It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

You know it's Christmas when 
... you hear Christmas Carols playing on the radio
... crisp cold breeze greets you when you go out at night
... Christmas decors are all over the shopping malls
... parols hung on every window
... bibingka and puto bumbong become a part of your early morning habit

there are probably a lot more, but for a foodie like me, I know Christmas is definitely around the corner when 

... the fragrant smell of baked goods laden with spices are wafting in the air.

Oh boy, thinking of Christmas makes me giddy like a five year old. I guess one is never to old for Christmas. Dearest Santa, did you hear that? 


Anyway, here's a Coffee Spice Cake to start off this year's Christmas Season. 


Coffee...
Spice...
and everything nice...


It can't get yummier than that!

Coffee Spice Cake

from All Cakes Considered

Ingredients:

3/4 cup cold strong coffee

3/4 cup butter

1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar

1/4 cup molasses

3 large eggs

2 1/2 cups cake flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground gloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Procedure:

1. Obtain coffee. This is the dark roasted stuff, not watered-down diner coffee.

2. Center a rack and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare the cake pan.

3. Cream the butter with the mixer on medium speed, and add the brown sugar gradually. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat until fluffy, roughly 3 minutes.

4. Shift the mixer to low speed. Add the molasses, then the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

5. In a separate bowl, dry whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices together.

6. Add a third of the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, beat, then add 1/4 cup of the coffee and beat on medium until well blended. Repeat two more times.

7. Pour the batter into a 12-cup Bundt or 10-inch tube pan, and bake for 45 minutes, or until the cake tests done.

8. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes in the pan, unmold onto a cake rack and cool completely.

Chocolate Drizzle

Ingredients:

2 1-ounce squares unsweetened chocolate

1 1/2 cups sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons cold strong coffee

1. In the top of a double broiler, melt the unsweetened chocolate over water at a medium boil until smooth.

2. Add the sweetened condensed milk. Stir until fully incorporated, and continue stirring for about 5 minnutes, until the mixture has thickened. Then add the coffee.

3. Remove from heat and stir occasionally until it's time to drizzle over the cooled cake.

Happy cupcaking,

Aikko