11 January 2010

cold coffee

Despite subzero temperatures, the Seed Store Cafe is up and running. And this weekend we sold a record number of hot chocolates (in addition to the regular teas and coffees) to plotholders who'd stopped by to see how their sheds had fared in the snow.

I'm on the rota for even more baking this year. And as traybakes are quick to make and can be cut into lots of slices, I thought I'd bake my way through the traybakes in Mary Berry's Baking Bible:

Mary Berry's Lemon Drizzle Traybake is already a firm favorite in the cafe, so I started with the Coffee and Walnut Traybake:

The cake was lovely and light, and the coffee buttercream icing, made using Marks & Spencer's new Coffee Extract, was scrumptious. While I still prefer my coffee in a cup, coffee-and-walnut cake fans gave it a big thumbs up!

So now just need to decide on the traybake for next Sunday...Iced Lemon, Orange, Gingerbread?

29 comments:

  1. great, now I'm starving.

    Your baking is always fabulous.... sigh.

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  2. Oh why oh why are you not manning a stall on my allotment?!

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  3. Looks like a fab cake! I got to check that book out. Stay warm.
    *kisses* HH

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  4. Think you should do a Julie & Julia style review of Mary Berry's book!

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  5. Yum, that looks delicious. The cookbook looks beautiful.

    theprairiegirl.com

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  6. I have to go bake right now!

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  7. oh yummy, I so need a slice of cake right now xxx

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  8. Coffee cake is not normally my favorite, but the Coffee & Walnut with its creamy icing was a big hit with me. Hoping for an Orange or Gingerbread cake next week :p

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  9. Oh Kristina, I don't have this book. Why do you do this to me??

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  10. I don't have this book either AND I'm on a diet...

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  11. I'm trying really hard to shift a few pounds and so I'm not baking cake at the moment... and then you do this? I'm having cake withdrawal symptoms!

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  12. I'd vote Orange. Tis the season. And for all those dieters, they can convince themselves that it's part of their 5 a day!

    You are such a good baker.

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  13. That coffee and walnut cake looks delicious, now I know why I can't get an allotment for years!

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  14. Oh Kristina, your cake sounds absolutely de-lish! As for which one to bake next...my vote would be for gingerbread. Having said that, Iced Lemon may go with the theme of snow and ice around London. I'm no help. x

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  15. Yum, that cake looks lovely! All the others sound delicious too.

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  16. Yum, I do love coffee and walnut. Next week? Gingerbread, so warming and spicy in cold weather.

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  17. Lemon Drizzle for me please. Or Coffee and Walnut. Or Gingerbread. In fact I am not fussy provided it is cake.

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  18. That looks wonderful! My vote goes to gingerbread. Yum. Coffee extract sounds intriguing!

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  19. I vote gingerbread too. Thanks for the intro to the Mary Berry book. I'd seen it mentioned somewhere and wondered about it so will be interested to read about your your baking.

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  20. Hmmm. Gingerbread, please. With coffee to DRINK. Perfect! (That book title is great fun to chant, by the way...)

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  21. I'm with Alice. As long as it's CAKE, I'm good.

    PS-Your coffee and walnut cake looks totally yummy!! Lucky plotholders!

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  22. I was given that book as a Christmas present but haven't tried any of the recipes yet. At least I now know which one I'm going to start with!

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  23. Reading your blog always leaves my mouthwatering!
    Just to let you know I have given you a blog award! Details are on my blog!
    Thanks, Helen x

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  24. Gingerbread, definitely! It's never wrong.

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  25. You've inspired me: I'm making a fruit and nut wild rice bake to go with our veal.

    BTW, we loved our Christmas card from you! I used to love sending them until they got pushed aside by final exams. I'll get back to them though...

    XOXO, J

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  26. This explains the traybakes.
    Have you given information in the past about the Seed Store Cafe? How often do you work/volunteer there?
    Coffee and walnut cake has really grown on me in the last couple of years. I wonder why they don't bake it in the U.S.?

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  27. That's a lovely looking cake. Only £1 a slice? Bargain!

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  28. I had long coveted this book and had it for Christmas from my husband...I now use it every day to bake cakes for my cafe, and the coffee and walnut and lemon drizzle traybakes are both firm favourites! have you tried the chocolate traybake, where you spread apricot jam on before the chocolate icing? give it a whirl, it't fab..and so is the treacle ginger spice cake..
    Your blog is so inspiring, especially as a fellow allotment holder....think there should be a law passed that all allotments have cake cafes on them!
    x

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