Out of Town for the Weekend

 



cheers




Local watering hole on a Saturday evening

 



bbq breakfast

over the Darling River

 

 

simply messing about in boats

Gourmet Food Parcels {Wordless Wednesday}

What do you get if you cross a self confessed gourmet foodie with an avid internet shopper?

One exciting box of goodies from the Maggie Beer Farm Shop on my doorstep...

Bon Appetite...bottoms up and all that  :)

Kate xxx


Linking with My Little Drummer Boys for Wordless Wednesday

A Chocolate Guinness Celebration

One of Nigella Lawson's books 'Feast' is all about food that celebrates life and nothing says celebration to me like her Chocolate Guinness Cake!

Look at that chocolatey, bubbly goodness!

I have often looked at this recipe and it has been on my ever growing list of things I'd like to try but this week I was inspired by the beautiful pictures of this very cake shared by Emma on her blog, She Sows Seeds. I put Guinness on my shopping list, dusted off my Nigella recipe book and got to work.



Chocolate Guinness Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cake:
250ml Guinness
250g unsalted butter
75g cocoa powder
400g caster sugar
3/4 cup or 142 ml sour cream
2 large eggs
1 tbsp vanilla essence
275g plain flour
2 1/2 tsps bicarb soda

Topping:
300g cream cheese
1 cup icing sugar
125ml cream

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Combine Guinness and butter in a saucepan, heat until butter is melted then whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Set aside.
Beat the sour cream, eggs and vanilla together, fold in the flour and bicarb. Combine with the Guinness mixture and whisk then pour into a greased or lined spring-form cake tin. Bake in oven for 45 minutes to an hour, until a skewer comes out clean from the centre and the cake springs back when touched.
Cool the cake on a wire rack, still in the pan. Whip the cream cheese, sieve over the icing sugar gradually and beat it in too. Add in the cream and beat. Spread generously on your cake (and don't forget to lick the beaters!)

My house smells fantastic and everyone is waiting with eager anticipation for the first slice! I must confess that my cake sunk in the middle a little but this just means there is a generous amount of the cream cheese topping which should make up for any structural shortcomings!

Nigella goes on about this cake looking like a pint of Guinness with the rich darkness of the cake and the pale icing on top looking like the frothy head. What do you think?

Are you inspired by reading about what others are cooking or their foodie pics?

Kate x

Linking with Alicia at One Mother Hen