Tea and Cake ... with a Teaspoonful of Tolstoy and a Dash of Larsson

I don't think there's ever a bad time for a cuppa and cake. A slice? Oh go on, make it two. I actually got round to making a lemon and poppy seed cake a few weeks ago but I can't for the life of me remember where I got the recipe from. If I'm truly honest with myself, it was probably a recipe I boshed together myself and thank heavens on this occasion it turned out just right. I do remember I used oil instead of butter, which points to the dissection of a muffin recipe along the way and yogurt for moistness. Ahhh... and then there was the lemon drizzle - just in case the yogurt only did half the job. I really must go find the recipe!

On a more literary note, if you've been through my Flickr stream you'll notice the constant presence of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace by my lamp. I've been trying to get into the book for months and months (actually it's closer to years and years now) but that entry point just keeps alluding me. I seem to go backwards more than I go forward but I live in hope that one day I'll be determined enough to finish reading the darn thing. Until that day I faithfully dust off the covers every now and then before moving to more exciting books ..... like Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy. I'm on book 3 at the moment and I can't believe how many other people I see on the tube and bus reading one of the books in the series. I actually had a full conversation with someone on the bus *shock horror .... really? In London?* about the books. It really is the little things that bring people to talk to each other :) For me it all started with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in a little corner of one of the many Starbucks dotted around the city with my usual brew - skinny latte with an extra shot, please.

Oozy, Fudgy Chocolate-Coffee Brownie

One of the things I can't help salivating over are chocolate brownies .... especially those that just ooze over with chocolatey goodness. But when it comes to eating it, I'm quite particular. I like my brownie just to have the right amount of fudgyness whilst maintaining a good crisp top. As I'm a haphazard and unpredictable baker - some of my stuff have been pretty darn good and some embarrassingly unspeakably bad - I've only ever achieved brownie heaven at my own hands .. once. The problem relly lies in my laziness to write anything down. As I make so many changes to a recipe - yes, baking is a science but it doesn't mean we shouldn't experiment either - I promptly forget what I've done once I've moved on to the next step. Thank heavens for technology - I now lug my laptop into the kitchen with me but really .. do I want to tap away on the keyboard when my hands are covered in flour?

My latest experiment came in the form of a chocolate-coffee brownie. I love both main ingredients with an equal amount of passion - so together, they should be a little slither of heaven .. except my experimenting ways kept intefering. Better or worse I'm still not sure. On the one hand I didn't end up with the brownie that I had in mind, on the other I found the fudgiest, densest 'cake' with a huge chocolatey, coffee kick. Eaten warm with good vanilla ice cream or even better, crème fraîche (to cut through the sickening chocolate affect - yes, sometimes there is something called 'too much chocolate') or even better chilled from the fridge when the flavours have subsided and melded a little more. But for that ever elusive brownie, it's back to the drawing board.

Chocolate Coffee Brownies
120 g Butter
180g Sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
100g flour
3 1/2 tbs cocoa powder
50g good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) – I used Valrhona 70% Guanaja
1 tsp coffee granules – add less or omit if you dislike coffee
a pinch of salt

• Preheat the oven at 170 degrees C.
• Melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl placed over a pot of simmering water (make sure the bowl does not touch the water below).
• Once melted, add the cocoa powder and coffee granules and stir until well combined. Remove the bowl from the heat.
• Stir in the sugar until dissolved. Add the vanilla and eggs. Whisk until the mixture is well combined. Shift in the flour and salt. Fold to combine.
• Pour the mixture into a lined round cake tin (or if you prefer just butter the cake tin and do away with paper lining). Bake on the middle shelf for about 20 – 25 minutes. A skewer pushed into the middle of the cake should come out slightly fudgy. Let the cake cool in the tin – I find this retains the moisture in the cake better.
• If you want to serve this warm and oozing ‘fudginess ‘, let the cake cool for about half an hour before cutting and serving with good vanilla ice cream or crème fraîche. The flavours, especially the coffee, are more pronounced when this is eaten warm. Also great (in my book – better) served chilled from the fridge. It will take care of any serious chocolate craving.