The Best Coffee and Chocolate Combos for Easter
Here at Cafe2U, we love treats that can be enjoyed with a cup of good coffee. So when Easter rolls around, our eyes light up, because if there's a tastier food and drink pairing than coffee and chocolate, we're yet to taste it.
If you need an excuse to get in the kitchen and make something indulgent this Easter weekend, why not have a go at making some of our favourite Easter bakes? We promise you won't regret it - and neither will your nearest and dearest!
Chocolate and coffee Easter cake
There's a lot to be said for a traditional simnel cake but if you serve this rich chocolate treat to your friends and family this Easter instead, this is the cake they'll be begging you to make every year from now on.
Ingredients
To make chocolate and coffee Easter cake, you will need:
For the cake:
- 200g margarine or softened butter
- 85g cocoa
- 140g self raising flour
- 200g sugar
- 4 freerange eggs
- milk
- chocolate mini eggs (optional)
For the icing:
- 300g icing sugar, sieved
- 100g butter, softened
- 40g cocoa powder, sieved
- 40ml very strong black coffee
- six squares of dark (70%) chocolate, melted
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 5, then grease and baseline two 20cm round cake tins. Then, in a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat thoroughly between each addition. Add the flour and cocoa, and continue to beat until fully combined. If the mixture becomes too thick, add a little milk.
Split the mixture between the two cake tins and bake for 20-25 minutes until risen. Remove and leave to cool in the tins, before turning out onto wire racks and letting them cool completely.
Next, make the icing by using an electric hand whisk on a slow speed to beat the icing sugar, cocoa and butter together. Add the milk, a little at a time, then beat in the chocolate. Turn the whisk to high and beat for 2 more minutes or until glossy. Use half the icing to sandwich the cakes together and the remainder to cover the top. Decorate with mini eggs and serve with a cappuccino for an indulgent afternoon pick-me-up.
Mocha chocolate slab
This easy-to-make Easter delight combines coffee with two kinds of chocolate for an eye-catching after-dinner treat.
Ingredients
To make a mocha chocolate slab, you will need:
- 400g white chocolate
- 100g 70% dark chocolate
- 2 tbsp good quality coffee beans
Begin by melting the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, ensuring the water and the bowl never come into contact. In a separate bowl, do the same with the dark chocolate.
Next, line a baking tray with baking paper and pour the white chocolate into the centre. Using the back of a spoon, shape the chocolate into a rectangle (approximately 21 x 15cm). Drizzle over the dark chocolate and swirl into the white chocolate using a skewer to create a marbled effect, then scatter over the coffee beans and place in the fridge to set. Once set, break into pieces and serve with a latte for the final word in luxury desserts.
Coffee chocolate fondants
These show-stopping puddings are devilishly tasty yet deceptively simple to make.
Ingredients
To make six coffee chocolate fondants, you will need:
- 175g butter, plus extra melted butter for greasing
- cocoa powder, for dusting
- 175g good-quality dark chocolate
- 200g golden caster sugar
- 4 eggs
- 50ml good-quality black coffee
- 85g plain flour
- vanilla ice cream, to serve
First, heat your oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6, then use a pastry brush to grease six individual pudding basins and place in the fridge so the butter can set. Then grease again, dust with cocoa powder and set aside.
Next, melt the butter and chocolate together over a pan of lightly simmering water. In another bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together until fluffy and light. Fold the chocolate and beaten egg together, then add the coffee and fold through the flour.
Divide the mixture between the pudding basins, then place on a baking tray and bake for 12 minutes until the mixture has risen and formed a crust. Turn the puddings out onto plates and serve immediately with vanilla ice cream and an espresso for a delicious twist on a classic Affogato.
Chocolate and coffee swiss roll
Give this timeless afternoon treat a new lease of life with the addition of strong coffee.
Ingredients
To make chocolate and coffee swiss roll, you will need:
For the sponge:
Butter for greasing
- 6 large free-range eggs, separated
- 150g golden caster sugar
- 50g good quality cocoa powder, plus extra to dust
- 50g good quality dark chocolate, melted
For the filling:
- 175ml double cream
- 35g icing sugar, sifted
- 1-2 tbsp strongly brewed coffee, cooled
- 15g chocolate covered coffee beans, finely chopped, plus extra, roughly chopped, to decorate
Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4, then grease and line a 30cm x 20cm swiss roll tin with baking paper. Put the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl and whisk until thick and pale. Sift in the cocoa powder and fold to combine.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until the mixture forms soft peaks, then fold into the yolk mixture - one third at a time - using a metal spoon. Be careful not to knock out the air.
Pour the mixture into the swiss roll tin and bake for 15-20 minutes until risen and springy to the touch. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly, then turn out onto a sheet of baking paper dusted with cocoa powder. While still warm, gently roll the sponge until you have a short, fat roll.
To make the filling, combine the cream, icing sugar and coffee in a mixing bowl, then whip until it forms soft peaks, then fold through the chocolate-covered coffee beans.
Unroll the sponge, then spread with the cream, leaving a 1-2cm border and roll it up again, this time as tightly as possible. Sit the roll on its seam, still wrapped in the cocoa-covered paper and leave in the fridge overnight.
Remove from the fridge one hour before serving. Just before serving, remove the baking paper and dust with cocoa powder. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over simmering water and drizzle over the roll, then finish with more chocolate-covered coffee beans and serve with a mocha for an incredible chocolate experience.
Happy Easter from Cafe2U
We hope all our customers have a happy Easter and an enjoyable bank holiday weekend. There's usually plenty of chocolate to go around at this time of year but if you find yourself in need of some top quality coffee to go with it, contact your local Cafe2U van here and we'll deliver some direct to your door.
