolate with butter and pour the batter into the prepared tin.
Bake for about 25 minutes until a tester comes out clean/ or the top is springy to touch.
Cool on rack and then slice into 2 layers.
Sugar Syrup
Place sugar and water in a pan and stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Add lime and cool.
Balsamic Cherries
Place ingredients in a non reactive pan and simmer until the cherries release their juices and begin to get soft and hold their shape, about 4-5 minutes. {Don’t overcook or the cherries will break down and lose shape}
Remove the cherries to a bowl. Place pan with the liquid on medium high heat and reduce to about a third, nice and thick. Add back to the cherries. Cool.
Dark chocolate mousse
Recipe is for the Thermomix. I reckon it can be adapted with the same proportions for regular top of the stove cooking, like a creme patisserie.
Heat empty TM bowl for 2 minutes at 50C, speed 2.
Insert Butterfly. Place egg whites in TM bowl with cream of tartar and beat for 4 minutes on speed 4 with MC off.
Through hole in the lid, add half the sugar, 1 tsp at a time during the last minute. Set aside in a large bowl. remove butterfly.
Without cleaning, place yolks, remaining sugar, vanilla bean powder and scraped seeds, butter, 40g cream and chocolate into TM bowl. Cook for 4 minutes at 70C on speed 3.
Add a third of the beaten egg whites back into the bowl and stir for 10 seconds on reverse +speed 3. Add to the remaining whites.
Fold everything gently together, including gelatin. Use immediately or chill for about 30 minutes until required.
Assemble:
Place a large piece of foil on a flat platter. {The cake can be transferred to a serving platter later}. Place one layer of the cake on the base and moisten it with sugar syrup. Place a dessert ring around it and bring the foil up around firmly as the mousse is yet to set and will be rather runny.
Reserve 3-4tbsp of the balsamic cherries for the topping. Spoon half of the remainder over the cake base. Pour half the mousse over the cherries.
Moisten the next layer of cake with the sugar syrup and place gently over mousse followed by remaining balsamic cherries, and then the remaining mousse.
Cover and leave to set overnight. Gently demold and transfer cake to serving platter with a cake spatula or large flat spoon. Dress it up with a chocolate border {instructions follow}, remaining balsamic cherries, fresh cherries, chocolate flakes and slivered pistachios.
Chill until ready to serve. Let it stand outside for 10-15 minutes before serving to allow for easy slicing of the border.
Chocolate border
Cut out parchment paper borders to fir around the cake. Place the melted chocolate in a ziploc bag and snip of a corner. Doodle designs all over the borders and when just about to set, place snugly around the cake, pressing into place ever so gently.
Leave the cake in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes for the chocolate to harden, then gently peel off the parchment. {It was very hot here, so I placed the strips of melted chocolate in the fridge to firm up a bit first}
