Fold in the Flour ...

Our little man / devil  turned six this week. Six.  EEK!! Apart from us now having an increasingly precocious six-going-on-sixteen year old, it also means this blog is very nearly six too. I just feel like I really don't know where that time has gone, y'know? It only feels like yesterday that I was on maternity leave with Sam, overwhelmed and overtired and trying to find a creative outlet to keep myself sane.  So much has happened since then. And I think there's definite truth in the saying that time speeds up the older you get. Now I'm at the point of knocking on the door of 50, birthdays seem to fly by. Anyway, enough of that. It's also a universal truth that whatever the birthday, anniversary or occasion, you can't really go far wrong with a chocolate cake. Especially when it's as rich, fudgey and, well, chocolatey as this one. This is my all time, favourite chocolate incarnation, hacked from David Liebovitz...

  A coffee shop without some sort of coffee cake on offer seems wrong, to me at least. Since starting our own place, I've tried out a few. It's my go-to order when indulging in checking out the competition. And I have to say that good coffee cake can be hard to find. Sometimes, the coffee flavour is too overwhelming.  Sometimes, especially if walnuts are involved, I find the nuts too bitter alongside the coffee - which can be bitter as well. And I'm not a fan of overly sweet icing. As with most things, I like to be caressed. Personal quibbles, I know, but my tastebuds thank me.  I guess it's all a question of balance.  When I'm baking for Sweet, I like to vary recipes and change things up regularly. Coffee cakes on offer have included Mocha Meringue , a Chocca Mocca Layer, and sometimes, Cappucino Cupcakes. But by far a favourite in the shop, and one which usually features on a weekly basis at least, is Coffee and Pecan Cake. I...