I will begin by saying that, there is nothing better than a
cup of coffee in the cold evenings. I prefer
tea in the mornings and coffee in the evenings. Yeah-I am a caffeine
freak! Some kick is always needed to stabilise
these wintry days. With so many cafes around London, I tend to pick up coffee
very often, and I can declare that it’s new found love for me.
Oh my! I have tasted all kinds of coffee here- espresso,
cappuccino, late, mocha, caramel, mint, black eye and what not. Few weeks back,
I added another feather in the cap- I tried Irish coffee (only after my husband
compelled me to do so). For those of you who don’t know, Irish coffee is
a cocktail consisting of hot coffee, whiskey, sugar and
topped with thick cream. So it is like having two addictive ingredients -
whiskey and coffee, in one glass. One shot of Irish coffee was such a jolt that
I thoroughly enjoyed in the freezing weather. Wow, I am so glad that I tried
it.
Even after weeks I could easily recall the wonderful and
different taste it had. A great way to revise the taste was to make something
which was infused with flavours of Irish coffee. So I baked a cake with coffee,
with hint of whiskey in it. Still there is one difference if compared to the real Irish coffee; in Irish coffee espresso(hot water and coffee) is used but I used coffee powder (ground coffee) to make this. Lastly to balance the bitter and strong feel of coffee and
whiskey I topped it with white chocolate Ganache and orange zest. An experiment
worth doing again-for sure!
Most of you will think that this cake is very fancy and complex
but, actually it is one of those cakes that don’t demand any extraordinary
baking skills. If you like straightforward crumbly cakes with strong
bitter-semi sweet taste then you have got to bake this one. Simple and yet
elegant, is what describes this cake the best.
Ingredients:
For the cake:
2/3 cup butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ teaspoon black pepper powder
3 teaspoons coffee
2 tablespoon hot water
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons whiskey
For Glaze:
1/4 cup White Chocolate chopped
1/2 cup cream
2 tablespoons orange zest
Method:
For Cake
Heat oven to 180C. Butter the pan. Dust with 2
tablespoons cocoa powder.
On a low heat combine coffee, water and
whiskey. Just heat this, do not boil. Let it cool.
Sift together flour, black pepper, baking
powder, salt, baking soda.
In a large bowl beat butter and sugar till
butter is fluffy.
Add one egg at a time and beat. Beat till
mixture is smooth and airy.
Alternately fold flour mixture and coffee. Mix till the
batter is without any lumps.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the cake is just starting
to pull away from the sides of the cake pan. Carefully turn the pan out onto a
rack
For Glaze:
Heat cream on a very low heat. Do not boil.
Mix chocolate in the cream and mix till the glaze is
silky. Let it cool
Drizzle this glaze on the cake and sprinkle orange zest.
Notes:
If you like strong flavours then you don’t need to have
the glaze. Just enjoy the plain the cake
Use all ingredients on room temperature.
Whiskey is optional but if added it certainly oozes more
flavour.
Decoration ideas:
Fresh cream can also be topped on
cake. Like HERE
Or cover this cake with mango mousse.
Like HERE
Even chocolate Ganache will do in this recipe as
glaze. Like HERE
Grated chocolate, fresh fruits,
candied dry fruits can also be chosen for decoration.
This looks yumm n rich n choclatyyy!
ReplyDeletecake looks super fabulous. I can guess of its taste.
ReplyDeletelooks lovely superb clicks
ReplyDeletelovely cake.
ReplyDeleteLooking super tasty ..... Love the first click !
ReplyDeletewow that an fantastic chocolaty cake :) looks super moist and soft !!
ReplyDeleteWow.. The cake looks yummy Shweta.. I am sure to come back and check out more of your yummy recipes.. loved the pics too.
ReplyDeleteOoh- this cake is a killer!!What a combination of flavors!!!
ReplyDeleteRich chocolate cake very nice recipe love it. First time to ur space and nice to know a new fellow blogger.
ReplyDelete