More chocolate - this time with cherries...

Cherries and chocolate: I know, this is turning into the chocolate blog, but I couldn't resist. Being a chocolate snob I normally don't go for Green & Black's dark chocolate - too bitter and the texture is powdery which is, frankly, a little unsettling. Thankfully a former flatmate, Sophie, introduced me to Green & Black's cherry dark chocolate bar, and I've been hooked ever since so I hereby apportion credit to the lovely lady for breaking me of my snottiness about Green & Black's. Or at least the cherry version of G&B.  

Having decided to make a cake out of said chocolate, I then happily discovered the cake actually improves with age. Make sure you keep it in an airtight container for a few days and taste for yourself. Must be the yogurt and wholemeal flour. Also, try making this with extra cherries (see suggestion below) if you like very tart things. 

I certainly do.

Ingredients: 

• 100g bar of Green & Black's cherry dark chocolate
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 150g butter
• 150g light brown sugar
• 2 medium eggs
• 125g plain self-raising flour
• 85g wholemeal plain flour
• 2 tbsp plain yogurt
• 1 tsp instant coffee mixed with a splash of boiling water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• pinch salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 180C. Lightly grease a 20cm round cake tin. Boil some water and pour in a small-medium saucepan.

In a medium bowl, place the butter, chocolate and cocoa powder. Place this over the saucepan of hot water and allow to melt. The water should simmer so you may want to turn the hob on.

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and sugar in another bowl til they reach a light, mousse consistency. Sift the flours, bicarb and salt in and stir very gingerly with a large metal spoon. Then add the melted chocolate mixture, the coffee, vanilla and yogurt. Stir again, and add a little more water if the mixture looks thick and unmanageable. You should be able to drop the mixture from the spoon within 1-2 seconds.

Finally, place this delectable chocolate mixture into your cake tin and bake on the centre oven shelf for 25-30 minutes. The cake's ready when you insert a skewer and no wet mixture remains when you take it out. The cake will keep for a few days, it's quite moist.

* mmm, cherries and chocolate ;-) If you have a real hankering for lots of cherries then get a pack of dried sour cherries and soak them for 10 minutes in boiling water before adding to the cake mixture. Mmm...

Sunday Brunch: Mama Johansen's Sour Cream Waffles

Don't you just love Sunday brunch? I could wax lyrical about the joys of lazy brunches - meals that stretch in a languid, leisurely fashion, for those who haven't a care in the world. Brunch, to me, is the most feline (if there is such a thing) of meals: insouciant, with a hint of arrogance. After all, it's a luxury to spend hours on a Sunday morning/afternoon scoffing muffins, eggs benedict, pancakes, et al. followed perhaps by a walk in the park, or even better: a post-brunch afternoon spent reading the Sunday papers... 

Anyway, this is a recipe my Mother and I adapted from a recent article on www.aftenposten.no, the website for one of Norway's bestselling newspapers. Mama J was initially sceptical and reckoned her recipe would be better, but in the spirit of experimentation we decided to give this one a go. Effectively it's a cross between the Aftenposten article's "World's greatest waffles" and her recipe.  By the way, in case you're wondering, Norway is a rather waffle-obsessed country, thereby the assumption goes that the rest of the world must be too, a peculiarly Norwegian logic. Norwegian waffles done properly though, are light and fluffy, with a crisp exterior, but most importantly, they have a distinct tangy flavour thanks to the addition of sour cream. These can be made in any waffle iron, we just happen to have the traditional heart-shaped waffle iron at our house

 

Serves 6

• 350g plain flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 100g caster sugar
• 100g melted butter
• 100ml water
• 200ml sour cream
• 150ml milk
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla essence (you could also do cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg...)

In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and add the sugar, blending well to distribute the baking powder. Make a well in the centre, adding your liquid ingredients and mixing thoroughly with a large spoon. Cover the bowl with a cloth and set aside for 1/2 hour...

Meanwhile, get your waffle iron ready, and all your accoutrements - I defrosted some sour cherry jam from the Johansen farm for this occasion. Other toppings which work well are greek yoghurt, cinnamon, any fruit, be they fresh or in jam/coulis form. Or if you have some Norwegians coming round, serve a few slices of Geitost, the infamous caramel-flavoured goat's cheese Norwegians know and love (and non-Norwegians apparently find revolting!) If you're making these for lots of people, plug in the iron and place on the table you're eating at, then each of you can make your own waffle...communal cooking at it's best!

When the waffles are done, eat them immediately - they go soggy quite quickly. Otherwise make a huge batch and freeze for future use - simply place in the oven 5-8 minutes at 150ºC and they'll be as good as freshly made ones