Hazelnut & Chocolate Chip Cappuccino Cake – A glamorous cake that is coffee flavoured with chocolate chips, hazelnuts & a creamy cappuccino frosting.
“Let’s Have Cake”
for
Doves Farm 40th Birthday
I love baking as regular Lavender and Lovage readers will know, and I also love to bake celebratory cakes, so when Doves Farm approached me and asked me to bake a special cake using their organic flour, for their 40th Birthday I was keen to get my pinny on and bake! I am already a loyal fan of all of Doves Farm’s flour and baking ingredients and I have also visited their farm too…..so, it was a pleasure to work with such a well-respected heritage British brand. As it is their 40th birthday they asked me to create and bake a birthday cake, naturally, and after some thought I came up with today’s recipe for Hazelnut & Chocolate Chip Cappuccino Cake, using their Organic Self Raising White Flour and their Organic Fairtrade Plain Chocolate Chips. I think my cake creation is worthy of any birthday party tea time table, and has a lovely rustic elegance to it, which is perfect for an autumn celebration.
Doves Farm started with a passion, as all good things do; founders, Clare and Michael Marriage sowed their first seeds in 1977 with the simple idea of making great quality flour from their grains. Water, wind, soil and sun sustained their crop, wonderful insects pollinated it, and with a little time and patience, a year later their first grains were ready to harvest. The first stone grinding equipment was installed and they began to mill whole grains into wholemeal flour. As I mentioned before, I’ve been to their farm and their passion and innovation for organic and ancient grains is an inspiration. They have continued to mill organic and heritage flours as well as a range of naturally gluten-free flours since the day they started, and as a bread maker, I often use their ancient grains in my sourdough bread such as Organic Stoneground KAMUT® Khorasan Wholemeal Flour, Organic Stoneground English Wholemeal Einkorn Flour and Organic Stoneground Wholemeal Rye.
My Birthday Cake recipe for Hazelnut & Chocolate Chip Cappuccino Cake is shared below on a printable recipe card, and if you fancy getting creative, then why not upload a picture of a great birthday cake you’ve made here and in return, you could be in with a chance of winning a luxury overnight stay with dinner and champagne afternoon tea for two! The contest closes at Midnight on the 21st October, so there is still plenty of time to get baking and who knows, you may be dressing up for a luxury dinner and champagne afternoon tea. Oh yes, in addition to the overall winner, the 3 finalists will receive a hamper full of Doves Farm goodies too, which is a great prize.
My recipe is a standard sandwich cake recipe, but because it is a birthday cake, I used free-range duck eggs for a creamier and richer flavour, but, free-range hen’s eggs are just fine too. To keep the organic and Fairtrade benefits going, I used organic butter and Fairtrade coffee. We both enjoyed a slice of cake with a cup of coffee this morning for Elevenses, and there’s plenty left for us to indulge in over the weekend! The cake has a soft crumb and tastes just like a cup of cappuccino, hence the name….the hazelnuts add a lovely crunchy texture and go so well with the coffee flavour, and, the chocolate chips add an extra layer of indulgence, and doesn’t all cappuccino have chocolate sprinkled over the top anyway?!
I hope you enjoy this cake as much as we did if you make it, and don’t forget to add a photo of your win cake to the contest above and here. If you win, PLEASE let me know too! Why not make my cake for Sunday Tea? And as the weather is cold and stormy, light some candles and cosy up in front of the fire…..with a cuppa or a glass of celebratory wine, after all, it IS a birthday cake! HAPPY BIRTHDAY Doves Farm, Karen
*Paid collaborative post*
Hazelnut & Chocolate Chip Cappuccino Cake
Serves | 12 slices |
Prep time | 20 minutes |
Cook time | 25 minutes |
Total time | 45 minutes |
Allergy | Egg, Milk, Wheat |
Dietary | Vegetarian |
Meal type | Dessert, Snack |
Misc | Gourmet, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold |
Occasion | Birthday Party, Casual Party, Christmas, Easter, Formal Party, Thanksgiving, Valentines day |
By author | Karen Burns-Booth |
Ingredients
- 250g softened butter
- 250g soft brown sugar
- 300g Doves Farm Organic Self Raising White Flour
- 3 duck eggs, beaten (or 4 hen's eggs, beaten)
- 100ml strong coffee mixed with 1 teaspoon of coffee essence/extract
- 100g Doves Farm Organic Fairtrade Plain Chocolate Chips
Frosting
- 250g creme fraiche (or thick double cream)
- 250g cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons soft brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon coffee essence/extract
Decoration
- Doves Farm Organic Fairtrade Plain Chocolate Chips
- Hazelnuts, roughly chopped
Note
A glamorous cake that is coffee flavoured with chocolate chips, hazelnuts & a creamy cappuccino frosting.
Directions
Step 1 | Pre-heat oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas mark 4. Grease and line 2 x 20cm (8") sandwich tins. |
Step 2 | Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the flour and eggs and continue to beat until they are all amalgamated. Add the chocolate chips and coffee and mix well. |
Step 3 | Divide the mixture between the 2 prepared tins, and bake in the pre-heated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until well-risen and light brown. |
Step 4 | Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool in their tins for a few minutes, before carefully turning them out onto a wire rack. |
Step 5 | Whilst the cakes are cooling, make the frosting by whipping the creme fraiche, or cream with the cream cheese, sugar and coffee essence/extract until light and fluffy. |
Step 6 | When the cakes are completely cold, carefully cut them in half through the middle to make 4 cake layers. Place the first cake layer onto a plate or cake stand, and spread with 1/4 of the frosting mixture. Continue to layer the cakes spreading frosting between each layer, ending with frosting in the top of the cake. |
Step 7 | Scatter the chocolate chips and chopped hazelnuts over the the top to decorate. Keep in a cool place until you serve it. |
Ron says
Don’t you love baking with duck eggs. This cake looks lovely. Perfect with an afternoon coffee.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Duck eggs add a real richness to cakes and bakes don’t they Ron?