Baking | Mocha tray bake... again

MOCHA (CHOCOLATE & COFFEE) TRAY BAKE

6 oz recipe

4 oz Self raising flour 

3 oz cocoa (extra 1 oz for richness & lighter sponge)

6 oz Butter

6 oz Eggs (3 large free range)

1 Teaspoon baking powder

1 Tablespoon coffee chicory essence

3 Tablespoons cold, strong coffee (just mix 2-3 teaspoons of instant coffee with boiling water and use enough to create a paste, then dilute with 3 tablespoons-ish cold water)

1 Teaspoon vanilla essence

Made in a brownie pan

Line with grease proof paper & butter
Baked for 20 minutes, middle shelf, gas mark 4.

Taken out the oven, lifted straight onto a wire rack to cool.

When 100% cold, spread with mocha icing.

MOCHA ICING

1 Tablespoon Salted Butter
1 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder
1 Tablespoon Coffee Chicory Essence
2-3 Tablespoons Cold Strong Coffee
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
8 oz Icing Sugar

Whizz until smooth, add more coffee / cocoa / icing sugar to taste.

Baking | 1st Birthday Cakes

I recently made my Lemon Basil Cupcakes and (The World's Best) Chocolate Brownies for a first birthday party. 

Baking | Coconut lime drizzle tray bake

I have already made this and posted it before but this is slightly different.

This time I made a 6 oz tray bake with a lime drizzle top, vs previously I made cupcakes with an 8 oz recipe and a lime coconut frosting / icing.

INGREDIENTS:

6oz Self Raising Flour

6oz Butter

6oz Eggs 

(Which was 3 Large Free Range British)

4oz Desiccated Coconut

Juice and Zest of 2 Limes

1 tsp Baking Powder

The icing topping was lime, and 3oz unrefined golden caster sugar which is spooned over the cake when still in the baking tray and still warm.

Baking | 80th Birthday Cake

For my Grandad's 80th Birthday I made a large eight-zero cake for 30 people.

I was going to hire an 8 shaped baking tin and a 0 shaped baking tin but in the end I decided that among my 30+ tins I would probably be able to construct my own and save £30 on the hiring fees which seemed pretty steep!

I used a few different shaped tins, carved them into shape using a sharp serrated knife and then to flatten the tops perfectly I used a baking wire which guarantees a perfect level surface.

I made my chocolate cake recipe which is heavy on cocoa powder, the ratio of cocoa to flour is almost half and half which creates a rich, light cake.

I "dirty iced" the bare cake with icing, as well as the the filling which glued everything together, I put the cake in the freezer for 10 minutes which quickly solidified the outer buttercream so when I added the warm (but cooled down) chocolate ganache, it wouldnt melt off the sides.

I tried to make a thick ganache but it didn't seem any thicker than my usual ganache, however as it cooled down it become a firm truffle consistancy. I could have rolled it into balls and used them as chocolate truffles.

I melted some white chocolate to decorate, as well as using ganache to glue raspberries to the edges. The white chocolate was very thin, I wish I had used something thicker or less see-through. 

I added some dark chocolate curls I made from using my sharpest knife to shave chocolate that had been in the fridge for 24 hours.

I added orange roses to the centre of the numbers and then I felt the cake needed some green so I finely grated some lime zest over it too. 

The cake was dry, I think it was because I carved them and the dried out, plus the un-tested baking times of using random measures of cake mixture in a variety of tins, my family said it wasn't actually dry, but it was a dry mix for my usual standards. Especially when my chocolate cakes are light and moist after perfecting the recipe.  With all the gananche and raspberries I suppose the cake wasn't that noticeable! The important thing is that Grandad enjoyed it!