HOMEMADE: Tiramisu Layer Cake (aka GBD's Ultimate Coffee Cake!)

I have to admit, these days my palate has a bit of a love-hate relationship with cake. Well, maybe more 'not too keen' than 'hate' but, still, cake divides me in a way I wish it wouldn't. The reason for this: overwhelming sweetness. Specifically, cakes, especially, some shop-bought ones, that do little to balance liberal amounts of icing and/or buttercream. Of course, this doesn't apply to all, a Victoria sponge with lots of freshly whipped cream and a bit jam for the filling or a carrot cake with a cream cheese topping are just a couple of great examples that get it right for me.

With this in mind, I was thinking about good old coffee cake the other day and I hit upon the idea of switching in the usual buttercream for a boozy Tiramisu-style filling. In my head, this combination would deliver sweetness but, crucially, punctuate proceedings with some heady, mature notes. Anyway, I was convinced by the concept and quickly set about making it.

My starting point for the cake was a basic sponge recipe. I wanted to have four layers of cake so each slice would deliver a decent hit of boozy cream filling. To that end, I used four large eggs and employed the old fashioned method of weighting out my butter, sugar and self-raising flour against them. I chose light Muscovado for an extra depth of flavour, though regular caster would have been fine. As for the sponge's caffeine component, I turned to an instant coffee favourite, Douwe Egberts Pure Indulgence, for a beautifully rich flavour.  

When it came to the filling, I looked no further than the cream, mascarpone, sugar and brandy combination that had served me so well with my previously featured tiramisu (see here). Liking a decent hit of alcohol, I put in quite a bit of brandy but upped the sugar accordingly. Slathering this on three of the sponges, I then grated some 70% dark chocolate over the fillings to intensify those deep, mature notes.

As for the topping, I exchanged the brandy in the filling recipe for some more coffee mixture using my Douwe Egberts Pure Indulgence. I played around with the quantities of sugar a bit, as you might want to if you make this, but I eventually got the smooth, rich taste I was looking for. In any case, the result was a fittingly brownish, coffee-looking cream to top the cake with. 

In terms of taste, this cake lived up every bit to my expectations. The sponge and topping provided a beautiful wave of sweet, coffee-laden notes whilst those hits of filling delivered a gorgeous burst of warm brandy. The only thought I had afterwards was whether or not I could have replaced the filling between the second and third sponges with a coffee-flavoured one, as per the topping recipe. The reasoning behind this is that, being a four-layer cake, it is hard to get the coffee and brandy creams in every mouthful. By alternating the creams it might have helped alleviate this issue but, then again, I do love my brandy! 

All in all, this was a great success and, if I do say so myself, the best coffee cake I've eaten to date. Definitely recommended. 

RECIPE

Ingredients

Sponges

4 large eggs

Self-raising flour, light Muscovado sugar (or regular caster sugar) and softened butter - quantity of ingredients determined by weighing each against 4 eggs used.

Coffee mixture (around 4 very decent teaspoons of instant coffee fully dissolved in around 1 tbsp boiling water)

1/2 tsp baking powder

Filling

185 g mascarpone

425 ml double cream

5 tbsp golden caster sugar (or regular caster sugar)

110 ml brandy

Dark chocolate

Topping

3 tbsp sugar

35 g mascarpone

70 ml double cream 

Coffee mixture (around 2 1/2 very decent teaspoons of instant coffee fully dissolved in around 1 tbsp of boiling water).

Tins

2 x 20 cm / 8 in round baking tins (well greased and base lined)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C fan (180°C non-fan).

2. Cream together the softened butter and sugar. 

3. Pour in the coffee mixture and then add the eggs slowly, mixing them in one at a time.

4. Add the flour (sift in) and baking powder and fold in gently until everything is well incorporated. 

5. Divide the cake mixture evenly between the two prepared tins.

6. Place in the preheated oven for around 25-30 mins, or until the sponges are coming away from the sides and are nicely coloured.

7. When done, remove the sponges and place them inverted on wire racks to cool. 

8. After 5 or so minutes, lift off the tins and leave the sponges to cool thoroughly.

9. When the cakes have cooled completely (this will take a few hours or so), take a serrated knife and very carefully cut the two sponges in half.

10. For the brandy filling, place the mascarpone, double cream, sugar and brandy in a bowl and, using an electric whisk, mix until nicely thickened. 

11. Top three of the sponges with generous amounts of filling and finish off each by grating over dark chocolate.

12. For the topping, place the mascarpone, double cream, sugar and coffee mixture in a bowl and, using an electric whisk again, mix until nicely thickened.

13. Liberally spread this coffee cream over the fourth, still-bare sponge.  

14. Assemble the cake with the coffee-cream topped layer obviously going on last.

15. If not eating immediately, refrigerate due to the use of fresh cream.

BRAND LINKS
Douwe Egberts Website

HOMEMADE: James Martin's Coffee, Cardamom and Pistachio Cake

Coffee cake is a very old favourite of mine that I originally developed a love for thanks to it being a regular in my mother's baking repertoire. Over time, I've religiously stuck to a reasonably basic recipe on the principle that less is often more. That said, I was interested to try something different this time round and, consequently, turned to a recipe by James Martin's that sports an intriguing sounding cardamom and pistachio laced twist.

Getting stuck in to the recipe, everything was pretty straightforward up to the baking part where the sponge ended up taking far longer than the stated time. I should also say that the sponge slightly split in the middle and peaked making me wonder about the oven temperature. 

Moving on to the filling, I'd probably say that I just slightly over whisked the cream but, then again, it was still a nice alternative to my usual coffee buttercream. Finally, the icing was easy and, together with the sprinkling of chopped pistachios, added a lovely finishing touch. 

Taste-wise, I'll start with a couple of negatives. Firstly, the coffee flavour, whilst there in the background, was dominated by the cardamom. Secondly, I thought the slight extravagance of using pistachios in the cream filling was a bit wasted as their flavour didn't particularly come through. That said, on the positive side, treated as a cardamom cake, I thought this bake had its merits; the subtle coffee flavour lent a pleasant depth to the sponge whilst the creamy filling offset the injection of sweetness from the topping beautifully. 

So, in summary, this cake looked alright and had a reasonably mature balance between sweet and savoury notes. Admittedly, the coffee element was largely lost on me but, thought more of as a cardamom cake, I think there's promise here.

ORIGINAL RECIPE

See here.

HOMEMADE: BBC Good Food Tiramisu

Tiramisu is one of those dishes the British have taken to their hearts and, boy, am I glad for it. Given speed of preparation and taste, this dessert gives a lot for very little effort. Moreover, when entertaining those that don't usually like sweet dishes, tiramisu can prove useful as the marriage of alcohol and coffee often sings to even the most mature of taste buds.  

On this occasion, the recipe I turned to came from BBC Good Food - always a handy resource. The dessert boasted a nicely layered structure as coffee soaked sponge fingers alternated with boozy cream. Of course, the glass bowl provided an alluring profile view whilst the grated chocolate topping added just a touch of finesse. Admittedly, it was very hard to spoon out elegant servings; however, any aesthetic shortcomings were quickly overlooked when I began to dig in.   

Taste-wise, this recipe didn't disappoint one bit as the cream punched through with the alcoholic warmth of brandy - admittedly, I added a touch more than originally suggested :) Of course, the coffee soaked sponge fingers followed quickly and jostled with the alcohol for supremacy. This interplay of strong coffee and alcohol stole the show but the textural contrast of the layers also proved a delight.

All in all, this recipe didn't push the tiramisu boat out with any particular flourishes; however, I didn't really care as it delivered on the basics tremendously: it was super easy to put together and an absolute joy to eat. Indeed, for me, this was a boozy, coffee-fueled triumph that I have no hesitation in recommending to others.

RECIPE

See here. 

RECENT ADDITION: Fox's Hazelnut Caffè Slices

Launched back in August 2013, the Fox's Caffè range is a relatively recent addition to a biscuit aisle still dominated by age old brands. Pitched as made-for-coffee biscuits, this proposition did get my attention at the time purely for the fact that I didn't exactly know what made a biscuit specially suited to a cup of coffee. Therefore, when I saw this product from the range, together with its caramel variant, so prominently displayed in packaging that diverges markedly from other Fox's offerings, I thought it time to give it a go for the blog.

                   

THOUGHTS

Packaging:

- Primary panels: 

In terms of the colours used, black and grey combine to give the product an air of sophistication and luxury. The presence of red injects the design with warmth and significantly amplifies the sense of indulgence felt in the product shot to the right of the panel. Basic colour principles continue to be employed well with a central black graphic accentuating the redness of the key product text, in particular, the smart 'Hazelnut' cursive text. Moreover, the creamy white of the Fox's graphic contrasts well with the other components setting it off nicely. Indeed, the three overlapping components of the Fox's graphic on the left through to the product shot on the right are visually delineated by shape and/or colour whilst sharing enough tonally to sit as a cohesive whole. 

As for the front panel, here the basic nutritional information was displayed in a manner that continued to be very clean in its lines. The only thing I will say against this area of the packaging is the positioning - I would have rather seen such content buried on the opposite panel as it does slightly detract from the main presentation angle. 

- Secondary panels:

In following on from my last thought, the content pictured here on the back panel would have been ideal for the front. Its quick description of the biscuit and condensed 'Caffè Slices' graphic would have been coherent with the top panel's presentation and added that extra bit of visual impact. That said, I'm not sure why the brand chose to invert the content as it simply makes it awkward to read. 

More basic product information was given on the bottom. Admittedly, this was a no-thrills presentation but one that retained a sense of maturity about the design and, subtly, made a visual link back to the main product logo with the small top-hat graphic on the far left.

Looking underneath the flap a lovely bit of content was exposed. Serif-style text on the left provided a bit of historical background to the Fox's brand. Whilst, next to this, a more relaxed, sans-serif style of text quickly explained the Caffè range. This was a great touch for me that helped place the range amongst the larger brand narrative.  

Opening up the pack the biscuits came in a pull-out black plastic tray that was partitioned to hold three lots of two stacked biscuits. Simple and effective with my only gripe being that, just like the back panel, everything seemed inverted with the biscuit's smart Fox's branding pointing away from me.

With respect to the individual biscuits, these were pretty substantial offerings. Each biscuit weighed in at roughly 23 grams (over twice the weight of the Maryland Cookies I reviewed the other day) and measured 60mm in length, 46mm in width and a decent 11mm in depth. Presentation-wise, the Fox's branding on the top was very clean and smart, there were no blemishes in the chocolate finish and the shortcake had the look of a very even bake. 

Taking a bite, the hazelnut centre with its more savoury notes did come through and was a welcome contrast to the powerful wave of sweet milky chocolate that hit the palette. The shortcake biscuit had a very nice buttery taste to it but that was lost in the strong flavours of the toppings. That said, it did provide a strong textural point of interest amidst the softness of the other components. 

SUMMING UP

I felt the packaging had good shelf standout with a maturity about it that differentiated it from surrounding brands. Indeed, the principal panel design felt well thought out. Basic colour principles were effectively employed to place emphasis where need be and the stylisation of the text and graphics all worked in concert to reinforce the range's more sophisticated positioning. The biscuits themselves were relatively substantial offerings and with their clean look and Fox's branding they looked impressive. Taste-wise, sweet milky chocolate dominated the palette but the savoury notes of the nut filling did get a good look in and the shortcake provided strong textural contrast. Personally, I would have toned down the sweetness in the chocolate, but, with the bitter notes of a strong coffee to balance things out a bit, I can see many people really enjoying these 'biscwits' - as Fox's Vinnie the panda come Mafioso would say.

Anyway, I'll give the last word on the Caffè range to Vinnie himself...

BRAND LINKS

Fox's Biscuits Website
Fox's Biscuits Facebook

Fox's Biscuits Twitter