Have yourself a...

I know it’s needless to say, but I’ll do it anyway:
It’s really almost Christmas now!
I hope this info is not new or comes with a shock for you, because otherwise I think it would be smart to make some plans and get going (!)
What are you doing this year with Christmas? A 15 courses menu? (it wouldn’t be a surprise with you foodies!) Eating out in a Michelin worthy restaurant? Nothing? Or like us, having a buffet with all kinds of little snacks and other tasty things?
I’m in charge of the dessert section this year -what else?- and decided to go for a few different sweets and desserts, simply because I couldn’t choose…
One of them is this rich chocolate cake with hazelnuts. This is the kind of cake that gets only better and better the longer you wait…perfect for Christmas!

I’m always careful in the kitchen - did you know 58% of all indoor accidents happens in the kitchen?! - but this time I was extra careful, as I still have last Christmas etched on my memory...
Last year me and my mom were hostesses, so on Christmas morning after breakfast and presents, we got back in the kitchen and prepared the final things for dinner. It was nice, but busy and slightly chaotic, and their was still a lot to do.
I was just making a piecrust: butter, flour and sugar were in the bowl, the hand blender was cheery grunting, and the dough was ready to be made into a bal. I putted down the blender and placed my hands in the bowl.
I wanted to have as well the last bit of dough that was sticking in the blender, so I, clearly without thinking, went for it.
10 minutes later we were, me still in my pj’s, at the first aid post. When my finger touched the blade, the power switched on and -luckily!- only my fingernail didn’t survive. Merry Christmas indeed! ;)

So this year I made sure nothing needed the blender…
I haven’t tasted this cake yet of course, -that would be rude!- so I can’t tell you how it tastes, but judging the ingredients, the look, the soft inside versus the crunchy outside, and the incredible smell, it’s only really promising…

Have a great time, merry Christmas everybody!



Chocolate Hazelnut Cake (for 10 till 12 people, adapted from La Dolce Vita)
- 250g (9oz) chocolate (minimum 70%)
-115g (1 stick/½ cup) butter, softened
- 5 eggs, split
- 140g (¾ cup) finely granulated sugar
- 50ml rum/cognac
- 100g fine maizena
- 150g (1 ¼ cups) hazelnuts, roasted

1. Preheat over to 180°C (350°F) and grease and flour a 22cm (9 inch) round cake pan.

2. In a small saucepan, mix the chocolate, broken in little pieces, and the butter over low heat till the chocolate is melted. Take the pan of the fire and let to cool a bit.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks and the sugar together to a thick, creamy mixture. Mix in the chocolate mixture, rum, maizena and hazelnuts until well blended.

4. Whisk the egg whites until stiff (but not dry!) and fold them carefully in the chocolate/hazelnuts mixture.
Scoop this mixture into the prepared cake pan and bake for 30 till 40 minutes.

The cake is ready when it’s dry and firm to the touch, but still a bit wet and silky inside. The top is as well cracked, but that’s how it should be.
Let the cake in it’s for until it’s completely cooled, take out on a serving plate and dust with powder sugar.
Optional: serve with a big dot of mascarpone and strong coffee…Yum!

No Fuss, No Worries: Only Cake

I’d forgotten the power of a good basic cake.
Like a Pavlov reaction, I thought instinctively of the margarine, soppy, flavourless version that you can buy at the store. The one that doesn’t even deserve the name cake and will keep till end 2010...
What was I thinking??

Pound cake is the best. Or more precisely; Madeira cake is the best.
And this version is even better; it’s so easy, has a lovely lemony twist and a divine sugar topping that really gives the extra touch.
A crunchy layer with a big crack down the middle, covering a soft and slightly moist, amazing cake that will melt deliciously in your mouth…

The recipe comes from Nigella Lawson’s How To Be A Domestic Goddess, i.e. my first cookbook. My collection has, as you might have noticed, grown considerably since then but it still has a special spot with me.
I made this cake from it quite some time ago on request. I was actually already forgotten it but (luckily) came across the pictures when I sorted out my files. This is a wonderful cake, even the best in its sort I think.
Well, try and judge yourself…


Cake (for 8 to 10 slices)
- 240g (2sticks/1cup) soft butter
- 200g (1cup) finely granulated sugar, plus more for topping
- zest and juice of one lemon
- 3 eggs
- 210g (1 ¾ cups) self raising flour +
- 90g (¾ cup) all-purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 170°C (330°F) and butter and line a cake form with parchment paper.

2. Stir butter and sugar until creamy and add lemon zest.
Mix in one egg, then one tablespoon of flour, then an egg again…and so on.
Add the rest of the flour, mix well, and add the lemon juice. stir until well combined.

3. Pour the batter in the prepared form and sprinkle generously with sugar (about 2 Tbsp) Bake for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool completely, then invert onto a serving plate.

A Great Weekend

My little half-sister Katoo is the ultimate chocolate monster. She’s almost 4 now and this weekend she came to visit her two big sisters in the city. These two days were way too short and we had, as always, a wonderful time. We absolutely spoiled her to dead now we had the opportunity, we got her some little girly presents, we watched Cinderella, went out to the bakery, danced, watched some more Cinderella and of course devoured a whole lot of chocolate…

That’s why I made these cupcakes. It’s clear it can’t get more chocolaty or sweeter than this; these cupcakes contain melted chocolate, cacao powder and chocolate chunks, along with the best chocolate frosting and some Smarties on top.
And they tasted absolutely great.
Sweet, brownie-y, and perfectly between dry and moist. They are also very nice without the frosting but that first bite in a frosted one, when your teeth go through the glaze, then the dry, crumbly top and finally threw a delicious moist inside…
Well, nothing will beat that.
And I’m happy I wasn’t the only one who liked them…

A weekend with cheery Tootje is always a pleasure, but this weekend turned out to be even better when Saturday morning the bell rang and my brand new camera had finally arrived(!)

It’s the Olympus E500 and it’s without a doubt the best toy ever!
I’m now like an annoying paparazzi photographer, walking through the house going click, click, click…
And the quality of my pictures - every shot looks like it popped right out a professional photographer catalogue(!)

I love it! Can’t wait to get going and discover all it’s features…=)

Oh yes, one last thing about the cupcakes -

Make sure you buy enough Smarties if you have a specific colour in mind; my plan was to decorate them only with pink Smarties - well, every package contained about 3 pink ones…

A little Smarties fact to end with; Did you know 17 thousand Smarties are eaten every minute in the UK?
You sure can decorate a whole lot of cupcakes with that…(!)
Enjoy! ;)

Chocolaty Chocolate Cupcakes (makes 24 cupcakes)
- 150g (5,4 ounces) bittersweet chocolate
- 250g (1 cup/2 sticks) butter, cut into pieces
- 350g (1 3/4 cups) sugar
- 5 eggs
- 120g (1 cup) flour
- 4 Tbsp cocoa powder, unsweetened
-1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 150g (5,4 ounces) chocolate chips, or bittersweet chocolate, cut into little pieces.

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and prepare 24 cupcake cups on a baking sheet.

2. In a large saucepan, melt chocolate and butter while stirring. Add sugar, stir until blend completely, and let cool for 10 minutes.

3. In another bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and a pinch of salt. Set aside.

4. With an electric mixer, beat chocolate mixture for about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and make sure each one is completely absorbed before adding the next.

5. Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture and mix well. Scoop into the prepared cupcake cups - this is easy with a ladle - and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Store in an airtight container or continue with the frosting.


Chocolate frosting (enough for 24 cupcakes)
- 250g (9 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 250ml (1 cup) heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 Tbsp butter, room temperature
- 300g (2 cups, packed) powdered sugar

1. In a medium saucepan, heat cream until bubbles form around the edge of the pan. Reduce heat and add the chocolate. Let stand for one minute, then stir to combine. Add butter and vanilla and mix well. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

2. Sift powdered sugar into the mixture and beat with an electric mixer until combined. Continue to beat until light and creamy. This frosting can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator. Before piping on the cupcakes, let stand for a few minutes or pop it for 20 sec. in the microwave.

4. Fill pastry bag with the scoopable frosting and pipe onto the cupcakes. Decorate with smarties/m&m’s before the frosting is completely hard. Store in an airtight container.
These cupcakes will stay for an surprisingly long time good - even on the 5th day they taste heavenly…

Wednesday Baking III: Honey and Spice Cake

To keep my tradition going, I started my lovely free morning Wednesday again with some baking.
Because Wednesday Baking seems to be equal for using lots of raisins and cinnamon, I made sure this week’s recipe would also be loaded with both and ended up making a variation on Delia Smith’s Spice Cake.

Spice Cake is a true no fuss cake;
It isn’t very special or difficult to make - and I doubt it will ever win a beauty price - but in its simplicity, this cake is really irresistible and tastes so incredibly good.
If you just want something simple with a special twist; this is definitely your cake.

I substituted the candied peel for raisins and increased the amount of honey. This honey was just faintly traceable but did give it its nice and soft texture.
This cake is crumbly, spicy, extremely flavourful and has a lovely orange hint. The fresh and tangy lemon icing pairs beautifully with it;

perfect with a nice cup of tea for one of those cold autumn days.

p.s.
Tasting Life is silver! Yes, already 25th posts (!) Absolutely nothing, if you compare it with certain other blogs, but I‘m still very glad I even got this far. I keep learning and having fun so… up to the 1000th! ;)

honey and spice cake
- 100 g (1/3 cup) clear, runny honey
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 225 g (8 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 75 g (3 ounces) golden caster sugar
- finely grated zest 1 orange
- finely grated zest 1 lemon
- 110 g (1 stick/1/2 cup) butter, room temperature
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 150g (¾ cup) raisins
icing:
- 175 g (6 ounces) icing sugar
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice + 2 Tbsp warm water

1. Preheat oven to 170°C (325°F) and lightly butter a 20 cm (8 inch) round cake tin.

2. Put the honey in a small bowl. Place this bowl into a saucepan containing almost boiling water and warm up the honey a little. (not too much, just a little)

3. Sift spices and flour into a large mixing bowl. Add sugar, orange and lemon zest. Now add the butter in small pieces. Rub it lightly into the flour with your fingertips, until the mixture becomes crumbly. Using a fork, lightly mix in the beaten egg, followed by the warm honey.
In a small bowl, mix the baking soda with 3 tablespoons of cold water, stir until dissolved, and add it to the cake mixture. beat, quite hard, until the mixture is smooth and soft.
Stir in the raisins and spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, spreading it out evenly. Bake the cake for about 50 minutes, until well risen and firm to the touch.
Let cool for 10 minutes, then turn it out on to a wire rack to cool completely.

4. For the icing; sift the icing sugar into a bowl, add 2 tablespoons of hot water along with the lemon juice and mix to a thin consistency that will coat the back of a spoon. If you don't think it's thin enough add a little more water.
Now place a large plate underneath the cake on the wire rack and pour the icing all over, letting it run down and coat the sides a bit.
Store in an airtight container.

Wednesday Baking II : Carrot cake Muffins with Cinnamon Glaze…

It’s Wednesday today, and just like last week, I’ve had a lovely quiet morning today, filled with baking, a bit of blogging and a
lo-hot of tasting.
This morning I made Carrot cake Muffins.
I just realized this is again a recipe with lots of raisins and cinnamon (!) Talk about coincidence…=)

The recipe is from Delia Smith. I love her Vegetarian Collection - it’s a big, beautiful book with simple and complicated recipes and the most amazing photo’s - even a simple potato looks gorgeous in here.
According to Delia this is the absolute best carrot cake there is. She worked on the recipe for years, carefully analysed it and made a lot of little adjustment over the years.

Changing the recipe seemed very stupid and completely sacrilege, so I followed the instructions precisely...
My only adjustment was the use of little muffin tins instead of two large cake pans. I was very pleased with the outcome; they were a lot easier to make and don’t they look sweet??
I’m very glad I didn’t change a single thing: this is indeed the best carrot cake ever

It’s sweet, dense and spongy and still fairly healthy judging all the ingredients...
You can taste all the different ingredients and flavours, but what really special is, is that not one single thing dominates in this cake – all the lovely flavours work together and are simply a perfect match!

Although I liked the cinnamon glaze, I prefer the muffin served just plain with the syrup…I love this syrup - It’s without a doubt the best addition ever for a carrot cake. It will be perfectly moist (but not wet!) unbelievably sweet and so delicious…
well, you just have to try it yourself ;)


Carrot cake Muffins with Cinnamon Glaze (makes 18 muffins)
base:
- 175g (1 cup packed) dark brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ dl (2/3 cup) sunflower oil
- 200g (1 2/3 cups) self raising flour (wholemeal)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3 tsp mixed spices (cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and white pepper)
- 200g (= 1 ½ cups packed, when grated) carrots, scraped and roughly grated
- zest of one 1 orange
- 100g (½ cup) raisins
- 50g (2/3 cup) grated coconut
- 50g (½ cup) pecan nuts
syrup:
- juice of one little orange
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 75g (½ cup packed, minus 3 Tbsp) dark brown sugar
glaze:
- 125g (1/2 cup) mascarpone
- 100g (1/2 cup) fresh cream cheese (8%fat)
- 2 tsp cinnamon powder
- 3 tsp brown sugar
- 50g (½ cup) pecan nuts (for the topping)

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F)
Make the cinnamon glaze first: whip all ingredients together until they’re creamy, cover with plastic foil and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
Divide all the pecan nuts (100g) over a baking sheet. Grill for 6 minutes and turn oven back to 170°C (325°F)

2. Cut half of the amount of nuts roughly up for the cake base, and the rest very finely for the topping.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix sugar, eggs and oil for about 2 to 3 minutes, until sugar is completely dissolved. Sift flour, baking soda and mixed spices (put back the grains!) stir and add the ingredients to the cake base.

4. Butter and flour a muffin pan and a small cake pan. Pour base in forms (don’t fill them completely! About 2/3) and bake for 30 minutes, well risen and firm. When they stick to their forms, bake for another 2 to 3 minutes and check again. Leave them in their tins and make the syrup.

5. For the syrup: whisk together both citrus fruits and add in the sugar. Mix well. Prick (with a toothpick) little holes in the muffins/cake and divide and pour over the syrup.

6. Let cool completely. Take them out off their forms and spread (if you wish...) with cinnamon glaze. Sprinkle with chopped pecans and enjoy…

SHF23 Surprise Inside - Brownie Explosion...

Surprise!
I’m joining in the greatest Food Blogger’s sweet-tooth event: Sugar High Friday. This month’s theme is, big surprise!, Surprise Inside and is hosted by Alanna from A Veggie Venture.

I love my sweets but yet I had a hard time choosing what to enter.
What is the ultimate surprise?
Finding a broken nail from the hostess in your dessert is also a surprise, but not really the one I was hoping for…
But what then?
What’s the best base and what’s its best surprise?
The answer was actually rather simple: chocolate.
chocolate, chocolate and... chocolate!

I began a bit of experimenting and ended up making these dense and dark brownies. Very rich, pure, oozy and delicious. Instead of making one big one, I put them in individual little muffin-tins, and for the big surprise…
I buried cherry liqueur pralines inside them.

Can you really think of a nicer surprise than finding a soft kirsch centre, an explosion of flavour, inside the best brownie you’ve ever tasted?

The whole thing went quite well actually - I made the batter, placed the surprise-filling in the tins, covered them up and placed them in the oven… - but let’s just say it was a real surprise to find that after 20 minutes 12 little chocolate volcano’s had arisen in my oven, very angry and spewing out their lovely sugary-kirsch lava…

OK, this was not really the surprise I was hoping for(!)

One tip, (in retrospect quite logic, but still…) make sure you completely cover up the bonbons - I used two different kinds of liqueur pralines (see photo above) and left the ones with those nice stems a bit uncovered…not my best move.
If you leave them uncovered, the alcohol will run out easily and vaporize when it’s chocolate layer melts…and they will turn out like this!

But luckily -surprise!- this didn’t ruin them at all (!)
they still looked very beautiful and they tasted absolutely amazing. Dark and dense, so rich and overwhelmingly chocolaty with still a delicious soft oozy kirsch centre…

Definitely worth a try!

I’ve added of course, - no surprise here - the recipe for you to try (and love)

Brownie Explosions (makes 16)

- 250g butter (2 sticks/1 cup)
- 250g best quality bittersweet chocolate (1,5 cup) chopped
- 4 eggs
- 325g (1 2/3 cup) fine granulated sugar
- 150g (1 ¼ cup) all-purpose flour
- pinch of salt
- 16 Cherry Liquor pralines.

1. Preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F) and grease and flour a muffin-tin

2. melt the butter and chocolate on low heat, stirring once in a while. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar. Mix in a different bowl the flour and salt.

3. Take the chocolate mixture away from the heat when it’s completely melted, and let it cool off a bit before adding it to the eggs.

4. Add the chocolate mixture to the eggs and mix well. Add the flour and mix until you’ll have a smooth batter.

5. Place in every muffin tin a praline and cover them COMPLETELY with the batter. Fill every form. bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until done. The top will be dark and dry, but the centre still sweet, dense and compact. Be alert; the difference between a nice sticky brownie and a dried out one is just a couple of minutes!

6. Let them completely cool in their forms and keep in an airtight box.

Babybundts

It’s safe to say terms as ‘extremely delicious’, ‘mouth-watering’ and ‘amazingly sinful’ are often used on many foodblogs. yes, that includes mine as well... I love reading foodblogs, and think these, maybe well used, expressions are quite important; you do want to pass on your experiences, share your enthusiasm and of course get others a bit drooling and craving for your delicious recipe (!) =)

There are beautiful blogs on my reading list that always amaze me with an original post and a special twist. I know how much time it can take to figure out exactly how to express what you want to say, and I think I’m not alone when I say I’m glad some others take this time and do this so lovely. It’s always nicer to read a passionate, detailed description of something than boring non-info like ‘this is a recipe for a cake. try it…’, right?!

Although I as well like to rattle on and give full descriptions when I think I’ve made something amazing, this time I’ll keep it a bit shorter and will not exaggerate. I think I’ll save that for a more over-the-top post. I promise those will come…! =)

These lovely moist cakes are called ‘babybundts’ - please don’t ask me why, because I really don’t know… - and I found the recipe in Nigella Lawson’s ‘How to Be a Domestic Goddess’
They are very easy to prepare and will not leave you with much of washing-up. I loyally obeyed to all the instructions - only I did add a good handful of raisins to the batter, which gave a nice extra bite.

I think this is a very good alternative for a normal plain cake; it’s quite basic and light, but the yoghurt gives it a twist and makes it very fresh and slightly sticky. This pairing with the sweet sugary icing is truly delicious…

Babybundts (makes 6)
- 125 g natural yoghurt
- 75 g salted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- rind of 1 lemon
- 150 g all-purpose flour
- 50 g (a good handful) raisins
- ½ tsp baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 125 g granulated sugar
icing:
- 200 g icing sugar
- juice of 1 lemon

1. Preheat the oven to 170° C and grease generously 1 mini-Bundts form for 6 - or if you don’t have that, muffin tins or little oven bowls

2. Mix in a measuring cup yoghurt, melted butter, eggs and lemon rind.

3. Mix in a large bowl flour, baking soda, salt and sugar.

4. Spatula the wet ingredients in the dry ones and mix well. Fill the prepared tins (half full!) and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

5. Leave them to cool a bit before taking them out their forms (otherwise they’ll brake! but don’t wait too long, or they’ll be glued to their tins forever…) place with the flat side down, on a rack to cool.

6. For the glace, sift the icing sugar above a bowl and pour in enough lemon juice so you will get a thick glace. Cover the cakes with it and let it drip a bit down the sides.

Of course you can use all sorts of other citrus fruit for variation, oranges for example, or maybe lime and grapefruits…

Banana Oatmeal Cake with Hazelnuts and Crumb Topping

A Banana Oatmeal Cake with Hazelnuts and Crumb Topping.
Wow, that’s a whole mouth full to pronounce. (try to say it, for fun of course, 10 times fast in a row…banana oatmeal cake with hazelnuts and crumb topping, banana oatcake with crumb hazelnutsmeal topping, hazelnuts and crumb oatmeal with banana cake topping, or something like that…)
I’ve noticed this isn’t the most mysterious puzzling title, but it is clear-cut and straightforward and I feel strongly that all the above elements should be pointed out and get their well deserved credits…=)
So here you have it; Banana Oatmeal Cake with Hazelnuts and Crumb Topping.

And a hit it was; it turned out to be a luscious cake with an overwhelmingly rich banana flavour. Healthy, light, slightly moist, sweet and with a nice extra bite due to the un-chopped hazelnuts.
Without the coating it would be actually a rather simple basic cake, but this baked on crispy, very sugary crumb topping gave it a very nice extra touch and made it stunning to see.

I loved the difference between these textures; dense and fluffy cake, covered with a delicious sweet crunchy layer… I made this cake because my grandma came to visit us and it was very well received. I served it with a nice cup of tea in the afternoon and it was perfect.



Banana Oatmeal Cake with Crumb Topping

- 85 g (1/2 cup) butter, softened
- 165 g (2/3 cup) packed brown castor sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3 large banana’s, mashed
- 110 g (3/4 cup) all-purpose flour
- 50 g (a good handful) hazelnuts
- 130 g (1 1/3 cup) rolled oats
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
topping:
- 70 g (3/4 cup) rolled oats
- 80 g (1/3 cup) packed brown castor sugar
- 2 Tbsp (30 g) butter, melted
- 2 Tbsp (20 g) chopped hazelnuts
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 175˚C (350 F) and grease and flour a 24 cm (8 inch) spring form cake pan.

2. Stir together flour, oats (130 g), hazelnuts, salt, baking soda and baking powder.

3. Cream with an electric mixer the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, following the bananas and vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

4. For the topping mix the oats, sugar, hazelnuts, cinnamon and melted butter together until crumbly.

5. Divide the topping onto the cake, and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until it tests done. Transfer to a rack to cool.

6. Will keep for up to 3 days at room temperature, airtight wrapped in plastic. Can be frozen double-wrapped for up to a month.

Chocolate-Glazed Gingerbread Cakes

The small birthday party my niece gave this afternoon, seemed the perfect occasion for making a first birthday cake. Or in my case; really cute, single-serving chocolate-glazed gingerbread cakes from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook.

I remember starting very pleased preparing all my ingredients. Thinking how nice it was I’d finally be able to use the handy silicon mould for mini muffins that had been lying in my cabinet for over a year…

O boy, what was I mistaken. Martha already kind of instructed me to generously butter and flour the standard 12-cup muffin pan, tapping out excess flour and set aside…
But I ignored Martha and didn’t generously butter and flour the standard muffin pan.
In fact I didn’t even have a standard 12-cup muffin pan; I had a very cute, silicon muffin mould I wanted to use! And Martha, you should know you really don’t have to butter and flour silicon baking products…

Well, you do. The ginger cakes turned out all messed up, for ever glued to their forms and, to my absolute fury, very ugly.
Looking back I blame the molasses. I guess the sugar caramelized in the oven and adhered to the form sides. *Grrrr…*
This was my first little breakdown. What a mile pale!
It may have been prevented if I just had done what the book told me, but luckily it didn’t turn out to be my first cooking disaster... because I remained with a lot of batter after filling my cute little mould, I also filled a standard form and a petit cake tin. Well, Hallelujah! :)

The result was a beautiful golden mini cake which I covered with thick chocolate ganache and decorated with some lovely little berries. A gorgeous birthday cake and a real success.

Besides, now I had the opportunity to sample and devour these little failures, which by the way tasted heavenly…
The cake was very moist and flavourful, with the wonderful, subtle taste of ginger and other spices. Very light and fluffy; forming the perfect base for the rich, heavy and divine chocolate ganache. In 1 word; delectable…!

Gingerbread cakes
(adapted from Martha Steward’s Baking Handbook. makes 12, can be baked a day in advance and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.)

- 5 Tbsp (60 g) butter, at room temperature, plus more for pan
- 1 ½ cup (215 g) flour, plus more for pan.
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2/3 cup (157 ml) boiling water
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup (150 g) packed brown castor sugar
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup (230 g) unsulfured molasses
- 1 ½ tsp finely grated peeled fresh ginger
- 2 pieces crystallized ginger, thinly sliced lengthwise, for garnish. Or in my case: some summer fruit.


1. Preheat the oven to 350 ˚F. (175˚C) Generously butter and flour a standard 12-cup muffin pan, tapping out excess flour. Se aside.

2. In a small bowl, stir together the baking soda and boiling water; set aside.

3. In a medium bowl; sift together the flour, baking powder, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer; beat the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg, and beat until well combined. Add molasses, fresh ginger, and the baking soda mixture; beat until combined. The batter will look soggy but will come together once the flour is added. Add the flour mixture, and beat until well combined.

5. Divide batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about halfway. Bake for about 20 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Transfer to wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Invert cakes onto rack to cool completely.

6. Spoon about 1 Tbsp of Chocolate Ganache over each cake, letting some drip around the sides and garnish. Once glazed, cakes can be refrigerated, in airtight containers for up to 3 days; bring to room temperature before serving.

Chocolate Ganache

- 1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream
- ½ pound (225 g) best-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat bring cream to full boil, turn off the heat.

2. Add the chocolate, and swirl pan to completely cover it with cream. Let stand for about 5 minutes. Slowly whisk mixture until smooth. Let cool, stirring frequently.

Ganache will thicken as it sits. It should be pourable but still thick enough to coat. If not, place the bowl of ganache over a pan of simmering water and stir until it reaches the right consistency.