Jaffa Mess - Rules Are Meant to be Broken

I made a new friend - I know I sound like 12 years old saying that, but new friends when you're old are few and far in-between so you know it's something to shout about! Anyway so my new friend and I were talking cake stuff and he mentioned that he wanted to make a jaffa cake cake. 

Like this one:

Of course I was all like yeah I've made a Jaffa Cake Cake (pictured above) and pointed him in the direction of my blog! But he was all like I don't follow recipes and I was like what? It impressed and baffled me all at the same time. 

So, later on I get this message: 

So, to reiterate here is how you make a Jaffa Mess: you will need burnt cake, watery jelly, crystallised chocolate then put all the ingredients in a bowl and drop it on the ground.  

The thing is if the cake hadn't burnt, the jelly set right, and the chocolate hadn't seized up he would have had a great cake! Of course that is as long as he didn't drop it! Even when you follow a recipe these things can happen. 

I just wanted to share because I loved his attitude towards it. The whole I don't need a recipe to tell me what to do, I'm going to do it on my own! And even though it didn't quite turn out as expected he just laughed about it and moved on. 

What about you? Are you a recipe follower or do you tend to wing it like my friend here? 

Ginormous Jaffa Cake Cake

Until I moved to the UK I had never heard of Jaffa Cakes.

I can’t recall the exact moment I tried a jaffa cake for the first time, but I do remember thinking they were a bit odd.

The thing was I couldn't quiet decide what it was.

We, us humans, like things to be defined. We feel safer when things make sense or fit into a category. That way we can say we understand it because it fits into something we already know.

Jaffa cakes didn't really make sense to me and I wasn't sure I liked them or not. Even though I have a love of orange and chocolate. 

Then there was a new tax on chocolate covered biscuits. Which then began the whole debate on if a jaffa cake was in fact a cake or was it a biscuit.

Finally we would know where the jaffa cake stood and by knowing that we could sleep better at night.

It was decided they were more cake like and therefore wouldn't be taxed. They proved their point by making a large jaffa cake and I would like to think it was a bit like this one.

Ginormous Jaffa Cake Cake

orange jelly

juice of 4 large oranges

100g golden caster sugar

6 gelatine leaves

Line a 8in/20cm round cake tin with clingfilm. Before juicing the oranges, zest them and save it for cake below. Once zested juice the oranges and place in a saucepan with the sugar. Gently stir to dissolve. While that’s doing that, place the gelatine leaves into cold water to soften. Once soft, squeeze any excess water out before placing in the warm orange juice/sugar mixture. Gently stir until the gelatine is completely melted, then pour into prepared pan and set for 4 hours or more in the fridge.

cake cake:

250g unsalted butter, room temperature, cubed

300g golden caster sugar

4 large eggs

100g full fat natural yogurt

300g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

zest of 4 large oranges

Line a 10in/23cm round cake tin with greaseproof paper and grease with a little butter. Place all the ingredients into a large bowl or the bowl of a freestanding mixture and beat until everything is combined. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 55 minutes or until springy to the touch and a skewer test comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin until the tin is cool enough to handle. Finish cooling completely before placing the jelly circle in the middle of the cake.

chocolate ganache

284ml double cream

150g milk chocolate, broken up

150g dark chocolate, broken up

Place all the ingredients above in a heat proof bowl and set on top of a simmering pan of water. Once the chocolate starts to melt gently whisk in the middle of the bowl in tiny circles. It just slowly mixes the chocolate and the cream and it always gives a smooth silky ganche. Cool slightly before pouring on top of the jelly topped cake.

notes: For further information the jaffa cake tax decision look here and/or here. Recipe is adapted from BBC Bakes & Cakes Magazine Spring 2014 edition 

Coffee Morning!! with aromo espresso & Jaffa Cake Cupcakes!!

Every week or so my mom/mum friends and get to together to catch up over a coffee and cake or biscuits. As I was hosting and one of my friends expressed interest in the Jaffa Cake Cupcakes from Hummingbird Bakery’s Home Sweet Home that is what I made! I served it with aromo Espresso Made Easy.

I was contacted by aromo and asked if I’d like to try some of their Coffee Pods for my coffee mornings. I unfortunately don’t own a coffee maker that uses pods… maybe one day! So, I was sent their Premium Espresso Ground Coffee. It is their most popular coffee BOUNCE. Aromo specialize in ESE Coffee Pods. 

I like my coffee, but some of my friends prefer tea and were concerned about coffee tasting bitter. There were five of us this morning and all of us agreed that the coffee was far from bitter, but smooth and tasty. Everyone was very pleased and asked if I would make it for our next coffee morning!

The cupcakes went down a real treat too. If you want to give them a try here you are! Enjoy!!

Jaffa Cake Cupcakes:

70g (2½oz) unsalted butter, softened

210g (7½oz) plain flour

250g (9oz) caster sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

½ tsp Salt

210ml (7½oz) whole milk

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

100g (3½oz) smooth orange marmalade

frosting:

 450g (1lb) icing sugar, sifted

6Og (2oz) cocoa powder, sifted

150g (5½oz) unsalted butter, softened

60ml (2fl oz) whole milk

to top:

Mini Jaffa Cakes, to decorate or big ones cut in half

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F), Gas mark 3, and line the muffin tins with paper muffin cases to make the number you require. I made exactly 12, you will make more if you aren’t using the right tin. You will need a muffin not fairy cake tin.
2. Mix the butter, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together until they form a crumb-like consistency. Using a stand mixer or hand held either will work.
3. In a jug, mix together the milk, eggs and vanilla extract by hand.
4. On a slow speed, gradually pour half the liquid into the flour and butter and mix thoroughly until combined. Turn up the speed and beat until the batter is smooth and thick with no lumps. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go along. Once any lumps are gone, turn the speed back down and gradually pour in the rest of the liquid, continuing to mix until smooth and combined.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared paper cases, filling them two-thirds full. Using a 50ml (1¾fl oz) ice-cream scoop can make this process easier and will result in even cupcakes. If you don’t know how much your ice cream scoop holds, measure it out and pour into scoop!
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cupcakes are golden brown and the sponge bounces back when lightly touched. Leave to cool slightly before removing from the tins and placing on a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
7. Slowly mix the icing sugar, cocoa powder and butter together on a low speed until combined and there are no large lumps of butter. Gradually add the milk while mixing on a slow speed. Once incorporated, increase the speed and beat until light and fluffy. Mine took a long time to get light and fluffy enough to spread nicely. It also gets visibly lighter in colour or it seemed too for me.
8. Once the cupcakes are cool, use a sharp knife to make a hollow in the centre of each cupcake, approximately 2cm (¾in) in diameter and about 3cm (1¼in) deep. I used a nifty tool that takes the centers out for me. Keep the cut-out piece of sponge. Spoon about 1-2 teaspoons of orange marmalade into the hollow. I felt one was plenty. Replace the cutout piece of sponge, trimming to fit and pressing down gently to ensure that the top is level with the rest of the cake.
9. Spoon the frosting onto each cupcake, then gently smooth over with a palette knife. I don't like a huge amount of frosting so I had a good amount left over, but if you want a proper "American" cupcake lump that frosting on!!

top each cupcake with a mini Jaffa Cake.

notes: I was sent aromo Premium Espresso Ground Coffee Bounce to taste and review. We were not instructed to give a favorable review. All opinions are of my friends and mine. Want to try it for yourself? Visit here for the ESE Coffee Pods, they are compatible with many coffee makers! See if yours is here! If you, like me, just have a regular old coffee maker check out their ground coffee here!

Home Sweet Home Amazon UK & USA (Kindle); Waterstones (I reprinted this recipe from the “free” recipe card offered by Waterstones) 

Chocolate Orange Obsession!!

Jaffa Cakes

Totally Chocolatey Orange Rice Krisies Squares (ltd. edt.)

Gregg's vs Krispy Kreme: Jaffa Cake Doughnut War

Terry's Chocolate Orange Brownies

Chocolate Orange Obession

Jaffa Cake Doughnut Wars!!

Having read an article, titled the same as my post, recently I had to find out for myself what it was all about. In a nutshell Gregg’s launched a new range of doughnuts and one of them is “Jaffa Cake”. This flavor became really popular and then Krispy Kreme launched their doughnut called “The Jaffa Dreamcake”. The question in this war is which doughnut is better?

First up Jaffa Dreamcake: The actual doughnut is exactly what you’d expect from a K.Kreme doughnut- light and sugary. The orange filling was very natural tasting. Zesty, tart, clean, fresh are a few of the words I wrote down immediately after trying it. It didn’t really taste like a Jaffa Cake though. Just like an orange filled, chocolate-topped doughnut. It does get a bonus for the decoration of an orange slice on top!

Second: Jaffa Cake Doughnut: This too is a typical Gregg’s doughnut- doughy, rich and slightly greasy. The orange filling was more artificial tasting. I didn’t get orange I got orange flavoring. However the chocolate topping was thick, in some bites a little over-powering, but eaten all together made the doughnut taste like an actual Jaffa Cake.

Final Conclusion: Honestly I enjoyed the K.Kreme doughnut more, but Gregg’s tasted more like a Jaffa Cake. I don’t count nutritional information because when you’re eating a doughnut I feel it’s a mute point. (For those of you who want to know the Gregg’s doughnut is better for your arteries.) In war there are no winners and therefore I can’t declare an out right winner on taste alone. However if we must have a tiebreaker it would come down to cost. I think it’s completely outrageous to charge 1.60GBP* for a single doughnut! 70p is much more affordable and therefore my chosen winner! Congrats to Gregg’s Jaffa Cake Doughnut!!

If you’ve tried both I’d love to hear your thoughts! Or take part in the poll on the side bar that will be up until the end of January!!

Last note: On my quest for the best doughnut Burger King had advertisements up for a Jaffa Cake BK Fusion. It was like fate! After ruining my diet for the day with 2 doughnuts I figured why not add some ice cream to that! It was good. Vanilla ice cream with orange chocolate running through it and cake pieces to top it off yum! I obviously have a thing for chocolate and orange!

*Great British Pound; my laptop is American and I don’t know how to make the pound symbol on it! If you know please share!