#138 Fudgy chocolate cake with Honeycomb whipped Mascarpone cream and choccy ganache
... plus a bunch of ideas for leftover honeycomb - besides snacking on it, obvs!
Hey Friends, how are we?
I’m currently writing to you whilst sat outside, the sun is streaming down on my face - actually making me squint a little, probably not great for the wrinkles, also have noticed that my computer screen is FILTHY, must clean it! - and I’ve decided, I like this little life!
I mean, this weather is just glorious, isn’t it? It gives everywhere the most joyful glow. Nature is blossoming, (literally!!), the road we live off is lined with rows of stunning cherry blossom trees - it’s impossible not to smile at their pink pom-pom clustered flowers - meanwhile, the greenery is greener than I thought was possible, everywhere smells like holiday, the bees are humming, and the birds are partying - so animated, so chatty - I actually wonder if our resident Robin is trying to have a conversation with us each morning, it certainly seems like he has some important stuff to get off his chest.
It’s heaven, my eyes and ears are greedily feasting on all of it, never gets old. I also have tan lines… quite an achievement at the beginning of April, don’t you think? And everything feels a little less scary when the World looks like this, less pigeon-grey, less doomy, and more glowy, like, ‘everything will be alright, no matter what’, you know? I feel more present, more connected, more in kilter… can you be ‘in kilter’?
Admittedly, there are caveats… like the need to preen more; leg (etc) hair removal, also a bit of toenail attention (trim and paint pink), and, that one can no longer just throw a big puffy coat over their food-strewn clothes, pretending they don’t exist, without melting. Also white t-shirts? Stunning, but people that can keep them white for longer than 5 minutes are wizards, I will always share at least one meal with any piece of white clothing, fact.
I even navigated my DEXA scan (to check on my Bone health, which you may remember from a few years back, isn’t perfect and thus causes me huge angst), with a little less fear than usual.
OK so, it’s all relative, the truth is, I’ve been edgy about this appointment for at least a month, I actually cancelled one version of the scan earlier in the year because I was too scared… mature. Despite my concerted efforts, of late, to improve my boney scaffolding (some strength training in the gym - hideous - and plyometrics - also quite hideous, and plenty of nourishing food - much less hideous, includes cake!), I’d predicted, quite conclusively, that this result would uncover many versions of badness. And yet, somehow, life’s cute, sunny disposition over the past few weeks, had sort of taken the edge off the fear a touch… maybe made it feel about 3% less scary.
And so, on Wednesday, I wore my big-girl pants (not the lucky pink ones with holes in, the ones I wore on Bake Off, if you recall - I’m really trying to challenge my superstitions a touch at the moment), and, after a physio appointment (I know, a double whammy of appointments), my favourite radiographer, Adrian, got to work. Much like a photo shoot, he first had to arrange my arms and legs accordingly - to get their best angles, you know? Then, getting his very unportable camera (it’s quite a large space-age style machine) got snapping.
He subsequently prodded his computer a bit, drew a neat little triangle around an image of the head of my femur (he was very impressed with his ‘perfect triangle’) and proceeded to inform me that (drumroll please), I have actually MADE some bone since my last scan!!! Eeek, how exciting? I genuinely feel like I deserve a gold star for this, I mean, can I add it to my CV? When asked what I do for a living, can I list ‘makes bone’ to the list? The truth is that I’m still under the threshold of ‘normal’… ‘abnormal’, if you will (standard me), but this boney uplift feels good; strong, powerful, a more ‘honeycomb structured’ bone is what they say; knitted from… well, honeycomb and chocolate cake if this week’s bake has anything to do with it. And, you know moments like this make you stop and realise what really matters. Health, happiness, that’s it! And I’m just EXTRAORDINARILY grateful… must keep up the good work: eating, squatting, sleeping, less stress, more joy… that’s the answer!
… and whilst there’s a note of irony to the advantages of cake for bone health (I can talk seriously about bones if anyone ever wants a little personal insight), I actually believe it has a part to play…. that, and you guys! I mean, I feel indebted to you. Because your company over the past 3 years - since my last scan - our journey over here, through baking, and life, the ups and downs, it’s been my safe space. I feel less stressed than I have at any point in my life and less stress makes for a happier body.
Ok, so things aren’t perfect, are they ever? I’m always on a bit of a rollercoaster, as you all know. But they’re better, generally a little less nervy, there’s some calm and balance, more pockets of bake-induced euphoria, less: caffeine-fuelled, high alert, social anxiety-affected, stress. I can share my passion, and all it encompasses, my creative visions and my scientific learnings, its joy.
So yes, my conclusion is that cake literally, and metaphorically, has helped me grow, be stronger… I recommend it to anyone, and to you, thank you, thank you for supporting me on this little journey to better health and better cake… let’s keep going, eh?
On the topic of cake… this week’s feature recipe is a BELTER… a super fudgy-but-light chocolate cake, sandwich with whipped honeycomb cream, and smothered in silky, rich chocolate ganache, choccy eggs to decorate because #easter, PLUS I have some superrrr fun bonus recipes for how to make use of an excess of honeycomb - must not chat too much more because you need to get on and try all this. But just to recap on the rest of the week’s yum:
those bagels I mentioned last week? My best yet! same recipe as always, (here), but apparently made with more love because, OMG, SO good, must make more, urgently.
A super fluffy vanilla genoise sponge with a whipped white chocolate and crème fraîche cream - recipe from my wizard baker-pal, Sophie, here, was very lovely.
Also, more soft, fluffy, cheesy, cheese scones, - I’m nearly ready to share this recipe with you (yay!)…
…and one final Easter bake of the season (on that note, am I OK to send out a newsletter on Easter Sunday, next week? I think I will, one final little Easter-y hurrah?), it’s a Hot Cross cookie situation that involves nutty brown butter, spices, fruit, oats (think oatmeal raisin cookie… on steroids - wild!)…
…and lastly, a coffee and walnut cake, just because I wanted to make cake. In the interest of transparency, this wasn’t a total success, I somehow managed to slightly split the buttercream (and subsequently didn’t attempt to resurrect it, which is possible, by the way, a little gentle heat works wonders!), but the cake was pretty fabulous, nutty and coffee-y, it did the trick.
So much good stuff...
Misc Extras:
My skin is perpetually ARID at the moment; I resemble an elephant, or rhino, one or both. Anyway, I’m bathing in Vaseline and Palmers Coconut Hydrate Body lotion - incidentally, this stuff smells edible, like actually want to eat my hands when I smear it on.
Re-reading old books 2.0: The Da Vinci Code - gulping this one down, also makes me feel clever when I read a book like this. Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club was a DREAM book by the way, cute, funny, wholesome, must read more from him!
Pasta X Formula 1 - pasta company ‘Barilla’ has become an official sponsor of F1 and I could not be more excited; two of my favourite things have joined forces! Plus, from what I have seen, the brand oozes passion and unity, and they pride themselves on excellence (YUM) and tradition, sounds like UTTER perfection to me, I’m sold! Wonder if they need someone to develop a recipe for them? PICK ME!!
Right, I think that’s it from another week. Tell me how you all are? Do you have news? Easter plans? Favourite things to bake at this time of year? Give me your gossip. As ever, I’m sending ALL the love to you all, let this weeks’ newsletter be a reminder to do the things you love, with less stress, live and breathe the present… it’ll make you stronger, a little happier too, excellent!
Sending so much love as always,
Steph X X X
Fudgy Chocolate cake with whipped honeycomb mascarpone cream and choccy ganache.
I told you earlier in the year that my era of producing fudgy-but-also-fluffy chocolate cakes was not over… and I meant it, I’m back with another 6-inch cutie.
I really am obsessed with this one, I know I say this all the time, but I think it might be my best to date. The sponge is very loosely based on my ‘Seriously decent choc cake’ from last year; it’s full of chocolate flavour owing to the addition of ACTUAL melted chocolate, but not to the extent that it compromises the texture of the cake. It’s moist and fudgy, but also light and fluffy (impossible to believe, I know), paired with a sublime whipped honeycomb cream (heavily inspired by Queen of cake, Ruby Bhogal) and a silky smooth, chocolate ganache, it’s a blissful union of flavour and texture.
The cake itself is a doddle to make, some weighing, a bit of melting, then just whisk it all together. The honeycomb is a little trickier - but, follow the rules, have a thermometer to hand, and you should be rocking, blitz it up and whisk it into some creamy bits and you have yourself some very addictive stuff - I wouldn’t judge you for just making this element and eating it straight out of the bowl to be honest. Then to finish things off, we have a little ganache situation which is simple enough to prepare and only requires a little patience as you wait for it to cool (actually the hardest bit). Finally, smash everything together, with a little care, and be so so unbelievably happy!
One note, I suggest making quite a large batch of honeycomb in the main recipe - I have listed a smaller portion in the notes, but my advice is to make the big batch and use the remainder for alternative deliciousness - think no churn honeycomb ice cream, homemade Crunchie, and a honeycomb mocha (all detailed below) they’re all WILD!
Ok, time to have some chocolate-y fun… think you’re gonna like this one!
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