0 Chocolate orange quatre epices cake for Seasoned Pioneers

Who doesn't love a chocolate cake but ever one to ring the changes what about a spiced chocolate cake. Recently Seasoned Pioneers sent across a selection of their spices and intriguingly one of the packs was of their version of quatre epices.

You  may have heard of five spice (Chinese in origin) but Quatre epice was more unfamiliar to me, Quatre epices is a spice mix originating from France and the near middle east, a blend of pepper, cloves, nutmeg and ginger, hence the four spice name. Used in sweet and savoury dishes its a versatile addition to the spice rack, I thought I would use the blend in a chocolate cake to provide some "Christmassy" spicing yet with an adult twist as the pepper in the spice blend provides a warm heat to the palate.

I have made this cake a couple of times now and it was very popular with visitors, christmassy yet not overly sweet and with a nice spicy edge, nice served with Hot chocolate.

What you need

• 1/2 cup of Quality vegetable margarine
• 1 cup of light brown sugar
• Zest of 1 large orange
• 2 eggs - free range 
• 1 1/3 cups of plain flour
• 2 tbsp cocoa - organic if possible (I find it has a much better flavour)
• 2 tsp Seasoned pioneers Quatre Epices spice blend
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 cup of yogurt
• 1 tbsp skimmed milk

What you do

• Preheat your oven to 180C and oil spray and flour an 8" square cake tin
• Sieve the flour, cocoa, salt, quatre epice, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder on to a plate
• Cream the butter, sugar and zest in a stand mixer until light and fluffy, add the rest of the ingredients including the flour and beat quickly until you a smooth fluffy mixture
• Spread the cake mixture into the prepared tin
• Bake for 30 -35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean
• Cool in the tin and leave on a wire rack until fully cool
• To remove from the tin, loosen around the edge with a palette knife and invert sharply the cake should slide easily out of the tin.
• Place on a serving plate and decorate accordingly
• You may wish to slice the cake horizontally and fill with ganache or cream if the mood so takes you.

So if you fancy making something a little different for a festive celebration this is the cake for you.

Detail: Chocolate orange quatre epices cake for Seasoned Pioneers

0 Brazilian banana and chocolate chip tapioca cake - gluten free

This cake is a Brazilian love affair, made with tapioca flour (a staple in Brazil), bananas (10% of the worlds banana's are produced in Brazil) and chocolate (Brazil being the 6th largest producer of Cocoa bean in the world) this cake is my World Cup recipe. Personally I can't stand football and I would rather watch paint dry so I thought I try to get in the spirit of things by baking a cake that takes it inspiration from the country of Brazil.

Bahia, Sao Paulo, Brasilia are all mentioned in the classic track by "Brazilian Love Affair" by George Duke which I recall being played over and over by elder soul / jazz funk loving sister when I was a child and it all seamed so exotic and tropical, so here are some of the flavours of Brazil in cake form.

Happily for me Tapioca flour is naturally gluten free so is a great flour to be baking with here, fairly easily obtainable mail order or in your local health food shop.

This image is an image of an image of the cake on a tablet pc, Mr Lancashire Food being very creative ! when it comes to food photography.

What you need

• 2/3 cup tapioca flour
• 1 1/3 cup brown rice flour
• 3 large ripe bananas - mashed
• 1/2 cup oil - Coconut oil is nice but regular sunflower would work here too
• 1 cup soft brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (cardamon would also be good)
• 2 eggs - free range
• 1/2 tsp vanilla paste
• 1 bag of dark chocolate chips (I always toss in a little of the flour to prevent them from sinking too much)

This recipe makes 2 x 2lb loaf tin cakes, I used the ready to use liners but you could lightly oil and base line instead.

What you do 

• Pre heat the oven to 180c 
• Whisk up the sugar, eggs and oil until light and frothy, add the rest of the ingredients except the choc chips.
• Stir in until you have a smoothish mixture and then stir in the choc chips 
• Pour in the prepare tin, smooth level and bake for 50 - 55 minutes until golden and test cooked with a skewer
• Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes or so in the tins and then remove to a cooling rack.
• The flavour of the cake develops more fully the day after baking.

A delicious cake inspired by Brazil, it has a wonderful crumb structure and is not dry or gritty as often cakes containing rice flour can be. 

I'm adding this post to Bake of the week over on Casa Costello 

                                                          

Detail: Brazilian banana and chocolate chip tapioca cake - gluten free

0 Amaretto chocolate torte - Gluten Free

Chocolate cakes are always popular regardless of the time of year and this is a recipe I have been using for quite a while even before I went gluten free, the resultant cake or should I say torte is not a natural beauty but it is light, moist and very chocolately. The addition of amaretto and almond essence make this an adult treat and a cake that can both happily be served with a cup of tea or cream for a dinner party.

Whipped up in a flash this is an easy reliable recipe, which despite having a fragile top (as you can see from the photographs) is happy to sit in a cake for a few days whilst its devoured. Its also currently a favourite as it uses a good quantity of eggs and the battle of the egg mountain continues, 3 hens equals 3 eggs a day most days and as we are a 2 person household that's a lot of eggs. We do give to friends but most of our neighbours keep hens too so the market is limited locally.

What you need

• 200g salted butter - chopped into chunks
• 200g dark chocolate - broken into pieces
• 4 eggs - large and free range
• 200g caster sugar
• 50g plain flour (Gluten free)
• 50g ground almonds
• 1 tbsp amaretto
• 1 tsp almond extract

Greased and base lined round cake tin, loose bottomed or springform is best about 22cm diameter

What you do 

• Melt the butter and chocolate in a pan over a very low heat, keep stirring so it melts and is smooth. Allow to cool slightly.
• Whisk the eggs and sugar in a mixer until light frothy and the consistency of custard. This will take about 5 minutes.
• Add the chocolate and butter mix to the egg and sugar mixture and also the flour and almonds, fold in with a large metal spoon retaining as much air as possible.
• Once full mixed pour into your prepared cake tin and bake for 35 minutes until risen slightly and set in the middle. This is more of a torte than a cake.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool in the tin

This recipe is being linked to We should Cocoa created by Choclette and hosted this month over on Utterly Scrummy food, the theme this month is Gluten Free, so this cake qualifies.

                                                      

And I am also linking up to  Baking with Spirit , created by Cake of the Week and hosted this month over at The usual saucepans , the theme being a re-invented classic. This chocolate torte is a recipe I have had for a while but I have added the twist of amaretto and almond extract to give it an adult twist, its also gluten free too which is always a bonus.

                                                                 

And my final linky is to Alphabakes, with the letter D this month, so I am using Dark Chocolate as my entry into this challenge hosted by Caroline Bakes and More than the occasional baker.

                                                       

I am also linking up to Bake of the Week over at my fellow cakeclubbing WI member blogging chum Casa Costello 
                                                            

Detail: Amaretto chocolate torte - Gluten Free

0 Banana and chocolate buckwheat cake, naturally gluten free.

I have a new love in my life ! Mr LF doesn't need to worry as its a flour. Yes a flour, buckwheat flour, naturally gluten free and with a beautiful light nutty wholesome flavour. It makes amazing cakes which are light and tasty. Unfortunately Mr LF isn't as keen as I am on the flavour of the wholesome little seed.

Closely related to sorrel and rhubarb this fast growing plant with white flowers is grown in China, Russia and across the world, but not much in the UK. Its seed is ground to produce flour which is used pancakes, cakes and breads and also in soba noodles and  buckwheat pasta. The achene is also make kasha, in the production of gluten free beer and whisky  and is eaten sprouted in some countries too.

Naturally gluten free is a great addition to the bakers store cupboard, its a finely ground flour which is light brown in appearance.

To make this cake is a pretty simple all in one method and the resultant cake is moist and flavourful, personally I like the buckwheat flavour, some may not. Its slightly earthy and nutty but definitely not unpleasant, reported to be rich in minerals and good for your cardiovascular system.

What you need

• 180g of buckwheat flour (if you are ceoliac then ensure its been processed in GF environment)
• 200g granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs - free range please
• 160ml sunflower oil (or other oil with no flavour)
• 1 tsp of vanilla
• 3 small very ripe bananas - mashed (I freeze mine when going over ripe and they are perfect when defrosted)
• Handful of chocolate chips (I used buttons, ideally chopped up)

What you do

• Pre heat the oven to 180c
• Oil spray a 8" round loose bottom cake tin and base line
• Mix together the flour, sugar, bicarbonate of soda and salt, until well mixed.
• Add the eggs, oil and vanilla to the bowl and mix until jut coming together, stir in the mashed bananas and chocolate chips. Like muffins don't overwork the mixture.
• Tip into your prepared cake tin and smooth level
• Bake for approximately 40 minutes until risen and tested cooked with a skewer, try not to over bake
• Cool in the tin on a wire rack, then remove from tin and enjoy !

The cake stores well wrapped in foil in a cool dry place for a few days, you could probably freeze it but I haven't tried this yet.

As for Mr LF's aversion to this flour, I am not beaten yet and am planning more bakes which might persuade him otherwise yet.

Detail: Banana and chocolate buckwheat cake, naturally gluten free.

0 Lekue - Cheesecake royale

For our most recent cake club meeting I thought I would make a cheesecake and as our theme was "A right royal do !", I decided on a marbled royale cheesecake and this was a great opportunity to utilise my Lekue ceramic / silicone baking mold, which seems especially suited to baking a cheesecake in. As I now baking gluten free I used a baked nut base as the crunchy cheesecake base instead of the usual biscuit mix. It worked pretty well but did suffer slightly from separating from the cheesecake top.

The Lekue mold performed very well and is a good addition to the keen bakers equipment cupboard, the mold was easy to use and the ceramic base made an attractive serving platter.

• To make the base use 
• 1 cup finely crushed almonds (I crushed flaked almonds by hand) 
• 1 cup almond meal 
• 4 tbsp granulated sugar 
• 5 tbsp butter softened 

Mix all ingredients together and press firmly in your tin or mold, bake in a preheated oven at 180c for about 15 minutes until golden, it will hardened on cooling.

For the cheesecake top

• 400g cream cheese (full fat) 
• 150g dark chocolate 
• 1 pot of creme fraiche 
• 85g caster sugar 
• 3 eggs 
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract 
• Grated white chocolate to serve

What you need to do

• Pre heat your oven to 160c 
• Melt the chocolate, I used the microwave in 30 sec blasts or alternatively using a bain marie 
• In a separate bowl mix the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, eggs and creme fraiche together until smooth. 
• Split the mixture in half and add the cooled melted chocolate to one half. 
• Now add alternative dollops of the two mixes to top the base , swirl together and level 
• Bake in the oven until just set, for me this was about 50 minutes, cool in the oven with door slightly a jar so the top doesn't crack. 
• Once cold, place in the fridge and serve with the grated white chocolate sprinkled on top.

Note :- The Lekue mold was kindly provided by Lekue for review and test purposes, all thoughts and opinions are my own as to the product.

Detail: Lekue - Cheesecake royale

0 We should cocoa roundup -New Ingredient challenge January 2014

We have really enjoyed being guest hosts for We should cocoa and have been amazed by how inventive this months participants have been in their combination of ingredients with chocolate. I must thank Chocolette for allowing me to host her lovely bloggers challenge.

                                                     

Our first entry was a gluten free Chocolate gingerbread molasses cake, from none other than yours truly Lancashire Food, I hadn't cooked or baked with molasses previously and was intrigued by the deep spicy, earthy sweetness of the molasses.

                                           

Our next entry was from Veggiedesserts a healthy Beetroot chocolate protein ball, the ideal sweet treat for this time of year, almost guilt free. This is a new combination of chocolate and peanut butter for this blogger. 

                                            

Healthy chilli chocolate butternut brownies was our next contribution and  the resultant brownie is a wonderful combination of a chilli paste and moist butternut squash, an excellent entry from the Hungry Hinny.

                                            

Next up was Holey moley veggie and rice soup from The Taste space, with a lovely warming recipe for winter time. I love its rib sticking qualities, a recipe inspired by the bloggers recent trip to Mexico.

                                           

The more than occasional baker joined in the fun with an inspired combination of olive oil cake with rosemary and chocolate, this is definitely recipe to be bookmarked for later as I am intrigued as to how this one tastes. Careful balancing of flavours required I think.

                                           

Eat your Veg was next to bring us a tasty quick recipe for a Chocolate Avocado mousse, I love combining avocado and chocolate, so I can thoroughly recommend this one, its also a great way to get kiddies to eat avocados.

                                            

Alexandra over at The lass in the apron has created the delectable looking double chocolate pomegranate brownie cookies, combining the superfood pomegranate in a chewy cookie. Another recipe that should prove popular with all the family.

                                            

Another cookie recipe this time from Mainly Baking, Chocolate chip cookies with sour cherries and szechuan peppers, this is another recipe that has needed careful flavour balancing so that the mouth numbing pepper can be tasted but not overpowering the rest of the flavours.

                                            

Our next contributor is Grace over at Life can be simple with a stunning flourless chocolate cake, which is gluten free, diary free,sugar free and  free from soya . This cake was made in celebration of a 5th wedding anniversary and is a beautiful thing to make for the one you love. 

                                           

Law students cookbook brought another cookie recipe to the challenge, the new combination being bacon and chocolate chip in a bacon chocolate chip cookie, this is a combination I have tried and enjoyed but in a muffin.

                                            

Next up is Dom over at Belleau Kitchen with Reese's peanut butter cup blondies, springboarding off a Simon Rimmer blondie recipe combining with those wicked sweet salty peanutty cups. Very pretty and very very naughty.

                                            

Our next contribution comes from Bakenquilt with Nibby kind bars, a healthy cereal bar recipe featuring brown rice syrup, cocoa nibs and lots of other healthy treats, my kind of baking !

                                                   

Honey chocolate madeleines ! what's not to love, combining honey and chocolate Living is a great adventure's recipe has already gone on my bookmarked list, ideal for afternoon tea and so beautiful too.

                                         

Triple coconut chocolate cake is our next recipe from The Kitchenmaid, stunning beautiful and featuring coconut sugar, coconut flour and coconut oil. Another one for my list, packed full of healthy ingredients and gluten free too.

                                                   

Chocolate chilli pie anyone ? brought to us by the talented "I'd much rather bake than" a traditional pie packed with your favourite chilli with the sneaky addition of chocolate.

                                         

Cookies are popular for this challenge, this recipe from Corner Cottage bakery has the addition of Scottish tablet  to a traditional chocolate chip recipe, inspired choice of combination given its been Burns night this last weekend.

                                          

Next is a Jerusalem artichoke cake from creator of We should Cocoa, Chocolette. This cake looks amazing and is a combination I haven't seen before, It would appear that the legendary effects of the artichoke have dissipated in the baking process !

                                         

The Usual Saucepans contributed a beetroot, feta and chocolate couscous salad which is a beautiful colour, ideal to brighten a winters day, another dish carefully balancing sweet, salty earthy flavours. Great work.

                                           

JibberJabberUk contribution this month is a deliciously moist looking Chocolate and coffee bean cake, as a coffee hater this is Jibberjabbers first foray into using coffee beans that she was given in a secret santa at cake club. I love the combination of coffee and chocolate, so send a piece this way please.

                                               

Secret (mayonnaise) brownies from Tales of pigling bland are the next course on our chocolate menu, another ingredient that the blogger isn't a great fan of, but used creatively its been turned into a delectable treat. I've baked with mayonnaise myself and found that its great for adding moisture to cakes, after all classic mayo is just eggs and oil ! 

                                               

Kumquat and white chocolate muffins, surely one of your five a day ! Thanks to Lapin d'Or and more for this zesty tasty recipe using a great seasonal ingredient that's just that bit more interesting than orange.

                                               

Maison cupcake were next up with these charming creations of Hot stuff brownie lovebites with Oaxacan smoked chilli honey. Suitably glammed up with gold leaf no less as the new ingredient combination. Sarah's planning ahead for her valentines celebrations here. They are gluten free too !

                                               

Another bitesized treat next ! Chocolate dipped rose fudge from nuttytart , a myriad of first time combinations in this post and the results look amazing, another recipe that would make a great valentines gift.

                                            

Our penultimate contribution is from Baking in Franglais, who has linked up a fab looking Chocolate and ginger puddle pudding. This twist on the classic chocolate saucing recipe featuring the novel combination of ginger beer (alcoholic in this case) and chocolate. 

                                           

Finally we have from Cake of the Week, Goats Cheese brownies, possible not the first combination you would think of but I can see how this would work, again balancing the sweet salty flavours. 

Thanks to all contributors to this month's We should Cocoa, you are obviously all very creative to come up such novel flavour combination and also thanks for the stunning photography. Next months challenge is back over with Chocolette at Chocolate log blog. So reader if you are inspired why not join in the fun next month !

                               

Detail: We should cocoa roundup -New Ingredient challenge January 2014

0 We should Cocoa - January 2014 - New Ingredient challenge

                                             

Eeek ! I am so excited as this is a first for Lancashire Food, this month we are the lucky guest host of "We should Cocoa", the lovely monthly linky campaign created by Choclette from Chocolate Log Blog.

We should cocoa has been running now for over 3 years and has had many themes, so I had to really get my thinking cap on for this months theme. I didn't want to make it too difficult but I also didn't want to make it too easy either, so here goes. 

As we are at the start of a fresh shiny new year, our theme is New Ingredient , this a new ingredient to you, an ingredient combination that you haven't tried with chocolate in one of its many forms. Your recipe can sweet, savoury and as simple or as complicated as you like but must conform to the theme.

My entry for this challenge can be found here, I have wanted for a long time to cook with molasses so I purchased a jar and decided to bake a gluten free chocolate gingerbread loaf.

If you've never taken part in We Should Cocoa before here is the round up to last month's theme - Alcohol 

If you fancy joining in , just read the list below and have a go :-)

1. Post your recipe on your blog – accompanying photographs would be nice. Do please make sure you have permission to use any photos that are not your own. We love to see your creations
2. Mention “We Should Cocoa” in your post and link back to Chocolate Log Blog and Lancashire Food (as host for this month).
3. Use the linky on the bottom of this post to link your blog post to this post.
4. Entries should be submitted no later than midnight of the 25^th of the month.
5. The round up of entries will be posted on the relevant host’s blog on or before the last day of the month.
6. The new challenge will be posted on the 1^st of the month.
7. Mention " We should Cocoa" in your post and post labels.
8. Use the lovely logo in your post.
9. If you use Twitter, you can use the tag #weshouldcocoa and both @LancashireFood and @Chocolette8 will endeavour to retweet.
10. Please feel free to add your entry to the We Should Cocoa group board on Pinterest. If you are not already a member and would like to join, please ask Choclette.

Detail: We should Cocoa - January 2014 - New Ingredient challenge