♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ My blog turned 1 ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩

Originally I baked this cake to celebrate my sweet sis-in-law's birthday :) In-spite of she staying many air miles across, the much  justifiable excuse for this chocolate indulgence was that I completed one happy year of blogging, Now does that not call for a celebration :)

When I started my blogging journey, the only expectation I had set was,  irrespective of any situations, I should post consistently and I am happy to say that I was able to meet that expectation. Many a thanks to my better half for all the positive criticism, nudges n reviews n what not! I found myself truly immersed in drafting the many posts, clicking photographs, styling food and last but not the least experimenting recipes... My family, friends & readers have also supported me to keep my blog live... Thank You to each one of you :) I hope you continue enjoying my culinary trysts. 

Coffee & Chocolate Cake ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬

Recipe adapted from Barefoot Contessa {Ina Garten}

Of the many things in my life which brought happiness, I can proudly say that this blog is definitely one of them. Cheers to my fellow bloggers out there, who have made a unique niche for themselves in the world of food blogging!

Featured in this post is an easy to bake chocolate & coffee cake which is super moist and perfect for celebrating any occasion with a bunch of chocoholics! Give this recipe a shot and make any day even special.

Ingredients:

FOR CHOCOLATE & COFFEE SPONGE
1&3/4 cups Plain Flour
2 cups Caster Sugar
3/4 cups Cocoa Powder
2 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 cup Buttermilk
1/2 cup Olive oil (or vegetable oil)
2 Eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 cup Instant Coffee, freshly made (I used a Tbsp of instant coffee powder)

FOR CHOCOLATE & COFFEE FROSTING
150 g Dark Chocolate (chopped into pieces, good quality- around 50% cocoa solids)
200 g Unsalted Butter, @ room temperature
1 Egg yolk, @ room temperature
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 cup Icing Sugar (heaped!)
1 Tbsp Instant Coffee Powder

Method:

FOR THE CHOCOLATE & COFFEE SPONGE

• Preheat oven to 180 C/ 160 C fan/ gas 4. Prepare and line two cake tins (8-inch x 2-inch round).
• In a mixing bowl, sift the dry ingredients (plain flour, caster sugar, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt). Mix well to combine. 
• In another bowl, combine the wet ingredients (buttermilk, olive oil, beaten eggs and vanilla extract). 
• Now slowly mix in the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients using a hand mixer on low speed. 
• With mixer still on low speed, mix in the freshly prepared coffee to the batter until well combined. 
• With the help of a spatula, scrape and pour the cake batter into the prepared tins. 
• Bake for 35-40 mins until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
• Let the cake cool in the tins for half hour initially and then transfer onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

FOR THE CHOCOLATE & COFFEE FROSTING

• Double boil (placing in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water) the chopped dark chocolate until just melted. Add the instant coffee powder and stir well. Keep aside to let it cool.
• Meanwhile beat the softened butter in a bowl until pale and fluffy.
• Now add the egg yolk, vanilla extract to the beaten butter and continue beating further for another 3 minutes. 
• Then gradually add the icing sugar and mix well until you get a nice smooth and creamy mixture. 
• On low speed, tip in the melted chocolate and coffee mixture to the butter mixture and mix until well blended. 
• Use immediately on the cooled cake as frosting.

ASSEMBLING THE CAKE

• Place one chocolate sponge on a cake stand and with the help of a spatula spread the top with chocolate frosting. 
• Now place the other sponge on top of the frosting and spread more frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake to completely cover both the sponge's. 
• You can try different styling techniques on the frosting.

Notes: This is a gorgeously moist chocolate cake with an added twist of coffee flavour which is perfect! The sponge batter is of runny consistency, but no worries, it will come out fine :) If you prefer not to use a raw egg in your frosting, feel free to experiment other simple chocolate frosting's.
Thank you Nishima for introducing me to this chocolaty number!

                                                               ♥ Thank You ♥