"Hot Toddy" Irish Coffee (Contains Alcohol)

January has come.... so dark... so wet... so dreary. According to many, the first Monday in January is the saddest day of the year. You might need a bit of a pick-me-up to help you out, and here is one full of Christmassy cheer: a "Hot Toddy" Irish Coffee!

I don't know why nobody else has thought of combining two quintessentially Christmassy whiskey cocktails, and even when I put the two things together in my head I didn't really know what it would look like. But with some brainstorming, I eventually designed an Irish coffee that's infused with the common hot toddy flavours: cinnamon, cloves, and lemon. You might be thinking "lemon? With coffee?!" but don't knock it as the Portuguese have been combining coffee with lemon for a while in their summer tipple, Mazagran.

Infusing coffee with spices or herbs is actually pretty simple if you have a French press or pour-over filter, simply pop the spices in with the coffee and as it steeps the spices will give their flavour to the finished brew. It's also fairly simple if you have a coffee capsule machine (like I do: I got myself one with some of our wedding gift money) if you pop the spices into the bottom of a warmed glass and allow the coffee to dispense onto them, then cover with a coaster and allow to brew for about 5 minutes.

Despite the fact that the Irish coffee was invented in my home county of Clare (or Limerick, depending on your sources) I had never had one until my brother made me one this Christmas. He makes his Irish coffees with a strong bias to whiskey, however this drink was originally meant to have only an ounce measure of whiskey as a night-cap.

INGREDIMENTS

For 2 servings

6 fluid ounces (170 millilitres) strong black coffee

4 whole cloves

2 inches (5 centimetres) piece of cinnamon stick, broken into small pieces

Half a teaspoon of lemon zest

Two shots (60 millilitres) Irish whiskey: Irish brands include Jameson, Bushmills, Powers, and Tullamore Dew

4 teaspoons (20 grammes) Demerara sugar

Whipped cream, to serve. I use whipped cream from a squirty can because it's convenient

Grated nutmeg, for decoration

Optional: 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) fresh lemon juice

METHOD

• Infuse the coffee with the spices and lemon zest, either by popping the aromatics with ground coffee into a French press, or putting them into the bottom of a warmed glass, pouring over the coffee, then covering with a coaster to brew for about 5 minutes.
• Use two small stemmed glasses, measuring about 6 fluid ounces (170 millilitres) each, and warm with hot water before using. 
• Divide the sugar between the glasses, and gently pour half of the whiskey into each glass without stirring.
• Gently add the coffee (making sure you've strained the spices out) by gently pouring it over the back of a teaspoon into the glasses. Irish coffee is best if the layers don't mix much.
• Top off with whipped cream and grated nutmeg.

Variation on a Theme: Cappuccino Fudge

Along with a cake, I made Stefi an edible present: I present to you Cappuccino Fudge!

As long term readers of my blog well know, I absolutely adore fudge. Over the years, I’ve found ways of refining my fudge recipes and process, and it has ranged from using condensed milk, to evaporated milk, to caster sugar, to brown sugar, to salted butter, to unsalted butter. I discovered a better way of making fudge when I made my Southern States Caramel cake, when I was looking for a good boiled icing recipe that wouldn't set too hard.

My current fudge recipe suits my tastes because it’s not sickly, crystal sweet, but round, rich, fatty, and smooth. The consistency is firm and can even be moulded like fondant if you treat it right! It reminds me of the high quality all-butter fudges you get from Thorntons or other chocolate shops. 

But another thing I really love about my current recipe is how easily it can be adapted to other flavours and combinations. Fat is a great vehicle for flavour, and seeing as nowadays I make fudge with copious amounts of butter and full-fat whipping cream, it holds flavours exceptionally well, even better than when I did that orange chocolate fudge video back in the early days of my YouTube channel. 

 

And so, I share with you my first proper venture into an unusual fudge flavour since I started using my updated recipe: cappuccino! This is essentially fudge with instant coffee added to taste, topped off with a stiff vanilla buttercream, and dusted with drinking chocolate powder. 

Find yourself a good quality finely ground instant espresso powder. It should be more like powder than granules. This can be mixed directly into the fudge mixture to taste, starting small and adding if you want it stronger. Alternatively, if you only have coffee granules, you can dilute them in the vanilla essence to get a concentrated coffee essence. That's what I did.

I made the topping using a fairly stiff buttercream flavoured with a splash of vanilla essence. I piped it on with a star nozzle, but you could equally as easily swoop it on to look more like milk foam. I used Cadbury drinking chocolate to dust it, but you could also use the chocolate topping that comes in boxes of instant cappuccino sachets. My dad loves that stuff, so there’s never any of it around me to use! 

INGREDIMENTS

1¼ pounds (570 grammes) caster sugar

8 fluid ounces (225 millilitres) whipping cream, slightly warmed

8 ounces (225 grammes) unsalted butter

¼ to ½ teaspoon (1 to 3 millilitres) fine salt

1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) vanilla essence

For the topping

3 ounces (85 grammes) unsalted butter

9 ounces (250 grammes) icing sugar

Milk, at room temperature, for mixing

Vanilla to taste

Hot chocolate powder, for dusting

HOW-TO

• In a large saucepan with a metal or enamel interior (don't use a dark coated pan), add the sugar, cream, and half of the butter. Stir well over medium-low heat until everything has dissolved nicely and is a syrup with no gritty sugar on the bottom. Bring to a simmer.
• When it begins to simmer, turn the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for up to 30 minutes, until it reaches soft-ball stage (112°C to 115°C (235° F to 240° F)). On reaching this temperature, remove from the heat immediately and allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the bubbling has completely stopped.
• Cut the remaining butter into small cubes, and then beat the syrup with an electric hand mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
• As the syrup begins to thicken and lose its gloss, taking on a matte appearance, start adding the butter, a cube at a time while beating, making sure to beat in each cube fully before adding the next. The whole process should take about 5 to 6 minutes.
• Eventually, you will get a deliciously thick, fudge mixture. If the fudge begins to split, leaving oily patches or film, add in half a teaspoon of cold water and beat until it comes together again.
• To flavour, dissolve the coffee granules in the vanilla essence and beat in thoroughly. Salt to taste: you'll need a surprising amount of salt.
• Pour out into a 7 inch (20 centimetre) square tin, that has been lined with non-stick paper. You could use a silicone tin, which is what I do.
• Allow the fudge to cool to room temperature before icing, then make a stiff buttercream with the icing ingredients, and pipe or dollop on top of the fudge. Dust with hot chocolate powder.
• Allow the whole confection to set for at least 6 hours at room temperature before cutting into equally sized pieces. I recommend one inch (2.5 centimetre) squares.

Happee Birthdaee Daddee! Coffee Poodle Cake

Looking to make a novelty cake, but have never been very good with fondant? Well, look no further: here is a cute puppy cake, with zero fondant!

My Dad had his birthday on Friday, but actual celebrations with cake and presents were delayed due to all of us having different work commitments. On the Friday night itself, we went to see The Crimes of Grindewald, which was a dull and conflicted piece of cinema.

When we did eventually meet up for cake and presents, I wanted to make a special cake for Dad: he has a pet toy poodle, called Boadecia (well, when I say he has, she dog is actually my mother's but Dad has an extreme fondness for her and carries her around everywhere he goes), so I made a cake in the likeness of a poodle. However, I really dislike working with fondant, and I hate how it tastes.

So, I went with good old fashioned piping.

I made a 9 inch (23 centimetre) deep round coffee cake, and sandwiched and crumb coated it with some coffee buttercream. After a brief trip into the fridge, I spread another thin layer of coffee icing over the top and sides, using a bench knife to get the edges nice and straight. I coated the sides in a dusting of desiccated coconut and piped a scroll design around the top edge. I then popped the cake into the fridge for another 20 or so minutes.

To get the beautiful white surface, I melted 2½ ounces (65 grammes) of white chocolate with 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) of sunflower oil. I added a pinch of salt to make it taste richer, because sunflower oil is pretty flavourless. I melted them together gently in the microwave and poured it in the top of the cake, where the scroll piping acted as a dam. I gently tilted the cake to get full coverage.

After a half hour rest in the fridge, I piped the features using dark chocolate and pink-tinted glacé icing. I just mixed some icing sugar and milk together to a thick, piping consistency and used pink gel colouring to get a lovely, doggy-tongue shade of pink.

Dad's poodle wears a little baby blue collar, so I thought I'd put a band of paper around the cake, where I would normally pipe a lower border. I think the effect was very pretty, put next time I'll use a ribbon for a better effect.

All in all, I was very pleased with this cake! You could do it with chocolate cake, too, or any flavour you like. Happy baking!

Ice-Cream Month: Tiramisù Ice-Cream (Wheat Free)

Ti piace il gelato? Hai un gelato tiramisico!

 

Granted, this isn't actually proper gelato, but I love me some tiramisù! I've made a few tiramisù inspired desserts on this blog, mostly involving cheesecakes, because it's one of my favourite muses: the combination of cheesecake-like cream, sponge cake, coffee and chocolate is just right for me. It's a decadent creamy treat, with a kick.

I first made tiramisù inspired ice-cream about four years ago for a Dutch friend, but it never made it to the blog because we ate it all. So, in honour of Ice-Cream Month, I thought I'd make it again.

This one went a bit pear shaped because the cream didn't whip up right for me this time: I think my ingredients were too warm. It still tasted amazing, but didn't layer and swirl as well as I might have liked. As such, I will reiterate that it's imperative that your ingredients are all cold! That way you'll get lovely fluffsome ice-cream that'll stay super soft in the freezer.

This also uses some yoghurt for sourness, and mixed in equal proportions with icing sugar it can replace some of the condensed milk in your recipe. Although, to maintain the silky texture, never replace more than half of the condensed milk.

INGREDIMENTS
Makes about 2 pints (about a litre) of ice-cream

For the ice-cream base

• 16 UK fluid ounces (455 millilitres) whipping cream
• 10 UK fluid ounces (285 millilitres) condensed milk
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) Greek yoghurt
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) icing sugar
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) instant espresso powder
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) vanilla essence

To assemble,

• 1 medium egg, separated
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) caster sugar
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) white spelt flour, sifted
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) sunflower oil
• Chocolate syrup, for assembly
• Optional: white rum, for sprinkling

Instead of making sponge cakes, you can just use shop-bought trifle sponges. I make my own because I can't buy wheat-free trifle sponges in Ireland.

METHOD

First, make the sponge cakes.

• Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F, Gas Mk.7), and line a flat tray with non-stick baking paper.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add in the sugar while beating until you have a glossy meringue that holds stiff peaks.
• Beat in the yolk and oil, then switch to a metal spoon to fold in the flour. Be sure to fold it in completely.
• Spoon little blobs of cake mixture onto the baking paper, tap the tray on the work surface a few times, and then bake on the centre shelf of the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes. The cakes will be done when they are an even golden brown, and springy to the touch.
• Allow to cool completely before assembling the ice-cream. If you like, you can sprinkle them gently with some white rum, but this is completely optional.

Then, make the ice-cream base.

• In a measuring jug big enough to hold a UK pint (570 millilitres), mix together the Greek yoghurt and icing sugar until it becomes flowing and smooth. Top up the yoghurt mixture up to 12 UK fluid ounces (340 millilitres) with condensed milk. You might have some condensed milk leftover, so use that for another project.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream to soft peaks. Fold in the yoghurt and condensed milk mixture and the vanilla essence, then continue to beat until it hold medium peaks.
• Divide the mixture in two: leave one part plain, and into the other part fold the espresso powder.

Now, assemble the masterpiece.

• In a two-pint (1 litre) pudding basin, layer the ice-cream bases with crumbled cakes and chocolate syrup as you want. Once layered, swirl with a knife to marble the layers, and then decorate the top with more crumbled cake and chocolate syrup.
• Cover with the lid or some cling film and freeze for at least 6 hours, or overnight.

Caramel Macchiato Ombre Gateau (Wheat Free)

This year's creation for my eldest brother's birthday is a caramel macchiato ombre gateau!

My eldest brother's birthday is the first in the year, which is convenient for the first born, and he--like our dad--likes coffee cake. And after years and years of simple old coffee cakes, you start to crave something a little different. As for the icing, I've never done an ombre, or gradient, effect cake before, so I thought I'd give it a go.

I took my inspiration from an American coffee shop classic: the caramel macchiato. Espresso mixed with some caramel syrup, topped off with a dollop of steamed milk foam. Although I could have done some white icing rosettes on the top of this cake to represent the milk foam, I decided to stick with my two tone pallet.

Using the caramel and coffee flavours and colours, I faded the two colours together nicely for a first attempt! There are countless tutorials on YouTube for ombre icing, and there is no point in reinventing the wheel: I will trust that you will find a tutorial online that best describes the process, because explaining it in writing is actually very challenging. I tried writing a few drafts, but I just couldn't quite capture it.

I used some delicious Lavazza coffee to make the cakes, and I mixed the brewed coffee with a little instant to up the ante and give it a super coffee kick, as well as including some ground beans in the cake itself.

I made the cake at my companion's house, where he had no fudge pieces to decorate it. Luckily, there were some in my Mum's house, where the celebration was held.

FREE FROM

☑ Soya (check for soya lecithin)
☑ Yeast
☑ Wheat
☑ Nuts

CONTAINS
☒ Eggs
☒ Dairy (dairy substitutes can be found in italics)
☒ Gluten
☒ Refined sugar products


INGREDIMENTS
For one large 8 inch (22 centimetre) round cake

• 7 ounces (200 grammes) white spelt flour
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) cornflour
• ½ teaspoon (3 millilitres) baking powder
• ½ teaspoon (3 millilitres) baking soda
• 6 ounces (170 grammes) butter, at room temperature, or margarine
• 6 ounces (170 grammes) caster sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) vanilla essence
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) brown sugar
• 6 fluid ounces (180 millilitres) very strong coffee, either brewed or instant
• Optional: 1 level tablespoon (15 millilitres) ground coffee

For the caramel,

• 6 fluid ounces (180 millilitres) evaporated milk, cream, lactose free cream or cream substitute
• 6 ounces (170 grammes) light brown sugar
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) butter, or margarine
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) golden syrup
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) vanilla essence
• ¼ teaspoon (2 millilitres) salt

For the buttercream,

• 12 ounces (340 grammes) icing sugar, sifted
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) butter, at room temperature, or margarine
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) vegetable fat, at room temperature
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) caramel, as prepared above
• 1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 30 millilitres) cream, or evaporated milk, or regular milk or milk substitute
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) vanilla essence
• 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) instant coffee
• 2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) boiling water

For assembly,

• Fudge or caramel sweets, cut into ¼ inch (5 millimetre) cubes

METHOD

First of all, make the caramel sauce.

• Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and heat together over medium-low heat, until all ingredients are melted and combined,
• Once you achieve a smooth mixture, raise the temperature to medium-high and cook vigorously until the consistency becomes thick and creamy. This should take about 5 to 10 minutes, depending on your cooker.
• Pour into a pre-warmed bowl--to prevent the ceramic from cracking, just swish some hot water around in the bowl and tip it out--and allow to cool to room temperature, which should take about an hour or two.
• Once cool, chill in the fridge for about an hour until it becomes thick and spreadable.

While the caramel is cooling and thickening, make the cake.

• Preheat your oven to 170ºC (325ºF, Gas Mk. 3), and grease and flour an 8 inch (22 centimetre) deep round cake tin.
• Prepare the cake according to this recipe, using coffee instead of cocoa powder and hot water, and sifting the cornflour in with the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until fully baked and a skewer comes out clean. Cool as instructed.

For the icing,

• Dissolve the instant coffee into the hot water and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Beat the vegetable fat until creamy with an electric mixer, then add the butter. Continue to beat until fully combined.
• Beat in 4 ounces (115 grammes) of the prepared caramel until smooth and creamy.
• Beat in half the icing sugar on a low speed until combined, then the rest of the icing sugar. Adjust the consistency with the cream, or substitute, if needed.
• Split the icing into two batches, and mix the dissolved coffee into one of the batches.

To assemble:

• Cut the dome off the cake, then slice in half horizontally. Attach the top half of the cake to its platter with a tiny smear of the filling to make the bottom layer. Spoon the remaining caramel sauce onto the cake layer and spread out with a palette knife (or butter knife) until it's about half an inch (1 centimetre) from the edge.
• Using the caramel icing, ice the whole cake with a very thin crumb coat. Chill for a full hour.
• Once chilled, you can ice in a gradient affect: ice the top normally with the caramel icing, then the top half of the sides with a very thick layer of caramel icing; you should use all of the caramel icing in this process. Ice the lower half thickly with half of the coffee icing. Then, smooth out the edges in confident strokes to create the gradient. There are hundreds of videos on YouTube about this, and watching is better than reading when it comes to these things.
• Mix the excess icing with the remaining coffee icing, place into a piping bag with a large round tip, and pipe decorations around the bottom edge and top edge of the cake.
• Sprinkle the top with the cut caramel or fudge.
• You may have some icing left over from making this cake. If so, you can use it for another project, or freeze it for up to 3 months.

THIS TIME IN 2016: Coffee 'Cheesecake' Gâteau

THIS TIME IN 2015: Orange Mocha Gâteau (Wheat Free)

THIS TIME IN 2014: No-Churn, No-Cook, Practically No-Effort Chocolate Ice-Cream (That's as good as Ben & Jerry's)

Death by Coffee: for Those Who Prefer Coffee Cake to Chocolate Cake, like Me (Wheat Free)

Chocolate cake is nice, and I like it as much as the next woman, but in my opinion there is something tastier: coffee cake!

I find the flavour of coffee a little more nuanced and interesting than chocolate. There's something slightly bitter and sharp about it, in comparison to chocolate which is a little smoother and rounder tasting. Coffee makes for more interesting flavour pairings, too.

My Dad concurs: coffee cake is his favourite, too. Which is why I look forward every year to making his birthday cake.

I think my fondness comes from a delight in traditional Irish bakery coffee cakes. There's something about their naff margarine buttercream and crunched up nuts or digestive biscuits on the sides that just speaks to me. The local bakery, before I was taken on by new management, used to make a fabulously naff coffee cake that I would buy every time I had a few extra euros at the end of the week.

I know I've done lots of coffee cake recipes before—on account of it being my favourite—but this one is slightly different: this cake uses the same recipe as my recent American style Devil's Food Cake, but uses coffee instead of hot water and cocoa powder. This makes for a super soft, fluffy, and moist cake.

So, let's get started!

FREE FROM

☑ Soya (check for soya lecithin)
☑ Yeast
☑ Wheat
☑ Nuts

CONTAINS
☒ Eggs
☒ Dairy (dairy substitutes can be found in italics)
☒ Gluten
☒ Refined sugar products


INGREDIMENTS
For one large 8 inch (22 centimetre) round cake

• 7 ounces (200 grammes) white spelt flour
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) cornflour
• ½ teaspoon (3 millilitres) baking powder
• ½ teaspoon (3 millilitres) baking soda
• 6 ounces (170 grammes) butter, at room temperature, or margarine
• 6 ounces (170 grammes) caster sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) vanilla essence
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) brown sugar
• 6 fluid ounces (180 millilitres) strong coffee, either brewed or instant

For the buttercream,

• 1 pound (455 grammes) icing sugar, sifted
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) butter, at room temperature
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) vegetable fat, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) instant coffee granules
• 2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) boiled water
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) vanilla essence

For assembly,

• 2 ounces (55 grammes) icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) instant coffee
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) boiled water
• 12 chocolate coffee beans, or other chocolate decoration

METHOD

• Preheat your oven to 170ºC (325ºF, Gas Mk. 3), and grease and flour an 8 inch (22 centimetre) deep round cake tin.
• Prepare the cake according to this recipe, using coffee instead of cocoa powder and hot water, and sifting the cornflour in with the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until fully baked and a skewer comes out clean. Cool as instructed.

For the icing,

• Dissolve the instant coffee into the hot water and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Beat the vegetable fat until creamy with an electric mixer, then add the butter. Continue to beat until fully combined.
• Beat in half the icing sugar on a low speed, then the coffee, then the rest of the icing sugar. Adjust the consistency with some milk or water if needed.

To assemble:

• Cut the dome off the cake, then slice in half horizontally. Attach the top half of the cake to its platter with a tiny smear of the filling to make the bottom layer. Spoon a third of the icing onto the bottom layer, spread out with a palette knife (or butter knife) until it's about half an inch (1 centimetre) from the edge.
• Place the bottom half of the cake on top upside down, so the flat surface is not the top of the cake. Press gently to glue together, and chill in the fridge for about 10 minutes to firm up.
• Reserve about half of the remaining icing for piping, and use the other half to ice the side of the cake. Ice a one inch (2 centimetre) border around the top of the cake also.
• Make some glacé icing by dissolving the coffee in the water, and mix it into the icing sugar with enough hot water to make a running consistency. Ice the top of the cake up to the border. Allow to crust.
• Using the remaining icing, pipe 12 rosettes around the edge, one in the centre, and a shell border around the foot of the cake. Decorate with some chocolate sweets, or chocolate coffee beans.
• Allow to set for about an hour before serving.

Here, in this picture, you can see the consistency of the cake itself: fluffy and rich and moist and nomnomnom... I could have eaten this whole thing. It is to be enjoyed, however, in small portions, and will keep for up to a week in an airtight container. So, practise some restraint.

Mocha Cupcakes: Chocolate and Coffee Join Forces (Gluten Free; Dairy Free Option)

Greetings from the UK!

I'm currently on holiday visiting relatives in Kent, so my recipes will be few and far between. My cousin has a fantastic new kitchen which is great to cook in... so I'll probably be experimenting a bit while I'm here...

Looking for a cutesy cupcake project? Look no further! I decided to make some of these little lovelies for a film night I was having at mine. I needed to stay up all night to be at a gig which started at 2:30am (it was for a worthy cause), so I made some snacks for the journey. I actually didn't last: I had to go to bed around 11:30pm. So, behold the mocha cupcakes!

It was actually last week that this happened, but I didn't get around to writing this post until now: things have been busy getting ready to go abroad, going to visit friends in Roscommon, and performing midnight gigs.

I was wandering through Tiger -- which is essentially a slightly posher and more Scandinavian discount shop -- and found these lovely dark chocolate 'coffee beans'. Originally, I thought they were chocolate coated coffee beans, which are the business, but they weren't: they were coffee infused 52% dark chocolate shaped in little bean shapes. And in fairness I think that's better.

I've also been practising my icing swirl technique recently, and felt like a bit of an eejit: I never really realised that to make tall icing swirls, you need to pipe a dollop in the centre of the cake, and swirl around it. Obvious when you think about it... but it had never occurred to me to do it like that.

To make these, I used my go to light and fluffy sponge cake mixture, as opposed to the slightly denser cake mixture I use for layer cakes. I replaced the cornflour with cocoa powder to make the cakes chocolate flavoured, and I also used gluten free plain flour instead of spelt flour. They worked out really well! Dare I say, that recipe works better with gluten free flour than with spelt or wheat flour. 

I then made some buttercream, using strong espresso to taste, then adjusting the consistency -- if needed -- with some milk. Swirling on the icing using a closed star nozzle, I topped it off with a coffee bean chocolate.

I think I might make some when my cousins come over for dinner on Thursday, if they're fans of coffee and chocolate.

Coffee 'Cheesecake' Gâteau

This week has been light on recipes because my oven at home has finally decided to give up the ghost. Petitions to the landlord for a replacement have been unsuccessful as of yet, and luckily enough for me my mother - whose kitchen has quite a nice oven - isn't too far away. As such, a lot of my eating of late has been stovetop based...

In better news, this is my 198th recipe, meaning that the big two-oh-oh is very nearby! I think I have something lovely planned for it, whenever it may be. This whole not having an oven thing has made baking on the regular quite a challenge.

So, this week was my brother's birthday! I cannot count (well, I probably could if I spent the time going through the list of posts) the amount of birthday cakes I've done at this point. A lot. Usually the same one every year for each family member. As convenient as that is in its predictability, it doesn't leave much room for trying something new.

This year, he asked for his two favourite cakes combined: coffee cake, and cheesecake. I decided to try and find an unusual way to mash them up.

I made two coffee sponge sandwiches as in this recipe, using 4 eggs and scaling the other ingredients up accordingly. Instead of milk, also, I used strong coffee; I split the mixture between two greased and floured 8 inch (20 centimetre) round sandwich tins. When they were baked, I drizzled them in coffee syrup, made using equal volumes of caster sugar and strong coffee, and boiled in a saucepan until slightly thickened. For this, I used 4 tablespoons each of coffee and sugar.

To add in the cheesecake element, I used a whipped cream cheese icing. I followed the same method as I did for my carrot cake with orange cream icing, replacing the caster sugar with icing sugar (for convenience's sake), the orange juice with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, and leaving out the zest entirely.

I used a third of the icing to sandwich the cakes, then used the remainder to ice the cake, I sprinkled some cocoa powder in the middle to resemble a cappuccino, or to summon the image of a tiramisù to mind.

It was very tasty, and also gave me a bit of inspiration to try a new way of making chilled cheesecakes without all the fuss. I find that every time I make one new thing, it inspires a slew of new things; you gotta love creativity.

Happee Birthdaee, Daddee: Coffee and Vanilla Gâteau (Wheat Free, with a Dairy Free Option)

The 16th was my father's birthday, but his celebrations were a little late this year because he and Mum went away to Kerry for a little birthday holiday. We all gathered yesterday instead to enjoy a Sunday lunch, and celebratory cake: coffee and vanilla cake.

I will admit, when you've been the primary birthday cake baker for over 10 years (which is over 50 cakes) you start to run out of ideas. For a few years I experimented with novelty cakes, making them funny shapes or giving them themed decorations, but after a while I realised I prefered good old traditional gateau style cakes.

The members of my family always want the same kind of cake, too: my mother an orange or lemon cake; my oldest brother a coffee cake; my older brother a chocolatey chocolate cake with chocolate on top; my father also coffee cake (or sometimes the very vague request of 'brown cake'); and my sister cheesecake. This year having a (now ex-)boyfriend to make a cake for was very refreshing, especially seeing as his favourite cake was Battenberg, which was a challenge I relished.

These very predictable requests make things quite, well, boring after a while. Usually now though I try and shake things up my adding in an extra flavour. For example, my oldest brother's usual coffee cake became an orange mocha cake, and my mother's usual lemon drizzle cake became a zingy lemon layer cake with lemon infused white chocolate icing. Needless to say, I have become very good at making layer cakes.

The unfortunate thing about this time of year in this country, is that is gets impractically cold in the kitchen: things curdle, split, and set too quickly if you haven't had the central heating on for the weeks (or months) before making the cake. That is what sadly made this cake so hard to make.

I went with the usual coffee cake as requested, and made a coffee infused white chocolate icing, but because the kitchen was so cold it kept separating. Two batches ended up being re-purposed as a mutant coffee fudge, and I soon realised a melted chocolate icing was not going to work.

Enter the saviour: traditional, staple buttercream icing. I don't tend to work with buttercream often because, even though it's an old favourite, it can be very tempramental if the atmospheric factors aren't all perfect. This time, though, it really worked and everything was saved. However, I will impress the importance of all the ingredients needed to make the buttercream being at least room temperature. Put your butter somewhere warm, or heat it on defrost in the microwave, and don't use hot coffee.

FREE FROM

☑ Soya (check for soya lecithin)
☑ Yeast
☑ Wheat

CONTAINS
☒ Dairy (use substitute in italics for dairy free)
☒ Gluten
☒ Eggs
☒ Refined sugar products

INGREDIMENTS:

For the sponge cake:

• 4 ounces (115 grammes) white spelt flour
• 2 ounces (30 grammes) cornflour
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) baking powder
• 3 medium egg
• 6 ounces (170 grammes) caster sugar
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) melted butter or margarine
• 3 fluid ounces (90 millilitres) strong black coffee
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) vanilla essence
• Optional: 1 tablespoon of ground coffee, for extra flavour and visual impact

For the buttercream filling and icing:

• 6 ounces (170 grammes) very soft butter, or margarine
• 12 ounces (340 grammes) icing sugar, sieved
• 2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) very strong black coffee at room temperature, or 2 teaspoons of espresso powder dissolved in 2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) of hot water, allowed to cool
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) vanilla essence
• Chocolate or coloured sprinkles, to decorate

HOW-TO:

To make the cake,

• Preheat the oven to 170ºC (325ºF/Gas Mk. 3) and grease and flour an 8 inch (20 centimetre) round tin.
• Make the cake batter following this recipe, substituting the oil for melted butter and the milk for coffee (as in the ingredients listed above). If using ground coffee, sieve in with the flours.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown and springy to the touch.
• Remove from the oven, run a knife around the edge to loosen from the tin, then allow to cool completely in the tin.

To decorate the cake,

• Put the butter in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer until very soft and light.
• Add in the icing sugar in three additions, alternating with the 2 tablespoons of coffee and finishing with icing sugar. Make sure to beat well between additions. If the buttercream starts to split, it means it's too cold. This, however, can be easily fixed with a hair dryer.
• Cut the cake into two layers, using the top of the cake as the bottom layer. Fix the bottom layer to a plate or cake board with a little smear of icing, then fill the cake with a third of the buttercream. Put the top layer on, upside down, meaning that the flat bottom of the cake is now on top.
• Use the remaining buttercream to ice the cake (putting a crumb coat on first), and if you like you can use some to pipe decorations around the top and bottom edge.
• If you like, you can add some colour with sprinkles: I put a little splash in the centre.
• Allow to set for at least an hour before serving.

This was actually a very tasty confection, and a lot lighter and more delicate because it was only lightly flavoured with coffee, as opposed to being super coffee-tastic. This keeps well for up to a week in an airtight container.

Tiramisù Mini Cheesecakes (Wheat Free)

Good Monday all my wonderful readers! I apologise timely for the lack of Friday recipe, and I have no reasonable excuse: I was busy socialising. I had a party on Saturday night though, and I made some very tasty mini cheesecakes, and these ones were a twist on the classic retro dessert tiramisù!

Fluffy sponge base, silky vanilla cheesecake with a coffee syrup swirl, topped off with some whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa powder... it is sinfully delicious, and actually very similar to a normal tiramisù, bar the raw egg.

Each person who has eaten one of these morsels has said to me that the coffee flavour in a cheesecake is very unusual, but very nice. The coffee is swirled in, making it quite subtle and not overpowering, but good and intense in some pockets where the syrup has collected.

This is what the cake looks like without the cream and the cocoa dusting...

Without the cream and cocoa dusting that makes this a 'tiramisù' cheesecake, it's a simple and elegant coffee swirl cake, which is equally delicious.

I love mashing up classic desserts, and if you've been following my blog regularly you will have noticed many varieties of dessert mash-ups, which mostly revolve around ice cream and cheesecake, which are my two favourite desserts. However, I have done a nice Neapolitan Coconut Ice mashup, which is neither cheesecake or ice-cream related.

But anyway, back to the actual making of this concoction. This was my second attempt at this particular recipe, the first one failing on account of a botched base sponge: I had both used the wrong sort of cake, and forgotten the baking powder. Thus, they were tough and stodgy, and dislodged themselves from the cream cheese layer. Fail.

I then put my thinking cap back on, and remembered that traditionally tiramisù is made with savoiardi biscuits (or lady fingers), which are little fingers of fatless sponge. I slightly enrich my fatless sponge with sunflower oil to make it more flexible, but it's still very light and airy. It worked much, much better, and even the cream cheese layer and the swirl worked out a bit better the second time too. I think the practise run did me good.

FREE FROM

☑ Soya (check for soya lecithin)
☑ Yeast
☑ Wheat
☑ Nuts

CONTAINS
☒ Eggs
☒ Dairy
☒ Gluten
☒ Refined sugar products

INGREDIMENTS

For 12 muffin sized cheesecakes:

For the sponge cake bases:

• 1½ ounces (40 grammes) white spelt flour
• ½ ounce (15 grammes) cornflour
• Pinch of salt
• 1½ ounces (40 grammes) caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) sunflower oil
• 1 medium egg
• 2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) milk, or water

For the vanilla cheesecake filling:

• 8 ounces (225 grammes) full fat cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) caster sugar
• 1 medium egg
• 2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) natural yoghurt, cream, or milk
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) vanilla essence, or the seeds of one vanilla pod
• Pinch of salt

For the coffee syrup:

• 2 ounces (55 grammes) caster sugar
• 2 fluid ounces (60 millilitres) strong coffee
• Optional: 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) white rum or Marsala

To serve:

• 8 fluid ounces (240 millilitres) whipping cream
• 1 or 2 tablespoons (15 or 30 millilitres) icing sugar
• Cocoa, for dusting
• Optional: Grated dark chocolate, or decorating

METHOD

To make the bases:

• Preheat oven to 180ºC (350ºF, Gas Mk.4). Line a 12 hole muffin tin with large paper cases and set aside.
• Get a large mixing bowl and a smaller bowl, and separate the egg, putting the white in the large bowl and the yolk in the smaller bowl. To the yolk, add the oil and the milk and mix well until smooth and fully combined.
• Using an electric mixer, beat the white until it forms soft peaks, then gradually add the sugar, about a tablespoon at a time, beating all the while. Beat until it forms stiff peaks. (Once you have finished beating, you will need to wash the beaters as you'll be using them later to whip egg white again).
• Pour the yolk mixture into the whites and gently fold together. It should still be as fluffy and as increased in volume, but a little more yellow.
• Sieve in the spelt flour, cornflour and salt, then fold very gently until you get a batter that is relatively thick. Divide the batter between the 12 cases; it won't seem like much, but it rises quite a bit so don't worry.
• Bake the bases for 8 to 10 minutes, or until set and slightly springy to touch, and the faintest of golden brown. Remove from the oven, set on a wire rack, and reduce the oven temperature to 150ºC (300ºF, Gas Mk.2)

When your bases come out of the oven, immediately prepare the coffee syrup:

• In a saucepan, heat the sugar and coffee over a low heat until this sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, and cook for about 2 minutes, or until the bubbles are a little less rapid and the syrup has visibly thickened slightly.
• Remove from the heat and, if using, mix in the rum or Marsala.
• Using a pastry brush, gently dab some of the syrup onto the little sponge bases. If you don't have a pastry brush, use a spoon to sprinkle half a teaspoon's worth of syrup on each sponge.

Now, make the cream cheese layer:

• Like with the bases, you will need two bowls, both about the same size. Separate the egg, putting the white in one bowl and the yolk in the other.
• To the yolk, add the cream cheese and mix until smooth and creamy. Gradually add half the sugar to the cream cheese mixture, mixing between additions, so the cream cheese doesn't turn runny. Gently stir in the yoghurt and vanilla.
• Using an electric mixer once more, whip the egg white as before, gradually adding the remaining sugar and the pinch of salt.
• Once the white is beaten to stiff peaks, gently fold it into the cream cheese mixture in two additions. You'll have a lovely light batter.
• Divide the batter between the 12 cases, spreading out evenly. Give the tray a firm tap on the work surface to even out further and release any trapped air bubbles.
• Pour about a teaspoon (5 millilitres) of coffee syrup into the centre of each cheesecake and then, using the tip of a knife or a chopstick, swirl the syrup into the cream cheese layer. Don't overdo it, or you'll end up completely mixing the syrup in and losing the swirl effect.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until set around the edges and a little bit jiggly in the middle. Remove from the oven and cool for about 10 minutes in the tray before transferring the cakes carefully to a wire rack.
• Chill for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. Serve chilled.

To serve:

• Whip the cream and icing sugar to stiff peaks using , and then use it to fill a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle. Pipe a little rosette on each cake, and dust with some cocoa powder. If you like, you can sprinkle some grated dark chocolate on top too for that extra decadence factor.

Now, as you've probably read, there are quite a few steps involved in making these, but none of these steps is very complicated. But the result is delicious and well worth the effort. These are a great little morsel to bring along to a party, because everyone can have a serving of cheesecake without the hassle of cutting up or plating up.

THIS TIME IN 2014: Spanner in the Works: White Spelt Flour No Longer Exists

THIS TIME IN 2013: Dinosaur Kimberleys (Wheat Free)