Walnut and Coffee Fudge Slice (No Bake) - Alphabakes

I have entered this post into Alphabakes Challenge which is administered by The More than Occasional Baker and Caroline Makes, and this month is being hosted by Caroline Makes. The Challenge for this month is a to create a recipe or use an ingredient that starts with the letter W.

I make a chocolate fudge slice similar to this when I need a quick fix for a cake stall or coffee morning.  No-bake recipes like this are fab as the only bit of faff is the mixing and then you can leave it in the fridge to set.  How easy is that!  This recipe can be made glutenfree by using glutenfree biscuits for the base.  You could substitute the coffee with melted chocolate.  I've done step by step photos so that the school Cookery Club I help out with can use the recipe.

Here's what you will need:

For the base:

2 x 200g packs rich tea biscuits
1 tin (395g) sweetened condensed milk
180g butter
100ml espresso
100g chopped walnuts

For the icing:

400g full fat cream cheese
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
60ml espresso (cooled)
100g chopped walnuts

Crush the biscuits. We used the end of a rolling pin and crushed them in a bowl. You want a mixture of crumbs and lumps.

Melt the butter and condensed milk together in a saucepan until smooth, then mix in the espresso.

You should end up with a lovely smooth caramel coloured mixture.

Add the condensed milk mixture to the biscuits with the chopped walnuts and mix together until totally combined.

Press into a lined swiss roll tin and refrigerate until set.

To make the icing:

Beat the cream cheese until smooth and then add the icing sugar and cooled espresso. Spread icing over the base, refrigerate overnight, then cut into squares and serve.

15 comments Basics, Cakes, Coffee Challenge, Gift Ideas, Gluten-free, Snacks, Sweets, Vegetarian

Coffee Cake Pop Coffee Cup

Firstly, I would like to congratulate the most lovely Tea & Biscotti, Mulia, and Andy who are semi-finalists (along with me) in the Coffee, Set, Match Challenge run by Wimbledon sponsors Lavazza.  Do check out their blogs, they're fab and their coffee creations have been amazing!

Secondly, I would like to introduce this rather rushed effort as my last recipe in the Coffee, Set, Match Challenge semi-final round:

It is meant to be a cake version of one of the Lavazza Wimbledon cups that Tea & Biscotti was lucky enough to obtain the other day.  Here's her photo:

Photo used with kind permission from Tea & Biscotti - thanks lovely! x

As you can see, my cake looks like a round brick with a handle, my piping is dodgy and the whole thing is a bit of a disaster. LOL However, it tastes fab and the cake pop mixture is so simple to put together.  Everything is edible, apart from my lovely new Limited Edition Wimbledon Coffee Machine thanks to Lavazza.

It's really easy to create your own cake like mine, yes really!  All you need is a cake which you crumble into fine crumbs and some buttercream icing.  That's all there is to it! Just mix enough buttercream icing to get a fudgy consistency and then but it in the fridge to firm up a little and become more manageable.  Then sculpt it into whichever shape you like.  You can dip the shapes in to melted candy melts or melted chocolate instead of covering them with sugarpaste as I have done.


The entire cake and cake board coating are completely edible, and it tastes delicious!



It took absolutely ages! a lot of tinkering to colour the sugarpaste the correct Lavazza Wimbledon colours.  If I had've been more alert and thought about it, I should've baked a cake in a coffee cup to get the right shape before icing it.  I was really short of time, and sleep, so I crumbled a coffee cake I had made then added enough homemade coffee buttercream to get a fudgy consistency.  I then shaped this into a brick into a kind of cup shape and covered it with sugarpaste.  I was going to make mini coffee cup cake pops but ran out of time.  I may still do that and blog it at a later date.

All of the bloggers who have been involved in the quarter finals and semi finals of the Coffee, Set, Match Challenge have worked hard on their recipes and produced delicious coffee treats.  A huge "Well done, and good on you!" to all those bloggers who've taken part in the Challenge so far.

 

 The finalists are announced tomorrow, best of luck everyone! x

4 comments Cakes, Coffee Challenge, Gift Ideas, Vegetarian

Espresso Meringue Tart

I made this recipe to use up the egg whites leftover from the Mocha Custard Pots as I try to never waste any food or ingredients.  It is really easy to make and if you are not confident making your own pastry you could buy a pastry case. 

You will need an 8.5 inch (22cm) blind baked sweet shortcrust pastry tart case for this recipe.  I made my own but you could buy one at your local supermarket.

Here's how to make your own sweet shortcrust pastry tart case:

250g plain flour

Pinch salt
100g icing sugar
125g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
1 free range egg yolk
Ice cold  water

Sift the flour, salt and icing sugar into a large bowl. Rub in the chilled butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Add the egg yolk and one tablespoon of water at a time to the mixture.  Gently work it together until you have a ball of dough. Don't work your pastry too much or it will be tough and not lovely and crumbly and light.  Once your pastry has come together, wrap it in cling film and put it into the fridge to rest for at least an hour.

Once your pastry has rested and is well chilled, roll it out on to a floured work surface.  Use it to line a 22cm diameter flan tin.  Bake the pastry blind for 25 minutes at 180°C until it is lovely and golden.  Once the tart case is cooked, remove the baking beans and baking paper then leave the tart case to cool completely before you use it. 

How make the espresso meringue filling:

250g icing sugar

1 Tblsp very strong espresso

4 free range egg whites

Sift 250g of icing sugar into a large bowl.  Add one egg white and 1 Tblsp strong espresso coffee then  mix with a spatula until fully combined.  In another bowl, (or use a stand mixer like I do) whisk the other 3 egg whites until they reach the soft peak stage.  Gently but thoroughly fold the whisked egg whites into the icing sugar mixture using a large metal spoon.

Pour the meringue mixture into the pastry case and bake in your preheated oven for 30 - 35 minutes.  Leave to cool in the tin.

I served our Espresso Meringue Tart with a homemade mixed berry couli made with frozen berries we had lurking in our freezer.


The delicious Espresso Meringue Tart with and without Mixed Berry Couli

Leave a Comment Coffee Challenge, Party, Puddings, Vegetarian

Coffee Affogato and Coffee Milkshake

These treats are really easy to make and very addictive!  I made them using this icecream:

Yes indeed there is an icecream that has Lavazza coffee already in it.  Oh my word, it tastes divine!  I discovered it in my local supermarket when I was helping a friend with her weekly shop.  It was a proper eureka moment.  I knew I had to buy some and bring it home to try and create delicious treats with. 

So here we go! 

Coffee Affogato

This is basically a scoop of icecream with espresso poured over the top.  I added some grated dark chocolate on top of mine.

2 shots (120ml) hot espresso coffee

4 scoops ice-cream

Put the ice-cream into heatproof glasses. Pour over the espresso, grate over some dark chocolate, then serve immediately.

Coffee Milkshake

I used my Morphy Richards Milk Frother to make this.  All I did was put a couple of scoops of icecream into the milk frother follwed by 120ml of espresso and topped it up to the max line with milk (about 200ml - 250ml) then let the frother do it's thing.  You could also make the milkshake in a blender or use a stick blender.

You can add some whipped cream and a strawberry, plus some grated chocolate, on top if you want to make it look summery and lovely.  I did for the purposes of this post, but the ones I have made since went straight down the hatch and didn't touch the sides.  Apologies, I revert to Kiwi when I am crook (poorly) and tired.  UK Translation: These milkshakes are so delicious that I drink them rather quickly.

 

 

So there you have it! Two lovely refreshing options for your fix of delicious Lavazza coffee.

 

1 comment Coffee Challenge, Drink, Party, PR Event, Puddings, Vegetarian