Coffee Commotion

Moment to moment, lip to cup, someone somewhere is sipping some sup!

This liquid sensation stirs its drinker from an aroma inventor to a deepest thinker! Hot roasted beans and sweet scented dreams are perfectly coupled with the thickest of creams, throw in some pumpkin and it’s the stuff of Halloween screams.

I love the smell of coffee, though rather than drinking it, my sup is usually green tea or chamomile, I save my coffee moments for an occasional coffee cake. One slice swirls the senses, without too much of a stir and is gentle enough to give a light lift, without a rocket reaction.

Last week, shortly after baking this, a flutter passed through the kitchen, tweets of a 3* Michelin Chef filming outside came to pass. Guess who? Golden tan, charm and a word beginning with the letter F, – no such words are welcome in a Feeling Food kitchen, for me it’s all about cooking with love. Needless to say, I’m sure the F-word clue gives it away, Gordon Ramsay – a seriously talented Chef, whose Royal Hospital Road Restaurant gave me one of my loveliest food experiences – Lobster Ravioli with a butternut squash puree and shavings of truffle, my taste buds enjoyed an awakening of earthy flavours sweetened with an amber like magnificence. It was a pleasant surprise to meet him.

In life, as moments pass, lets all treasure the magic and promise each one holds. We never know whom we’ll meet or what may happen next. The daily practice of cooking is full of such moments, just the other day this happened!

Special tip – When baking assemble all of your ingredients in the relevant measurements, before you begin, eggs and butter unless otherwise stated are best at room temperature. This will welcome flow into your kitchen, and make the whole experience more calming, timings are usually more accurate too.

This coffee cake is gluten free and delightfully moist, you’ll feel light and rejuvenated after, rather than gloopy and tired, the slump and milieu that often follows sweet indulgence is no more. I’ve used an Ella’s kitchen puree in this recipe/ though you can make your own by cutting a pumpkin into slices, deseeding it and bake for an hour, scoop out the pulp, whizz in a blender and freeze the extra. Whatever you prefer – in this recipe I’m concentrating on the cake. Lets purée another time.

Coffee and Pumpkin cake

Coffee cloud topping

Mascarpone 250g

Greek yogurt 250g

Strong coffee 3 tbsp

Sweet freedom 70g

Vanilla essence 1 tsp

Cake

Rice flour 200g sifted

Baking powder 1 tsp

Bicarbonate of soda ½ tsp

salt a tiny pinch

Butter 150g at room temperature

Sweet freedom 150g

Eggs 3 medium

Strong coffee 4 tbsp

Greek yogurt 2 tbsp

Pumpkin puree 100g

PRE-HEAT oven to gas 4, 180’, 350F

BUTTER and line with baking parchment a 23cm spring form cake tin.

SIFT together rice flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.

BLEND butter in an electric mixer for about a minute, alternatively a good bit of elbow grease and toning for your arm muscles for a few more minutes.

ADD sweet freedom and continue to mix until fluffy.

FOLLOW with the eggs, coffee and Greek yogurt, mixing all the while.

FOLD in egg mix into dry ingredients until thoroughly combined.

SPOON half the mixture into cake tin and smooth with the back of spoon.

SPREAD over the puree and pour over remaining batter.

BAKE for 1hr to 1hr10mins, pop in a cocktail stick, if it comes out clean your cake is baked, if not leave to cook for a few more minutes and check again, repeat until ready.

COMBINE all the coffee cloud ingredients in a bowl and chill.

ALLOW cake to cool in tin.

TRANSFER to a pretty plate and spread with your coffee clouds, fluffily or smoothly, whatever texture you prefer.

CHILL to set clouds and slice with love when ready to serve.