The Best Chocolate Cake for Grandpa's 90th

My most wonderful Grandpa turned 90 in March. If you are fortunate enough to have met him you will know just how special my Grandpa is. Despite nearing a century on this earth, he remains as sharp as ever, feeding his mind with endless puzzle books and episodes of Pointless. He never fails to make me laugh and keep my feet plantedfirmly on the ground. There's nothing like the perspective of a grandparent to shift your focus and make you realise just how good you've got it, especially from one who has endured many battles of his own. I was so glad we got to celebrate his birthday just before lockdown, and I had the privilege of making his cake! He had to have the very best, so I combined a couple of my favourite recipes and came up with the best chocolate cake for the best Grandpa.

Since I live in south Wales and Grandpa is in Glasgow, a fair amount of planning went into this cake to make sure it was fresh, delicious and still in one piece on the big day. I decided to bake the sponges a few days before traveling, freeze them and on the morning of our journey, I packed them securely into boxes with ice packs. When we arrived in Scotland the cakes had defrosted but were still cold, so I popped them in the fridge and, the next day, I assembled, iced and decorated it ready for the party 🥳

This cake is so delicious and I can't take much of the credit – Smitten Kitchen (one of my favourite food bloggers) shares her 'I want chocolate cake' cake here, which I simply quadrupled for this four-layered, 8-inch cake (with some to spare for a cake for me to snack on). The buttermilk and dark muscovado sugar are what make this cake SO yum – you'll never use another recipe again.

For the crumb coat, filling and neat coat I used the ultimate chocolate buttercream recipe from Love is in my Tummy, again multiplying the quantities by four (it's better to make too much). This buttercream is a total dupe of the infamous Magnolia Bakery's chocolate buttercream – so light, chocolatey, buttery and downright delicious, not to mention an absolute dream to work with. My drips were made with a simple cream and chocolate ganache and I finished it off with a touch of buttercream piping and loads of edible glitter and gold dust. I cannot live without my turntable, palette knife and side scraper and wouldn't dream of decorating a cake like this without those three tools, so if you're thinking having a go (and you totally should) get yourself some off Amazon (they're dead cheap) and see how you get on!

Safe to say we ate the lot and Grandpa had an epic 90th birthday. Since lockdown I have been phoning him a lot more, but I can't wait to be able to see him in person again, hopefully very soon.

Magnolia Bakery Mocha Cupcakes

Cupcakes! They might have gone out of fashion but the original – and best – bakeries are still delivering the goods. Every time I go to London I scoff as many Lola's cupcakes as I can (shout out to Hummingbird and Crumbs & Doilies too), but nothing beats a cupcake from the Magnolia Bakery.

Of course, they're on the other side of the world, but NOTHING compares. So light and fluffy and rich and decadent, they're impossible not to scarf in just three mouthfuls but so delicious you'll forgive yourself and buy another one to eat straight away. It's been three years since my last visit (welp) to NYC, so I've been keeping the dream alive at home with the most insanely delicious mocha cupcakes I have ever baked.

The buttercream is what makes these cupcakes so good – it is the best (and easiest) thing ever, you will never need another recipe in your life. If you don't like coffee then just skip the espresso powder and you'll have the best ever chocolate cupcakes instead!

It's up to you how you ice your cupcakes, but I like to pipe mine in a little blob so you can still see the sponge. The buttercream recipe is more than is needed for these cupcakes but I like to make extra... just in case, heh.

Mocha Cupcakes – sponge recipe adapted from The Hummingbird Bakery and buttercream recipe adapted from Love is in my Tummy

Ingredients:
105g self-raising flour
20g cocoa powder
10g espresso powder - I used Percol Beyond and Black
140g caster sugar
Pinch salt
40g unsalted butter
120ml milk
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

170g unsalted butter
128g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids)
10g espresso powder (or to taste) dissolved in a tablespoon or two of boiling water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
125g icing sugar

Method
1. Preheat your oven to 170°C and fill a 12-hole cupcake tin with cupcake cases.
2. Put the flour, cocoa, sugar, espresso powder, salt and butter in a freestanding mixer or use a handheld electric whisk to beat until a sandy mixture comes together.
3. Whisk the milk, egg and vanilla in a jug and slowly pour into the dry mix. Beat on high for a minute to get rid of any lumps – don't overmix!
4. Best way to get this soupy cake mix into the cases is with an ice cream scoop - it ensures each cupcake is the same size, too. Bake in the oven for at least 15 minutes – mine usually need 18 minutes but the original recipe calls for these to be baked for 20-25 minutes. In the words of Georgia from Georgia's Cakes, know your oven! When they're done they'll be bouncy and lovely – pop them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
5. To make the best EVER mocha buttercream, melt the chocolate and leave to cool almost completely (but not harden).
6. Beat the butter in a freestanding mixer or use an electric whisk for 3 whole minutes. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
7. Add the melted chocolate, vanilla and espresso powder mixed with a drop of hot water.
8. Mix in the icing sugar and beat for about 2 more minutes. Use a wooden spoon to mix the buttercream by hand to get rid of any air bubbles. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with your chosen nozzle to pipe onto the cupcakes. Eat them all immediately.

Peach & Raspberry Almond Cake

I'll never complain about summer rain – I mean, what is more delicious than pottering around the kitchen with the back door ajar while it pours? Plus, when there is rain there's no irrational FOMO, so, lately, my thoughts have been healthier, more creative, inspired and, obviously revolving around baked goods. The result: a fruit-filled, bakewell-style cake that, if it were just a smidge warmer, I'd be serving with iced tea. But it's still steaming cups of coffee and I'm quite happy with that.

This recipe is adapted from Emily's Blackberry Plum Crumble Cake recipe over on her blog, De La Terre. I recall (very fondly) Sunday afternoons sitting cross-legged on her bed eating that cake with mugs of Earl Grey, exactly as she recommends it in her post. Those memories are what I miss the most about living in Bristol.  

Peach & Raspberry Almond Cake 

Serves 9 

Ingredients:

150g unsalted butter room temperature

150g caster sugar

2 eggs

150g plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

200g raspberries (I used frozen as they're a lot cheaper)

150g fresh peaches, sliced

50g flaked almonds

40g apricot jam (I like Bonne Maman)

Method:

1. First toast the almonds. You can buy them toasted already but I prefer to do it myself – just something about the smell that fills the kitchen. Preheat your oven to 180°C and spread the flaked almonds across a baking tray. Pop in the oven for two minutes at a time until the nuts are toasted to your liking.

2. Beat the butter and sugar together until smooth and creamy.

3. Add the eggs one at a time (make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl in between each egg if you're using a freestanding mixer).

4. Add the vanilla and cinnamon, then sift in the flour and bicarb. Mix until everything is just combined.

5. Stir in the raspberries and pour into a lined, square tin. It's quite a thick mix so you may need to spread it out with a knife or the back of a spoon. Press the peach slices into the cake batter and bake for 30-40 minutes – mine took 38 minutes but it largely depends on your oven, so keep an eye from 30 minutes onwards.

6. Leave the cake to cool a little in the tin - about 10 minutes, then heat the jam in a small pan or the microwave. Spread the apricot glaze over the top of the cake and sprinkle the toasted flaked almonds evenly over the top. Optional: dust icing sugar over the top for that gorgeous almond croissant aesthetic.

If you make this cake please do let me know! You can find me on Instagram and Twitter @wnwrote ❤

Lemon & Blackcurrant Stripe Cake

If there were ever a cake that embodied my mum, it would be Ottolenghi's lemon and blackcurrant stripe cake. Bright, striking, curious, bold and beautiful – inside and out. I had to make it for her.

I knew this was my mum's cake the moment I saw it – about six months ago when I left my last job and my colleagues gifted me Ottolenghi's Sweet. It's a book that evokes joy in me through the simple flicking of its pages, catches of colour and thoughts of who I'd bake for popping into my head.

I went back to Abergavenny in Wales last weekend to celebrate Mum's 62nd birthday (I know, wow). After an evening stuffing my face with chilli cheese fries and drinking prosecco with my eldest sister, Sarah, I woke up early on Saturday – something I like to do on weekends to warrant the pursuit of a nap later on in the day – and spent the morning working through this recipe. 

The result: a punchy pink cake! As I rolled, iced, poured and sprinkled, I thought about my mum, how she loves blackcurrant and lemon, and how pleased I was for creating this cake without making a single mistake (seriously, how?) I couldn't wait to serve it for her birthday lunch the next day – mainly because I wanted to see the stripes on the inside – but also to taste it, and see what everyone else thought.

It was worth the wait, basically.

This cake reminded me of rhubarb and custard sweets – fruity, sugary deliciousness. Its appearance in Sweet is apt, but with the blackcurrant puree poured over the top (and some extra left over) the balance of sweet and tart balances nicely. Serve with tea, coffee, whatever you like, but – and this is important – serve only to your very favourite people. 

Strawberry Dream Cake

Long time no blog! I've been a poorly thing this week, and I feel as if I'm not 100% here so all my commitments have gone out the window while I try and get myself back to normal. Before I began to feel a million miles away, however, I made this cake which I wanted to tell you about because it was one of my favourite creations ever (with the help of my sister, Sarah).

It's pretty simple, and only lovers of the strawberry creams in Quality Street will fully appreciate a cake like this, but I am most definitely one of them, and my friend Drew is too. It was his birthday a couple of weeks ago so I decided to make him a cake version of his favourite sweet - the strawberry dream.

I baked a chocolate cake from a recipe in a Sainsbury's book I have – can someone please tell me why it's so difficult to find a simple recipe for a chocolate cake online?!

Once cooled, I sandwiched the two sponges together with a thick layer of strawberry jam. I got this jam from Aldi and it's really good – it has lots of strawberries and seeds in it and because it's 50% fruit it's not too sweet or jelly-like.

For the icing I made a simple ganache (cream, brown sugar and dark chocolate) and spread it all over the top of the cake. If I was any good at presentation, I would have covered the sides of the cake, too.

To finish, I topped the cake with all the strawberry creams in one of the boxes of fruit cremes I bought - they're two for £4 in Tesco which is bad news for me as I'm addicted to them. Except for the lemon ones of course (who thought they would be a good idea?)

You see, pretty easy and pretty cool. I think chocolate and fruit work so well together, especially berries. Will you have a go at making a strawberry dream cake? Quality Street fruit cremes are back but only for Christmas! I'm gonna have to stock up...

Coffee Time at iKafe - Glasgow

Coffee is something that, in the last three years, I have grown to need in the mornings. It all started at university when late nights and early starts were two things I faced most days of the weeks. I sort of loved it though. Coffee became this magical thing that helped me through the day. It made mornings more bearable and breakfast more enjoyable.

But coffee isn't just a drink to keep me awake. I love the stuff, the smell of the steam coming off the top of the cup, the familiar fresh, earthy, rich taste of mornings. It's become a breakfast friend, and something I only drink before midday. I love how it tastes paired with some peanut butter toast, or, better yet, chocolate cake, which is exactly what my Grandpa and I had when we went out for coffee time in Glasgow a couple of weeks ago.

iKafe was a firm favourite of my Grandpa's, until Moyra Janes came along and took the top spot for lunch. But he suggested we go to iKafe for a cup of coffee as I was complaining of a headache. Needless to say, the moist dark chocolate cake and hot, creamy coffee fixed me up in no time.

The staff at iKafe were, of course, friendly (see previous posts about Glaswegians - could they be the friendliest people on earth? I think so). The man who served me was very good looking, which made the experience all the more enjoyable. He even offered to warm up the cake for me, but I declined. Warm cake is good, but only when served with lots of cold double cream and eaten in the comfort of my bed... heh.

I have been to iKafe for lunch before too and it's a lovely little place with reasonably priced, tasty food and lots to choose from. I'm not sold on the name - anything which has k in place of a c makes me cringe slightly, but the food, staff and overall experience makes up for it here. I highly recommend a trip to iKafe if you want somewhere quiet, relaxed and comfortable to eat, chat and enjoy a good cup of coffee.

Check the iKafe website here!

Sweet & Salty Chocolate Cake - The Hummingbird Bakery

I cannot take any of the credit for this incredible creation. My talented mother followed a (very tricky) recipe from Cake Days - the Hummingbird Bakery's second cookbook - and decorated it to absolute perfection for my sister's birthday. Yes, those are chocolate caramel curls on the top.

After the craze of salted caramel a few years ago, it is a flavour known by all now, some even say it's been overdone, but it will always be a favourite of mine - especially when paired with chocolate and a whole lot of butter.

This is a very special cake and we make it for special celebrations. (I say we, I helped by licking the icing bowl). This is by no means an easy cake to make, (trust me, I tried and failed a few years ago for my brother-in-law's birthday) so if you're a beginner in the kitchen my advice would be to stick with the Victoria sponge for now. But if you're looking for a challenge, and a decadent masterpiece at the end of it, try your hand at this. It looks even better in real life and tastes out of this world.

Have you tried this recipe before? You can find it here and the Cake Days book here. The Hummingbird Bakery recipe books are my favourite for sweet treats, as are their bakeries (check out my visit to their Islington branch here) and I can't recommend their products enough.

Turning Twenty Two

On Saturday it was my birthday. I had a lovely day, spent with friends eating and drinking lots of good food and drink, and even getting a little nap with my best friend Bethan while watching a cheesy film. My family came over to celebrate on Sunday so the fun was extended over the bank holiday weekend which was lovely.

Everyone is smitten with baby Olivia. On my 21st Birthday, she was just a tiny dot in Emily's tummy, and now she's all big and cuddly and it makes me so broody! She wore a very special party dress with rabbits all over it ♥

She even wrote a little message for me in my birthday card.

For my birthday meal I asked for my faaaaavourite – chicken in oatmeal. It's basically fried chicken in an oaty coating, served with a lemony, creamy, mustardy sauce, potatoes and vegetables. Sarah calls it a beige meal, but I love it.

Napkins – Tiger, Cardiff.

My mum makes a beautiful fruit salad.

Then it was time for cake, made by Emily.

It was speckled mocha cake, and it was absolutely divine. The best mocha cake I have ever tasted. It's a Mary Berry recipe, and definitely one to keep for other celebrations.

I was so spoilt with lots of lovely gifts – it was a birthday weekend to remember. I feel fortunate to have had two brilliant weekends in a row and I hope it's a sign of many more to come. I'm kind of glad to leave twenty one behind, and I can't wait to see what twenty two has in store. Thank you to everyone who made my day special ♥