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

Marmalade cupcakes for Paddingtons Birthday!

Did you know this week it was Paddington Bears birthday?  Well one of his birthdays, as like the queen he has two, Christmas Day & 25th June!  What was one of Paddingtons favourite foods...yep marmalade, et voila this weeks recipe Orange Marmalade Cupcakes.  Ok so this is a bit of a tenuous link but it's been on my list to try for a while & this seemed like a good excuse!

The recipe is also from Cox, Cookies & Cake, the book I featured a few weeks back.  They are a lovely soft buttery cake with a tangy tast of marmalade, topped off with orange butter cream & a final dollop of marmalade if they're not orangey enough for you already! 

So Happy Birthday Paddington (I do realise my excuses to bake cakes are getting a little ridiculous!), here are a few facts you may not know about the bear from darkest Peru...

- The first item to pass through the channel tunnel when the UK broke through to the French side was a Paddington Bear

- The first Paddington Bear book, 'A Bear Called Paddington' was published in 1958. The book series has gone on to sell more than 35 million copies & have been translated into 40 languages!

- 9 different artists have created their own vision of Paddington, but he is always seen with his duffle coat, hat & wellies. 

I loved these marmalade cupcakes, they're a great addition to the repertoire, if you want to try them yourself, just add around 3 tablespoons of marmalade, the zest of an orange & a good dash of OJ to a basic vanilla batter.  Then add some orange zest to a vanilla butter cream, yum!  Till next time, Rebecca x

Our Limited Edition Marmite Paddington, he lives in our fruit bowl!