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Hello, All.

I missed the beginning of the coffee in chocolate thread, but it looks very interesting.

Our family has a tradition of "secret ingredients" in a range of dishes. I started it when the kids were young - it brought an air of adventure to family meals. In baking, I like to experiment with a touch of cardamom, coriander, cayenne, chili powder, or nutmeg in especially in chocolate cake or brownies. Usually, people comment on how especially delicious the brownies are, but are surprised when I tell them the about unexpected spices. 

For birthdays, I make a yellow cake with vanilla buttercream frosting. (My favorite baking mix is Sylvan Border Farm.) I simmer apricot jam with some dessert wine and a touch of cardamom, then put the (thick) sauce between the layers. Stir some sauce into the frosting and frost the cake as usual. Then, put a layer of apricot jam on the top, leaving a one-inch border around the edges. Put crushed nuts around the border, or chocolate frosting, or mint leaves, something for contrast - and it looks quite festive.

If the cake is not as moist as I'd like, I CAREFULLY slice each layer horizontally and make a thinner sauce (as above with jam and wine) and gently spread a little sauce in the middle of each layer before putting the two halves back together. Then, proceed as usual but gingerly because the layers will be fragile. As an alternative, you can put some thin sauce on the bottom of each layer and let the layers rest upside down for awhile so the sauce can soak in. Then, proceed as usual to frost the cake.

Happy baking!

Judith

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