Sunshine and chocolate cake

The sun's  shining. I follow as it moves from room to room. Some days it positively dances on the walls. I haven't made the blinds for the parlour window yet so I've done that thing again and left the paper snowflakes up from Christmas. I love the shapes...Those silvery shadows that  it casts through them. 

I know 'parlour'...That's what Ahmad calls it...It sounds like something out of a Jane Austin novel, doesn't it?

We've been busy sanding and painting. I undercoated all of the downstairs, outside windows, that can be painted. Windows can be tedious with all those little places that you almost miss out.  The hardest thing is not to get paint on the glass. I found a long artist brush the best thing. I can't tell you how many times I was called Van gogh or Picasso by neighbours out walking their dogs. 

It was Ahmad's birthday on Thursday. A quiet one...We're having a proper celebration in a few weeks. I made his favourite moist chocolate cake. I experimented with Green & Black's cocoa powder and was a little bit disappointed that although the cake was dark and rich looking it didn't have the intense chocolate flavour I hoped for. I think I'll stick to Cadburys Bournville next time. I have to say though, that like with all good chocolate cakes it's improving with age and getting more and more truffely. Nice things arrived in the post for him and the phone didn't stop ringing. Neighbours popped by with a very generous gift...aged Penderyn, Welsh whisky. Matured in old oak bourbon barrels. 

Later we drove to Wye to this lovely shop. He loves pens and I wanted to treat him to a really good one. Then we sat in the late afternoon sun outside Beer Revolution sipping refreshing golden craft ales. Followed by a scrumptious supper here.   Hamburger for him with big chunky chips and Black bream for me with creamy mashed potatoes, roasted tomatoes, asparagus, rocket leaves and crunchy little fried onions, that I should have but couldn't resist. I also couldn't resist a raspberry mille feuille with dark chocolate sauce...also scrummy...I did share it though...promise...

Moist chocolate cake

Ingredients:

• Seven ounces of self raising flour
• One teaspoon of baking powder
• Two large eggs
• Five ounces of butter or alternative
• Five ounces of golden caster sugar (it's lovely with half muscovado sugar if you have any)
• One and a half ounces of cocoa powder
• Three tablespoons of milk
• Two tablespoons of made coffee
• A little cinnamon. Just a tad you don't want it to be a cinnamon cake but just to have gentle background note of spice
• A little vanilla extract

Filling and topping options:

• Fresh cream, chocolate spread or butter cream. we love to use a chocolate hazelnut spread.
• Chocolate icing or ganache
• Shaved chocolate, walnuts or truffles.

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade (350f/gas mark 4)Or a little cooler if using a fan oven.
2. Prepare a six inch cake tin with oil and a dusting of flour.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar.
4. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
5. Sift the flour, cinnamon,cocoa and baking powder and fold into the flour.
6. Add the coffee and milk.
7. Pour into the tin and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
8. Test with a skewer to ensure the centre is cooked although still moist.
9. Leave in the tin for five minutes and then turn onto a cake rack to cool.
10. You may choose to use two narrow pans rather than one deep one. If so reduce the baking time accordingly. I would check after fifteen minutes or so. 

Decorating:

1. Once cooled cut the cake in half horizontally to make two separate cakes.
2. Place one half onto a serving plate. Decide which way up you prefer to produce either a flatter topped cake or more homely rounded one. 
3. Spread with your filling of choice. We like chocolate hazelnut spread. 
4. Place the second cake carefully on top and ice or glaze. 
5. You may like to spread butter cream or chocolate spread on the sides. Either make great cement for crushed nuts or flaked/shaved chocolate. They also make a great wall to poor chocolate gamache or icing onto the top.
6. Or you may just like a simple dark chocolate icing as I did this time.

...Hope the sun is shining for you today too...
debx

Valentines Treat - Nigel Slater's Chocolate Truffles

The challenge : 

"...all you have to do is randomly select a recipe that includes chocolate somewhere in the ingredients, cook that dish and then write about your experience on your blog..."

This challenge was perfect with Valentines day coming up on Friday, especially as my valentine loves chocolate. 

Nigel Slater's 'Real Food' has a section called 'CHOCOLATE' and  I randomly opened it at page 282 CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES.

I was a bit worried to begin with as I don't have much chocolate making experience.  I know that chocolate can split when heated, and there's  nothing that you can do, but to start all over again with a new batch.

But it was easy as pie. There are only two ingredients, good quality chocolate with at least 70% cocoa solids, and cream. You don't have to heat the chocolate, just the cream. Then pour the warmed cream over the finely shredding chocolate in a warm bowl, melting it in the process. Simple.

It makes a shiny chocolate ganache that you beat until it's smooth and glossy.

If any of the chocolate remains unmelted you can place the bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure that it doesn't touch the bowl, and then heat until every last little bit has melted down to a velvety sauce. I couldn't resist a taste at this point. It was scrumptious but I know that my valentine has a very sweet tooth and I'd used a good quality dark Ecuadorian (fairtrade) chocolate, with 72% cocoa solids. I suspected that it may be just a little bitter for his taste. So I added a couple of dessertspoonfuls of golden syrup. 

I then chilled it in the fridge for about an hour until the chocolate had reset. Then the fun began. You take spoonfuls of the ganache and roll it into rough balls or log shapes, then dip them in cocoa powder. I also dipped some in powdered icing sugar because my valentine loves truffles made that way.

I used half the recipe ingredients in the book but the same as the recipe on this link.  I made at least twenty large truffles, but it's difficult to be exact because a few may have  accidentally fallen into my mouth whilst I was making them...

This was a really fun project to do, and one that kiddies may like to join in with...I'm sure there would be lots of finger licking. Great for a Mother's or Father's day gift with a little help from a grown-up. 

I made simple cones from thick wrapping paper to hold them. I used a dinner plate as a template cutting out a circle of paper and than halving each on to make two cones. Rolling each one into a cone and securing with a little bit of double sided sellotape. 

Or you may like to link to a clip art pdf of printable template for sweet little gift bags perfect for holding these, here,  or boxes here and here.

I'm linking with dom and choclette to share the challenge.

...have a happy valentines day...
debx

Yellow...and the easiest chocolate brownies ever...

"In the nineteenth century, grey lead pencils were first painted bright yellow...as a subtle marketing tool. The graphite in the pencils came from a mine near the Chinese border with Siberia and the yellow was a reference to the Manchu imperial robes and hence the mysterious East."      Colours: Travels Through the Paintbox, Victoria Finlay, via

Have you ever have a day where one colour seems to dominate? 

I did. It started off all the usual grey and green with a few warm colours thrown in for good measure. Then I was making my special magical cough and cold remedy for H. Cardamom tea with honey for me, and toast soldiers with soft boiled eggs for both of us. I had to draw moustaches on because that's how mum used to make them. I was pampering H a bit because she has a stonking cold and an awful cough, will be leaving home next week to live in London, and I'll miss her. 

Then I looked down at all the ingredients, the sun was shining and everything was YELLOW.  Golden honey, buttercup butter, creamy ginger, and mustard turmeric that matched the top of cardamom tea packet. Then the lemons, and the eggs...All yellow...

It didn't last very long though, things soon took on a more rainbow like appearance, and ended with a lovely chocolate brown when I made a batch of the easiest  and moistest  chocolate brownies ever.