It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas…

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Sara Walker

It is indeed starting to look a lot like Christmas. And with it sometimes comes visitors from near, or far, and potentially a bunch of children that are expecting treats. You may be wringing your hands wondering what to serve them without having them overindulge in too much sugar, or going insane yourself whilst spending hours in the kitchen. No worries – we have found an easy to bake cake, which uses honey instead of sugar and judging from the comments people are loving it. So no worries – the kids won’t be having tantrums about the cake at least…

This gingerbread cake is also perfect for grown-ups – take a break from the Christmas craziness and settle down with cup of tea, or coffee. If you have a coffee shop it’s also the perfect Christmas cake to serve with the coffee.

So let that pre-Christmas stress go away – mix these ingredients together, put on the coffee machine and sit down to inhale the aroma of fresh roasted coffee beans and gingerbread cake. Could there be anything more heavenly?

(If you are running low on ideas for Christmas gift ideas and starting to go crazy because that as well, we also recommend you check out our shop, get yourself a big bag of the best fresh roasted coffee beans and then divide it into small little handmade bags to give away together with a beautiful coffee cup. Naturally we aren’t marketing our services or anything like that. Not at all, but if you want to buy coffee online you know where now…)

This Apple Upside Down Ginger Cake comes from The Sour Path is the Sweetest

Topping

*1/4 cup unsalted pasture butter or ghee (someone used oil with good result, but baked it for 40 mins rather than 30-35)

*1/4 cup honey

*1 Tbsp coconut aminos (not essential)

*2 large apples, peeled, wedged and thinly sliced

Gingerbread Cake

*1/4 cup unsalted pasture butter or ghee

*1/2 cup honey

*4 pastured eggs, room temperature

*2 Tbsp coconut aminos, room temperature (not essential)

*1 1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

*2 cups blanched almond flour

*3/4 tsp baking soda

*1/4 tsp cloves

*2 tsp cinnamon

*2 Tbsp ginger

Directions

For topping: melt butter and honey. Add coconut aminos, stir. Pour mixture into an 8″ by 8″ square baking pan. Arrange sliced apples over butter/ honey mixture and set aside.

For cake: Warm the butter and the honey until just melted. Add room temperature eggs and other wet ingredients and mix. Combine dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, Add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well. Pour over the apples. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate.

Think sweet thoughts 🙂

Mocha Cake

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Sara Walker

There is this saying: “I love you more than coffee, but please don’t make me prove it.” Right, especially not at 8am on a Monday morning when the waft of coffee made from fresh roasted coffee beans reaches your nostrils. This could prove lethal. At least in the “love you more” section in any relationship, because coffee might just win.

For some of us it’s not coffee you need to battle with for quality time, but rather chocolate. Maybe you don’t need it first thing in the morning, but after a long day you chocolate pralines and a hot bath may just be on top of your priority list. You have no energy to deal with anyone else until you have had your chocolate fix. And potentially, just potentially, a coffee to go with it. To wake you up.

So for those coffee and chocolate lovers out there we found a new recipe for you. (And don’t forget, if you are running out of coffee beans or hot chocolate at any time, our shop offers you plenty of options, delivered to your doorstep. Perfect during winter storms.)

Mocha Frappe Pie adapted from Pillsbury

Uploaded by Monica H at www.lickthebowlgood.blogspot.com

Crust:

1-1/4 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
3 Tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling:

1/2 lb. (about 35-40) large marshmallows
3 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
3 teaspoons instant coffee or espresso powder
1 cup (6 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy whipping cream

To make the crust: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients until well blended.

Press firmly onto bottom and up side of 9-inch pie plate.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes until set. Cool completely.

To make the filling: In top of a double boiler, combine marshmallows, sugar, evaporated milk and instant coffee/espresso powder.

Cook over boiling water, stirring occasionally,until marshmallows are melted. Remove from heat. (This can be done in the microwave, but be sure to keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t boil over.)

Stir in chocolate chips until well blended. Cool completely.

Spread 3/4 cup of the cooled filling into the bottom of the cooled crust.

In a separate bowl, beat heavy cream until thick. Fold whipped cream into the remaining chocolate mixture. Pour over chocolate layer.

Chill at least 2 hours before serving.

Top with additional whipped cream, chocolate curls or chopped pecan if desired.

Chocolate Meets Espresso for Heavenly Indulgence

Posted on October 15, 2013 by Sara Walker

It happens to all of us. That moment when we just know we need chocolate, or coffee, or both. Sometimes it’s after a hectic meeting on a Monday morning. Sometimes it’s to start off the weekend with a kick on a Friday afternoon, and sometimes it’s because we are faced with a problem that’s so paramount that without chocolate and coffee we just can’t handle it. Coffee and chocolate can be life savers. Especially when combined. Of course they can be enjoyed just for the sake of enjoying them as well. They are, after all, deliciously indulgent.

In the below recipe you will find espresso and coffee combined. Divine. Heavenly. And flourless, so that means it’s almost healthy, right? Or not.

We found this recipe in the Huffington Post.

Fallen Mocha Soufflé

Ingredients

4 ounces semisweet chocolate
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 large eggs, separated
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder (you can also add 2 tblsp of Kahlua together with the espresso powder when combining the ingredients)
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Butter and sugar a 4-cup soufflé dish or deep 1-quart baking dish (3 to 4 inches deep).
In a small saucepan, combine the chocolate and butter, and stir over low heat until melted. Remove from the heat and whisk in the egg yolks. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and stir in the espresso powder.
In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until stiff peaks form.
Stir one-third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. With a spatula, gently but thoroughly fold in the remaining egg whites. Scrape the soufflé into the dish. Place the dish in a larger baking dish or a small roasting pan and fill with hot water to come halfway up the sides of the mold.
Place in the oven, reduce the temperature to 400°F, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until puffed and beginning to crack around the edges.
Remove from the oven and the water bath and set on a rack to cool. As it cools, the soufflé will collapse. Unmold carefully and invert onto a serving plate. Serve warm or chilled.

You can of course serve this recipe with a nice cup of coffee and you can get the coffee beans from us. And all other great coffee ingredients you could possibly need for future endeavors in the kitchen.

Autumn Blueberry Cake

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Sara Walker

For you coffee fanatics out there it might be a challenge to find something that adds to your coffee, rather than subtracts from it. That is to say: it makes your fresh roasted coffee beans taste even sweeter than when just having a plain cup of Joe.

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Co. we consume quite a lot of coffee. Our favourite at the moment is the Tunki coffee – after all Tunki coffee did receive an award as best tasting coffee in the world! All in all, a cup of Tunki coffee therefore isn’t a bad way to start your morning!

We wanted to find something seasonal to pair with our Tunki coffee with as a treat and just found this gorgeous recipe for Blueberry-Lavender Coffee Cake with lemon drizzle at Healthy. Delicious., which is looking very promising. It even promises that it won’t taste too much like perfume from the lavender. Phew.

Try the cake and try our Tunki coffee with it!

Ingredients

For the filling

1 cup blueberries
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons honey
½ teaspoon dried lavender

For the cake1 cup Gold Medal white whole wheat flour

1 cup Gold Medal all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter (3/4 stick), softened
? cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk

For the glaze

¼ cup confectioners sugar
1 lemon, juiced

Preparation

Prepare filling by combining blueberries, water, honey, and lavender in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until thick and syrupy. Let cool.
Heat oven to 350*F. Grease the bottom and sides of a loaf pan.
In a mixing bowl, combine the flours, baking soda and salt. In a second bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla. Stir in half the dry ingredients – the batter will be very thick and doughy. Stir in half the buttermilk – the batter will thin back out. Repeat.
Pour half the batter into the prepared pan. Spread with blueberry filling. Top with remaining batter. (The pan will be ½ to ¾ full).
Bake for 45-55 minutes. Let cool.
Add the confectioners sugar and lemon juice to a small saucepan set over medium heat. Cook 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until sugar is melted. Immediately drizzle over the cake.

Cappuccino Coffee Cake

Posted on July 24, 2013 by Sara Walker

We do everything online these days don’t we? Like buying coffee online… (no, really?!) Thanks to the internet you can now find out about pretty much anything within seconds. Do you remember back in the day when you had to go to the library to look up information? And had a big dictionary and an encyclopedia on your desk? How did we survive without Wikipedia and Google?

For us the internet is obviously our bread and butter – we are responsible for you buying coffee online. Correction: for you buying very good coffee online. Once you’ve bought the coffee from us you might want to put it to good use – buying coffee online is only half the fun. The other half is going online to find out what you want to use it for. Today we have a suggestion for you: use it for the below cake.

Cappuccino Coffee Cake

Serves 8

225g (8oz) very soft butter, plus more for the tins

225g (8oz) light muscovado sugar or caster sugar

225g (8oz) self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

4 large eggs

4 level tsp instant coffee, dissolved in 1 tbsp boiling water

For the coffee icing

175g (6oz) soft butter

350g (12oz) icing sugar

4 level tsp instant coffee, dissolved in 1 tbsp boiling water

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/350F/315F fan/Gas 4. Butter and line the base of two deep 20cm (8in) sandwich cake tins.

Measure all the cake ingredients, except the coffee, into a large mixing bowl and beat together until smooth. Stir in the dissolved coffee until thoroughly blended. Divide the mixture evenly between the two prepared tins and level the tops.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 25–30 minutes until golden brown, shrinking away from the sides of the tin and the sponge springs back when lightly pressed.

To make the icing, mix the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl and beat together until smooth. Beat in the dissolved coffee and divide into four. When they are cold, slice each cake horizontally in half, giving four layers of cake. Sit one base on a cake stand and spread with a quarter of the mixture. Continue layering up with cake and icing so you finish with icing on top and swirl to give an attractive finish.

The cake can be made and iced up to two days ahead, kept covered in the fridge. Iced or un-iced, it freezes well.

AGA COOKING

Two-oven Aga: bake on the grid shelf on the floor of the roasting oven, with the cold sheet on the second set of runners, for about 25 minutes, until golden brown. Three and four-oven Aga: bake on the grid shelf on the floor of the baking oven for about 25 minutes. If getting too brown, slide the cold sheet on to the second set of runners.

From ‘One Step Ahead’ by Mary Berry (Quadrille, £9.99)

Coffee-walnut Semolina Squares

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Sara Walker

So there are some great British chefs. They also happen to have some rather great British recipes. Thankfully they willingly share those recipes as well. Below you will find one such recipe – coffee-walnut semolina squares. Sounds intriguing, doesn’t it? Not the average kind of petit four, but then they aren’t the average kind of chefs. Enjoy!

Coffee-walnut Semolina Squares

3 tbsp of semolina
3 tbsp of ghee
270ml of water, warmed
1.5 tbsp of instant coffee powder
50g of granulated sugar
8 walnuts
olive oil
1 sheet of gold leaf

1. Pre-heat the oven to 170°C/Gas mark 4. Put the semolina in a deep frying pan and dry-roast over a moderate heat until it is very lightly coloured and has a nutty aroma

2. Stir in the ghee and cook for 2 minutes, then add the warm water and cook until it has been absorbed by the semolina

3. Stir the coffee into 2 tablespoons of warm water and then add to the semolina, along with the granulated sugar

4. Cook, stirring, until the mixture has thickened enough to leave the sides of the pan

5. Meanwhile, scatter the walnuts onto a baking tray and bake in a preheated medium oven for 3-5 minutes or until starting to turn brown and crisp

6. Crush 4 of them in a bag with a rolling pin, and set aside the other 4 to garnish. Stir the crushed walnuts into the mixture

7. Spoon onto a greased tray and cool until it solidifies. Cut into 2.5cm squares, garnish with a piece of roasted walnut and gold leaf petals

The ultimate coffee and walnut cake

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Sara Walker

If you’re not keen on Christmas cake and mince pies, why not try this classic recipe
for coffee and walnut cake? It’s easy to make, and miniature versions of the cake
make great presents, either by themselves or as part of a hamper. For the best
results, use strong espresso coffee made from freshly-ground coffee beans.

You’ll need:

225g butter or margarine

225g soft brown sugar

4 eggs, beaten

225g self-raising flour

75g walnuts, broken into pieces

50ml strong coffee

For the topping

125g butter

200g icing sugar

50m strong coffee

walnut halves

edible glitter, or edible Christmas baubles (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F, and prepare two 20cm sandwich cake tins by

1. greasing them thoroughly.

2. Beat the butter and sugar together until the mixture looks pale and fluffy, then add the eggs a Iittle at a time. Stir in the coffee.

3. Tip half the flour in and beat the mixture thoroughly, then add the rest of the flour and the walnut pieces. Beat thoroughly until combined.

4. Spoon half the mixture into each tin, and level off the mixture with the back of a spoon. Tap each tin to release any air bubbles in the batter, then put them in the oven for around 30 minutes, or until the cakes are uniformly brown and well-risen. Leave the cakes in the tin for a few minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and leave until completely cool.

To make the topping, beat the butter and sugar together until well-combined.

Add the coffee and beat it in. Spoon half the mixture onto one cake, and place the other cake on top like a sandwich. Spread the remaining topping over the top of the cake, then use a fork to make fancy swirls. Decorate with walnut halves and edible Christmas decorations or edible glitter, if using.

Serve with a cup of coffee made with freshly-ground coffee beans.

6. To make individual cakes, divide all the ingredients by four and use an individual 10cm cake tin. Don’t forget to adjust the cooking time accordingly. Once baked and decorated, put the finished cake in an open-topped box and cover the box in coloured cellophane.