Cake on high

Right, let me get this clear. I don’t actually like making cakes, more to the point, baking. Its too precise, measured, constructed. I like to cook throwing salt and pepper about the place like a TV chef, hurling in more oil or more butter because it doesnt look ‘glossy’ enough. But mostly, I’m an impatient soul and searing salmon is a lot faster than pondering over slow rising clafoutis. But! You know me, determined not to be beaten so in the last two weeks have turned out 4 cakes to insure anything can be achieved.
You’ve reacted with aplomb and some of you have even been baking the cakes with me and what appears with success! High five team!
So, when I made this cake recently it was greedily devoured by those I served it to. And now, I want to give it to you, to prove, that if I can make something measured and considered, anyone can do it. But mostly, its old fashioned and just simple, good dirty fun.

Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup cold brewed coffee
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vinegar

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9×13- inch pan.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the eggs, coffee, milk, oil and vinegar. Mix until smooth, batter will be thin. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

I top mine with a chocolate frosting. Softened butter, cocoa powder and icing sugar. More butter to sugar and more sugar to cocoa. Frenzy up in a food processor so its light and lumpless.

Smother that sucker with frosting and heap berries, like raspberries atop and push into the centre of the table and sidle out of the room. I like to stand by, hidden, and watch peoples faces. The lack of talking and the amount of consuming. I watched a room of ladies forgoe their ‘diets’ just so they could carve a slice.

Bluebird Espresso

Sam and James introduced me to this place.
It’s simple, doesnt have any of the pulava about single bean origin perco drip brew moustachio coffee-ness, serves one of Melbournes best BLT’s and the menu is just good breakfast food, minus the wankery.
Owner Anthony does it all from the smallest kitchen, always seems so bloody calm and he’s a nice dude. In fact I know dudes who have dude crushes on this dude. He’s a dude.
Go there; oddly the place is cranking but generally there is a table free and the service is quick mate!
Right, catch youse later… I’m off to Bluebird meeself!

Check out Urbanspoon… (sorry, I’ve not taken photos as I’m too busy being a pig eating pig. Happens.)

Having my cake

I’ve recently returned to working from home and have found generally productivity is up in all areas. Work output, friends randomly dropping in with gifts of beer and lasagnes, clean house, tidy mind and most importantly a return to my kitchen.
I’m still eating out more but I’ve found great joy in my stovetop and having a new fridge that can fit so much meat and veg and a big freezer to keep left overs!
I also reunited myself with my cookbook which I’ve used to keep cuttings, recipes from restaurants or my friends and families favourites. I started it in 2005 and it surprised me to see that many of the recipes are pretty ace! And over the last few years many have been cooked in abundance.
I made a carrot cake from a recipe I got early on and yesterday pulled it out of the oven to take to my Supermaxi colleagues – it was tasty. Vegan too if you choose not to mound huge qunatities of cream cheese icing on top and sub the butter for something else!

So, here is my carrot cake…I’ll followup another post about the chocolate cake thats in my oven as we speak!

Carrot Cake

Ingredients
3/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup honey
1.5 tsp of vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 tsp all spice
rind of lemon or orange
1 1/4 cup of grated carrot
2 cups of wholemeal flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon

Sift flours, salt, soda, powder, and spices – twice!
Beat honey (I melt it in the microwave for about 45 before pouring from jar) and butter together. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add extract, rind and beat gently till light in colour. Add flours and carrot alternately.
Pour into a floured and papered tin and bake for 1 hour on 180 degrees.

Let cool and ice!
Few suggestions.
Cream cheese icing – packet of philly, rind of orange and juice of half and add icing sugar until desired consistency
Lemon icing – basic lemon icing made a little runnier and then drizzled on top.
Ginger sour cream icing – thick sour cream mixed with ginger powder (1 tsp) and some lemon
Scatter on top with walnuts, coconut, pomegranate seeds or orange rind!
Go nuts.