Category: coffee

diplomatico

A fudgy-textured and sweet treat: the diplomatico, the twin brother of the tiramisu only with worse PR. I’ve gone for a cross-breed here blending elements of both desserts. A diplomisu, if you will. This can be made a day or so in advance (always handy) and for best results leave it out of the fridge for 20 minutes or so before eating; the textures soften and taking the chill off enhances the silky, creamy texture. If you like boozy coffee-alcohol puds, this is one for you.

Sponge finger tip: I think this works best with really sodden sponge biscuits. You can obviously only submerge them for a few seconds before they turn to mush in your hands. To avoid this, give them a short dip until starting to soften and place them in the dish. Then gently drizzle with more marinating liquor to increase their drunkenness. Do this slowly to ensure the fingers have time to absorb the liquid.

Diplomatico:

500ml double cream, whipped to soft peaks

250g mascarpone cheese

120g dark chocolate, melted

50g icing sugar

150ml strong coffee, cooled

5 tablespoons marsala

About 30 sponge fingers

Grated chocolate, to serve

Whip the cream to soft peaks, and reserve about a third of it.

Stir the icing sugar and mascarpone together, then fold into 2/3 of the softly whipped cream. Gradually fold in the melted chocolate. Check for sweetness at this point as this will be where most of the sweet taste from the pudding will come from, and add more icing sugar as necessary.

Stir the coffee, marsala and a tablespoon of icing sugar together. Dip the sponge fingers in the mix until soggy, and then make a layer of them in a rectangular cake tin (I use a silicone one to get the dessert out easier later).

Add a layer of chocolate cream, then follow with more boozy biscuits. Keep layering, ending with sponge fingers. Add the remaining cream on top of this and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours.

Before serving garnish with grated chocolate, then cut into thick slices.

cake chocolate coffee food

mocha cupcakes

Delicious, soft, crumbly muffiny concoctions here, with a splodge of coffee icing. I enjoyed them a lot – more coffee flavour next time though.

Mocha cupcakes (makes about 12):

250ml water

250g caster sugar

125g unsalted butter

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

2 tablespoons instant coffee

225g self-raising flour

2 eggs, beaten

For the icing:

100g icing sugar

50g butter

2 tablespoons instant coffee

Melt the sugar and water together in a saucepan. Stir in the butter, cocoa, bicarb and coffee and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes then allow to cool.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Beat the flour and eggs into the mixture until smooth. Divide into cupcake cases and bake for 20 minutes until firm. Allow to cool.

Whip the icing ingredients together until smooth and use it to sandwich cut halves of the cupcake together.

cake coffee food lemon

fairy cakes three ways

An unusual post this one: it’s a birthday gift show-off in disguise and I didn’t cook the featured articles!

Recent birthday gifts were: individual silicone cupcake cases (re-usable and easy to remove from the cases you see), a wiry cupcake stand, and my first ever piping bag. As I was about to spring into baking action, my 4 month old daughter fell asleep on my shoulder, so Mrs. Roastpotato stepped in to bake. I can be a nightmare to cook in front of, with my pestering and pointy fingers. Luckily she manage very impressive cakes despite my interference. We felt like baking the same cupcake base, with three toppings: coffee, lemon and vanilla.

We were deciding on which cupcake recipe to go for and went for Delia’s Complete Cookery Course. Out fell a grubby, yellowed piece of paper which was once lined. On it was familiar: my Nan’s tiny, curly handwriting. It was her recipe for ‘Queen Cakes’, which are fairy cakes studded with sultanas. They made the most perfect, golden, light and moist little gems. Luckily the toppings did them justice: a zingy, crisp lemon icing, a dense, sweet coffee rush and oozy, rich vanilla buttercream.

Fairy cakes (measurements and method are presented old school, exactly as per my Nan’s instructions) – makes 23:

8oz butter

8oz sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp baking powder

A little milk

Cream fat and sugar add eggs beaten well. Fold in sieved dry ingred. little milk if ness to soft dropping consistency. Bake in mod oven 15 – 20 mins.

Coffee icing:

3 tablespoons espresso

2 tablespoons icing sugar

Lemon icing:

Juice of ½ lemon

2 tablespoons icing sugar

Vanilla buttercream:

100g icing sugar

50g butter

Dash of vanilla extract

Tags betty tridgett

coffee cream food mascarpone

tiramisu

Yet another blog topped with an awful photo. I should do a course or something.

Which is a real shame, because I consider tiramisu one of my absolute star pieces. I’ve made dozens of them, and tweak them every time. It’s creamy, boozy, sweet, light, indulgent, chocolatey… a real treat. I’ve also done one with Bailey’s mixed into the cream, which makes it a beautiful toffee colour and lends a luxurious note.

There is an angle I’m missing which I’ve yet to get, and it’s the crisp element. Perhaps some crumbled meringue like an Eton mess, or a sugary grit topping, or even something as basic as whizzed-up chocolate / coffee biscuits? I need to try these out.

So this is my standard recipe from which I start. One word of warning: it uses at least 4 bowls, so make sure there’s a few to hand.

Tiramisu:

350ml strong coffee or espresso

5 tablespoons Marsala

Vanilla pod, seeds removed (or 1 teaspoon extract)

3 eggs, separated

50g caster sugar

250g mascarpone

250ml double cream, lightly whipped

1 packet savoiardi or sponge fingers

Chocolate for decoration

Blend the coffee and Marsala and allow to cool.

Mix the vanilla with the egg yolks and half the sugar, then warm over a pan of simmering water until foamy. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

Mix together the mascarpone and whipped cream and fold in the egg yolks.

In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites with the remaining sugar until stiff and fold into the cream mixture.

Dunk the sponge fingers into the coffee, allowing them to abosrb, then layer into a dish. Add a layer of cream mix, fingers and repeat as desired.

Finish with a layer of cream and top with grated dark chocolate (or if you’re in a rush, a crumbled Flake). Leave in the fridge for two hours, or overnight if you can.