Walnut Cappuccino Birthday Cake

I first made this cake for my friend Alice's birthday earlier this month, she is something of a coffee fiend, and thus I created this concoction for her, a lusciously moist coffee-flavoured sponge with a coffee whipped cream frosting. The frosting will be more or less set depending on how much coffee you add, I choose to sacrifice firmness for a caffeinated hit but you may prefer a firmer icing.

Start by making your sponges, this recipe makes quite a lot of cake, enough for ten people to each have a hefty slice, if you are making this for a significantly more intimate crowd then you can halve the recipe. I make and cook each sponge mixture separately as my kitchen isn't large enough to make both at the same time, but this isn't obligatory.

Start by making a small cafetiere of very very strong coffee, leave it aside to cool. Cream the butter and sugar together with a mixer until smooth, whisk the eggs and add them gradually to the mixer with a little flour at a time. Fold in the rest of the flour and the baking powder to the mixture and add half of the coffee. Divide into two sandwich tins and bake until browned and cooked through. Turn the cakes out onto a wire rack to cool.

To make the frosting whip the cream until stiff and thick, I often use a food processor for this, mostly because I'm lazy but a hand mixer will also do the trick. Add the rest of the coffee and process until the cream has turned a smooth taupe. To this add the icing sugar and mix until smooth.

When the cakes have cooled place the first on a plate and cover the top with frosting, carefully place the other cake on top and cover the whole thing with icing using the back of a spoon. Roughly chop the walnuts and sprinkle them over the top and the sides of the cake, refrigerate until ready to serve.

ingredients

for the cake
300g granulated sugar
300g vegetable shortening
6 eggs
300g plain flour
2tbsp baking powder
4 tablespoons ground guatemalan coffee
250ml hot water

for the icing
100ml whipping cream
400g icing sugar
100g walnut pieces

Salted Caramel Pancakes

Apologies for my absence from the airwaves recently, being a finalist is more difficult and time-consuming than I had imagined, thankfully I made it out without killing myself or anyone else, and retaining my sanity.

This is a fantastic dish, and though it tastes luxuriously decadent it is woefully simple. I'm absurdly proud of having made this without burning myself which is a tragically common occurrence when making caramel. You can adjust the quantities of salt if you wish for it to be more or less salty, I use french fleur-de-sel for this dish, which is traditional in France. Fleur-de-sel is harvested in Guérande, in Brittany, and it is formed when moving water evaporates leaving salt crystals with a characteristic floral shape. If you can't find these then sea salt flakes can be used.

Start by whisking all your pancake ingredients together in a large glass bowl, cover it with a tea towel and leave it to rest while you make your caramel sauce.

For the sauce, place the soft brown sugar in a saucepan and heat over a high heat stirring with a wooden spoon until the sugar has melted to a pale brown amber, continue to heat, stirring until you have reached your desired darkness, the darker the caramel the more bitter it will be, take care that the sugar doesn't burn. Add the cubed butter and stir it into the sugar until it melts.

The sugar and the butter will start to separate, use a whisk to combine them until smooth and bubbling, remove from the heat and add the heavy cream, it will bubble ferociously, return the pan to the heat and whisk it until smooth. Some of the sugar may resolidify, heat it for a few minutes on high until it has all melted and is smooth. Leave it to cool then add the salt and mix. When it has cooled further pour it into a sauce boat.

Cook your pancakes, heat a little vegetable oil in a large heavy-based frying pan and add a ladleful of the pancake batter, cook it for a few minutes on each side, flipping it with a spatula.

Serve the pancakes folded and topped with lashings of the salted caramel sauce.

ingredients:

for the pancakes
100g plain flour
1 large egg
300ml milk
sunflower oil for frying

for the sauce
100g soft muscovado sugar
45g cubed unsalted butter
100ml single cream
1/2 tbsp fleur de sel de Guérande