Cakes Archives - I THINK THEREFORE I JAM

Sticky chocolate orange cake

have your cake….

This simple little cake is big on pleasure and has the texture of a French “moelleux au chocolat” but instead of butter ricotta creates the smoothness. I took my lead from an Italian nonna classic: “torta di ricotta e cioccolato senza farina” and tweaked it just a little.

The enjoyment starts with the childish pleasure of melting chocolate in a bowl over hot water, the conjuring up of the magic that is meringue, the pop of pungent orange oil on the grater, the crunch of the toasted pistachios and then the kitchen filled with the overpowering aroma of chocolate and orange, so strong that for a few moments the world is softer, brighter, happier.

This little cake is winter comfort eaten warm with vanilla custard, a pick-me-up breakfast with a cappuccino or an elegant dessert with some fruit and mascarpone. Choose your favourite and make this clever treat a firm (but squidgy) kitchen friend!

Lemon Sour Cream Cake

This is a cake inspired by the Italian teacake “Ciambellone” which is made with yoghurt,mascarpone and olive oil and so I used what was to hand and good: lush sour cream and sunflower oil. The beauty of this cake lies in its audacious simplicity: a few local ingredients mixed with a fork together in one bowl; no special equipment or elbow grease needed. If you ever need a cake in a hurry, this may be it.

I give two quantities – 4 eggs if you want to go for the “Ta da” bundt tin number, or two eggs for a standard sandwich tin or loaf tin.

In the cake pictured I used half plain flour and half wholemeal flour – no reason only that I had forgotten to buy white flour!

Brownie with “Visinata” cherries

Old school, chocolately, sticky and moist – and did I tell you that you only need one bowl to make it in? Chocolate love it is. Add handfuls of your favourite things like tipsy cherries, nuts or bits of biscuit to create your “signature brownie” – this has has sozzled cherries in it which are left from the making of “Visinata” the traditional Romanian cherry licqueur.

Gizmos

1 deepish tin – work out the volume math thing – lined with baking paper and brushed with melted butter

1 heavy base very large saucepan – a Le Creuset is absoluetly perfect – preferably with curved edges

Ingredients for a 14×9 x 1.5 inch tin

200g dark chocolate 70% cocoa min

250g butter

5 eggs (4 very large ones)

2 tsp vanilla extract

200g plain flour (or gluten free mix – Brownies are very good made with GF flour)

30g cocoa

400g sugar

1tsp salt (I never put salt in my baking but here I do)

How To

If your cake batters usually turn out like glue then Brownies are your thing because “glue” is what is needed here

Melt the butter and chocolate in your saucepan very gently and now remove that saucepan from the heat

Quickly add the eggs and whisk them in with a fork

Add all the dry ingredients until everything is incorporated and the mixture is like glue

Arrange any ingredients you want to add in the tray eg sozzled cherries and pour over the batter. Let it settle. You can help it by spreading it with a knife dipped in hot water (so it does not stick as you spread it).

Bake at 170C (160C if you have a fierce fan assisted oven) until a toothpick comes out clean – approx 25-30 minutes

Best eaten 1 day later if you can resist.