Coffee, Almond & Plum Swiss Roll

Coffee, almond and plum... What are your opinions on this flavour combination?
It is strange, I grant you. Strange, but by no means unheard of, although all the recipes I stumbled across during my (very) brief Google search seem to be of German origin. Of course, it being a strange combination, I had to try it. Luckily, we have, at the moment, an abundance of plums.
I decided to make a coffee and almond flavoured Swiss roll with a whipped cream and plum filling. The responses were... well, varied, to say the least. My mother outright rebelled at the idea of putting anything fruit in a coffee sponge, but she quite enjoyed the result. My brother pronounced it 'yuck' at first bite, although I’m still not sure whether it was him 'rebelling' at the lack of butter cream or genuine dislike. Others pronounced it delicious. My sister, upon taking the first mouthful, immediately put down her fork, pronouncing it was 'not for me!' And I? Well, I quite liked it. I loved the sweetness of the sponge and the contrasting bitter coffee, the slight crunch of almonds, the smooth sweetened  fresh cream, and the sharp notes of plum cutting through it all, leaving you wanting to taste it all over again... but then, I’ve always liked strange flavours. I’ll just throw the recipe out here, and leave it up to you to decide, if you do feel intrigued enough to attempt it. It’s rather simple, made with minimal ingredients and with a minimal cooking time.

COFFEE, ALMOND AND PLUM SWISS ROLL:

SPONGE:
3 eggs
3oz (75g) Caster Sugar
3oz (75g) Self-Raising Flour
2oz (50g) Ground Almonds
2tbsp Coffee granules dissolved in 1tbsp boiling water

FILLING:
Whipping Cream (About one small tub)
Approximately 2tbsp Icing sugar, according to one's taste.
4-5 Plums, chopped. (The plums I used were quite small, being garden plums. If the plums you use are bigger, simply reduce the amount.)

METHOD

1. Whisk eggs and sugar until pale and frothy.
2. Add in the coffee, making sure its cooled.
3. Gently stir in flour and ground almonds, taking care not to knock all the air out of the mixture.
4. Pour into a lined Swiss roll tin.
5. Bake at Gas Mark 6 for 7-9 minutes, no more otherwise it will be dry and crack when rolling.
6. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
7. To make the filling, whip the cream with the sugar until it just about holds its shape. Retain a little to decorate, fold chopped plums  into the rest.
8. Spread onto the Swiss roll sponge, and then roll up gently.
9. Decorate with cream rosettes and flaked almonds if one so wishes, or simply dust with icing sugar.

Best of luck, and DO let me know your opinions!

Chocolate, Almond & Raspberry Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Icing and Vanilla Whipped Cream

Everyone loves a good cupcake. Moist yet crumbly, rich and flavoursome if done right, cupcakes are a delicious treat every time. And with so many flavours available to choose from, they're incredibly versatile.
This recipe is one I made up. The rich, slightly bitter chocolate goes well with the sweetness of the sponge and the contrast of the sharp raspberries give it an extra dimension of flavour. Topped with chocolate ganache icing and rich vanilla cream, its definitely an extra special treat for any chocolate lover or cupcake fanatic.



Taste as good as they look; Chocolate, Almond & Raspberry Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Icing and Vanilla Whipped Cream

CUPCAKES:
8oz Butter
8oz Sugar
4 Eggs
6oz Flour
2oz Finely Ground Almonds
2oz corn flour
1oz Cocoa Powder
2tsp baking powder
1tsp Vanilla Essence
4oz finely grated dark chocolate.
Fresh or frozen Raspberries

METHOD:

1. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Sift flour, corn flour, ground almonds, cocoa powder, and baking powder together in a bowl.
3. Crack eggs one at a time into the butter-sugar mixture, adding a tablespoonful of flour mixture each time to stop curdling. Add in Vanilla Essence.
4. Stir in rest of flour mixture.
5. Add the chocolate and raspberries and mix well.
6. Spoon mixture into a prepared muffin tray, until each muffin case is 3/4 full.
7. Bake at optimum temperature of your oven until done. (Usually Gas Mark 4 or 5, for 18-22 minutes.)

TOPPINGS:

ICING:
4oz Dark Chocolate
150ml Double Cream
4oz Butter
8oz Icing Sugar
1tsp Vanilla Essence

METHOD:

1. Heat the cream in a saucepan until almost boiling.
2. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate until melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy. Add in the vanilla.
3. Beat together butter and icing sugar
4. Whisk in the ganache.

WHIPPED CREAM:
Whipping or Double Cream
1tsp Vanilla Essence

FRESH RASPBERRIES to decorate

METHOD:

1. Whip up cream with vanilla until stiff enough to pipe. (but not too stiff, because then it tastes thick and greasy.)

(Author's note: I refrained from sweetening the cream, as tempting as it was, because I thought the cupcakes and the icing were sweet enough, but you can if you wish. just add a tablespoon or two of icing sugar before whipping.)

COMBINE:

1. Once cupcakes are cooled, put icing in a piping bag with nozzle of your preferred choice (I used small star nozzle). Pipe onto the cupcakes.
2. Using the same nozzle (preferably, you don’t have to) pipe cream on top of the icing.
3. Top each cupcake with a raspberry.