DIY coffee - an experiment in roasting!

So you may remember I used to work for a coffee company & I've picked up a fair bit of useless knowledge & tried many different blends & roasts over the years.  However, I'd never even thought about roasting my own coffee beans, so when a friend offered me a bag of green coffee beans, fresh from his Grandparents farm in India, I thought it was worth having a go.

This what the beans looked like when they arrived.  They had been washed, so the outer skin & pulp of the coffee cherry that surrounds the bean had been removed & they'd been left to dry.

For the main event, I enlisted the help of my local coffee geek (otherwise know as Olly, ex-colleague & friend) & we set about our research into how to roast coffee beans at home without having to buy an expensive mini batch roaster!  There are a number of methods, but we went for the straight forward frying pan technique.

First step was to wash the beans in cold water, the little bit of moisture that absorbs into the beans helps them roast & I guess stops them from burning too quickly!

Next was to heat the frying pan so it was HOT!

Tip the beans into the frying pan, keeping the heat high & the beans moving!

Gradually the colour started to change....

Then you hear a crack!  It was around 4 minutes in to roasting, it's almost like the sound of popping corn, at this point turn the heat down just a touch.

Keep the beans moving all the time until you hear them crack again, you'll also start to smell a faint smokiness.

This is the point to take them off the heat, the residual heat will keep them roasting.  By now, they've been in the pan for 7-8 minutes.

Tip the beans into a metal sieve & swirl them around to help them cool down quickly.  It was a freezing cold day when we did it so we stood in the garden to cool them down.  It also helps being outside as the chaff that can come off the beans just blows away.

Once they'd cooled properly, we ground some & brewed up using Olly's posh glass drip filter.

I have to say we were pleasantly surprised by the result.  It produced a very smooth coffee, quite mild, it was very enjoyable to drink straight, no milk or sugar, adding them would have killed the delicate flavours.  Put it this way, I've drunk (& sent back!) way worse cups of coffee from professional outlets!

If you ever get the chance to roast your own, I'd give it a try.  It's really easy & very satisfying in the same way I guess as baking your own bread or making home brew is?  Don't think I'll be doing it all the time though, for the sake of laziness I'll stick to my pods for now.

Thanks to Olly for the use of his kitchen & hurrah to us both for not burning it down in the process! Till next time, Rebecca x

Java spiced chocolate cake with coffee cream

So you may remember a few months back I shared the news that I'd quit my job!  Well the good news is that I now have a new job (phew!), so for me I'm currently on a rollercoaster of excitement, anticipation & a bit of blind fear.  But it's also tinged with sadness that I am leaving my current company after almost 6 years.  The team I work with are not just colleagues, they are friends & we've been through a lot together.  Engagements, marriages, break ups, sickness, loss, babies & a fair few cracking nights out.  We've pretty much seen the lot, but its a rare day when we haven't at least had a bit of a giggle along the way.

I hope one of the things I'll be remembered for (forget about my ability as a marketer!) is for my baking, lets face it I fed them cake pretty much every week for 52 weeks during my challenge.  Funny how I didn't get many complaints about that!  So it seemed fitting that I should leave them with a cake & a coffee inspired cake at that.

This is a recipe that has been in my scrapbook for a couple of years but this is it's first outing, I'd hand written it, so apologies that I can't source it.  It's a bit of a twist on a chocolate cake which adds cloves, cinnamon & nutmeg, sandwiched together with a coffee cream!

60g cocoa powder
1tsp ground cloves
3tsps ground cinnamon
1tsp grated nutmeg
100g butter
220g caster sugar plus a little extra
3 eggs

180g plain flour

1tsp baking powder

1tsp bicarbonate of soda

400ml double cream

1.5 tbsp finely ground coffee beans

1.  Mix the cocoa powder & spice together.  Spoon out 3 teaspoons of the mixture & keep to one side.  Add 200ml of hot water to the remaining mixture & stir well until smooth.

2.  Cream together the butter & sugar, then beat in the eggs one at a time until smooth & creamy.  Sift in the flour, baking powder & bicarb, mix well, then finally mix in the chocolatey mixture.

3.  Divide between 2 sandwich tins & bake at 180c/GM4 for around 20 minutes until well risen & springy to the touch.  Leave to rest for 5 minutes, then tip out onto a rack to cool.

4.  Whip the cream with a tablespoon of sugar, then stir through the ground coffee.  Use the cream to sandwich the cakes together, I had enough to also cover the top, then sprinkle over the remaining spiced cocoa.

It smelt amazing when it was cooking, a fabulous mix of chocolate & spice.  Guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow to hear what everyone thinks!  I'm not a fan of goodbyes, so instead this is my 'see you later' cake.  So 'see you later' team, it's been a blast.  I just hope they like cake at my new company? Till next time, Rebecca x

Week 52 - Coffee & Walnut Cake

Hello cake mates, it's with a tinge of sadness that I'm bringing you the final treat from Rebecca Bakes Cakes. The past 52 weeks have gone really quickly & I'm honestly dead chuffed that I've done it! It was this time last year that I made a batch of Spiced Apple Muffins & had the crazy idea to bake something every week for a year & blog about it. Reading back over those early posts it's funny to see how my writing has changed & as it turns out I've enjoyed the writing just as much as the baking! My biggest triumph was probably the Malteser Cookies that became finalists in the My Dish chocolate lovers competition. Biggest disaster, the Crumpets in week 44, you can relive the whole debacle with video commentary.

But enough reminiscing...lets stick to the matter in hand & get onto the cake. As you know I do have a day job working in the marketing department for Douwe Egberts coffee, therefore it seemed fitting to finish on a classic coffee & walnut cake. In a final shameless plug for one of our products, it was made with Pure Indulgence instant coffee!

For the cake
250g butter
225g caster sugar
4 eggs
2tsps vanilla essence
250g self raising flour
2tbps instant coffee dissolved in 25ml warm water
80g walnut pieces

For the frosting
100g butter, softened
400g icing sugar
1tsp vanilla essence
1tbsp instant coffee dissolved in 10ml water

To decorate (optional)
Walnut halves
Chocolate coffee beans
Chocolate sprinkles

1. Cream the butter & sugar together until light & fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each one, next add the vanilla. Sift in the flour & fold together until you have a lovely smooth batter. Finally stir in the coffee & walnuts until all combined.

2. Line the bottom & grease the sides of 2 cake pans. Divide the mixture between the pans, bake in the oven at 180c/GM4 for around 25 minutes until they are well risen, golden & springy to the touch. Lift out & leave to cool in the pans.

3. To make the frosting cream together the butter & sugar, then add the vanilla & coffee. Beat well until you have a silky smooth texture. I had quite a subtle coffee flavour in my icing, you could easily increase the amount you use if you like a stronger taste or cut it out completely for a vanilla frosting?

4. Next level off one of the cakes & spread a thick layer of the frosting on the top. Place the second cake on top of that & cover it with the remaining frosting. Decorate at will!

So there we go, all done! Thank you to everyone for reading over the last 52 weeks & for all your lovely comments & emails. I have a feeling this won't be the last you see of me, I think I've been bitten by the blogging bug & will be back. But for now, that's all from Rebecca Bakes Cakes, it's been a blast. Take care, Rebecca x

p.s. I've put together a round up of all my creations. Click here to see it...

Week 22 - Cafe au Lait Cupcakes

Good news! I didn't drown myself surfing so I'm back to bake another week! I had a great time in Cornwall, I can really see how people get the surfing bug. Lets face it, I was fairly pants, but I did manage to catch a few waves & although I didn't actually get on my feet, I managed to get about half way up which was far better than I expected. It sounds ridiculous but the most challenging part of the weekend was getting into the wetsuit. It wasn't easy, especially on the 2nd day when I felt muscles I didn't even know I had, aching in my arms! Thank you to Oakley for a fab prize & to the guys at Big Friday for organising a great weekend.

Back to the cakes & this weeks recipe is another request. In a shameless plug for the brand I work for, I made this using Douwe Egberts Pure Indulgence coffee (I'm a slave to the brand I know!) I find you need to use quite a strong coffee to make sure it gives a rich enough flavour to the cake. I came across a recipe for an American Frosting in a Good Housekeeping cookbook from the 70's, so I thought I'd have a crack at that instead of traditional butter cream for the topping. It's given them a lovely glossy finish, but if I'm honest I think I prefer butter cream, the frosting tastes nice, but it's got a different texture, but different is good sometimes, right?

For the cupcakes
125g butter
150g caster sugar
2 eggs
Few drops vanilla essence
125ml milk
4 tsps instant coffee dissolved in a little water
200g plain flour
2 tsps baking powder

For the frosting
175g brown sugar
1 egg white
Pinch of salt
Pinch of cream of tartar
30ml water

1. Cream together the butter & sugar, beat in the eggs then add the rest of the liquids & beat well until light & fluffy. Sift in the flour & baking powder & fold together. Line a 12 hole bun tin with paper cases & divide the mixture evenly between them. Bake in the oven at 180c/GM5 for 20 minutes, leave to rest for 5 minutes in the tin, then lift out onto a rack to cool.

2. To make the frosting, put all the ingredients into a bowl & whisk until combined. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water & continue to whisk until it thickens & the mixture forms soft peaks. Now I started with an egg whisk, but realised I was getting nowhere fast! (Especially with achy surfy arms!) So I switched to my electric whisk & it thickened in no time.

3. Leave the frosting to cool for a few minutes so it's not quite as runny, then coat the top of each cupcake. I finished them off with a white chocolate coated coffee bean!

I called these Cafe au Lait as the milk in the recipe gives it that lovely creamy taste. The brown sugar in the frosting gives a complimentary caramel flavour. If I was to make them again, I'd make a vanilla butter cream instead. I guess you could also turn them into Mocha Cupcakes by adding around 75g of cocoa powder to the cake mix...mmm, might just try that!

So I've taken on blogging, marathon walking & surfing so far this year...I need to give some thought to my next challenge. Have a good week, enjoy the sunshine, Rebecca x