Chocolate cake, flavoured with Tia Maria coffee liqueur

A bottle of Tia- Maria has been lying about in my cupboard for a while and this weekend I decided to use it - I had come across this recipe while shopping at Waitrose on Saturday and made this delicious Tia-Maria flavoured chocolate cake ! And I have to say it was absolutely delicious - the recipe said serves 10 but I thought it was enough only for 2 ( very greedy - I have eaten more than half in just 1 day - out of 10 slices only 4 is left :-)

A very special chocolate cake, flavoured with Tia Maria coffee liqueur. Serve with tea or coffee or as a dessert. Pure bliss !

Ingredients

The icing:
200g  chocolate
675g icing sugar
25g butter, melted
5tbsp milk

The ganache:
3tbsp Tia Maria
25g caster sugar
250ml double cream
2 medium egg yolks
225g  Plain Continentan Chocolate

The sponge:
175g Plain Continental Chocolate
6tbsp Tia Maria
6 medium eggs, separated and 2 medium egg yolks
175g Olivio spread
175g caster sugar
75g Self Raising Flour, sifted
75g ground almonds

Method

1. Grease and line a 23cm deep, loose-bottomed cake tin with greaseproof paper.
2. Melt the chocolate with the Tia Maria in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.
3. Cream the Olivio with the sugar until light and fluffy, then gradually beat in the egg yolks. Cool the melted chocolate slightly and beat into the egg mixture.
4. Fold in the flour and almonds. Whisk the egg whites and fold into the sponge mixture with a metal spoon.
5. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C, gas mark 4, for 40-45 minutes. (To make sure the cake is cooked insert a small knife or metal skewer into the centre of the cake - if it comes out clean it is cooked). Leave the cake to cool before removing from the tin.
6. To make the ganache, melt the chocolate with half of the cream in a small bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar and add to the chocolate mixture. Add the remaining cream, and allow to cool.
7. Cut the cake carefully into 3 even horizontal slices. Brush one side of each slice with 1tbsp Tia Maria and spread with the ganache. Layer together.
8. To make the white icing, mix together all the ingredients, except the chocolate, until smooth and spreadable, adding a little more milk if it is too thick. Spread over the top and sides of the cake, making sure it is completely covered.
9. Coarsely grate the chocolate and place in the freezer for a few minutes to firm up. Coat the cake with the grated chocolate.

Potato Rosti

POTATOES - I love them and am sure most of you do as well -  This recipe is from a Italian friend of mine - I have tried it a lot if times as was only satisfied with it yesterday. So i guess now I safely say I have mastered it. There are many ways to rosti a potato – purists would have you boil them first and leave to rest overnight before peeling and grating; others would urge you to add egg or flour to bind the mixture.

 

Ingredients

• starchy potatoes – 1 kg
• butter – 100g
• s & p
• sauted onions and chopped corriander

Coarsely grate the potatoes and place in the centre of a (preferably clean) tea towel.

Bring together the corners of the tea towel and twist as tightly as you can to remove all the water possible. Repeat this squeezing with a second dry tea towel.

Place in a bowl and season well with salt and pepper.
(At this stage you could add grated onion and/or fresh herbs)
Now to the most important decision – whether to make one big fat rosti, or several smaller, thinner ones.
Melt some of the butter in a large heavy frying pan and once the buttery foam has subsided spoon in the potato to form several cakes – use those fancy metal rings if you are feeling chefy. Compact each rosti with the back of a spatula.
Cook on a lowish heat for 7-10 minutes or until the underside is golden brown and crispy. Flip over (add more butter if necessary) and repeat for a further 7-10 minutes.
Serve with what ever takes your fancy.
If making one big fat rosti use a 9 inch diameter pan and cook for a bit longer.
I had mine with a spicy tomato chutney and a green spinach salad !!

Ayush Kejriwal

Polish beetroot soup

You will either love this or hate it - mostly the latter I suspect, because in this country people have a surfeit of it doused in strong vinegar. But I love its earthy charm and distinctive flavour. It makes wonderful soup, and this one is Polish in origin and especially good. Although the soup is a dazzling colour, you won't want your hands to match it, so it's best to wear gloves while you're handling it

450g beetroot
15g butter
110g chopped onions
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock (or 850ml stock and 150ml creamy milk) Chive cream

Chive cream
4-6 tbsp sour cream or crème fraîche
1-2 tbsp finely chopped chives

Method

1. Wash the beetroot carefully under the cold tap. Don't scrub, simply rub off any earth with your fingers. Don't damage the skin or cut the ends or it will bleed its colour during cooking. Put the beetroot into a pan, cover with water, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for anything from 20 minutes to 2 hours depending on their size and age. The beetroot are cooked when the skins rub off easily. When cool enough to handle, rub off the skins and chop the beetroot.
2. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over a medium-low heat. When it foams, add the onion. Season well, stir, then cover with a 'lid' made from baking parchment, putting the paper right on top of the onions. Cover the pan, turn the heat low and sweat over a gentle heat for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, bring the stock to the boil.
3. Add the beetroot to the onions with the stock. Season, then purée. Reheat, adding more stock or milk if you like, and adjust the seasoning.
4. Serve garnished with swirls of sour cream and chopped chives.