Georgina Hayden

Feeding since 1982

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My favourite chocolate cake

11.30.2014 by georgie // 3 Comments

This week I had the privilege of making a special birthday cake for the lovely Jools Oliver. Working for Jamie means I have known Jools for quite a few years now; she is such a lovely lady, incredibly down to earth and a wonderful inspiring mother. She has been very supportive since we lost Archie, her kind and heartfelt words have meant a lot. So when I bumped into Jamie a few weeks ago I mentioned I would love to make her a cake, as a gift for her 40th birthday and a way of saying thank you for her support. When I asked her favourite flavour, I was told ‘chocolate and coffee’. Dream combo. So I took that and went from there…

Needless to say there were a lot of chocolate and coffee components! Including salted pretzel coffee bean caramel, shards of marbled chocolate with chocolate honeycomb pieces and torched homemade marshmallow to finish.

I’ve never made a cake I haven’t delivered myself, so when I let this creation go I was so nervous. I knew it wasn’t being given to Jools until the following day and I just prayed it would make it and stay in one piece! I’m glad to report it did, minus a bit of broken chocolate shard, but I can deal with that. It was a potential mudslide of a cake I was worried about!

So for this blog post I am sharing the base of this creation, the recipe for my favourite foolproof chocolate cake. I use this recipe for all sorts, I even used it as part of our wedding cake. It keeps really well and freezes perfectly too.

Jools' birthday cake
Jools’ birthday cake
Chocolate coffee layer cake
Chocolate coffee layer cake

 

MY FAVOURITE CHOCOLATE CAKE

Serves 16

  • 275g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
  • 150g good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
  • 300g golden caster sugar
  • 6 large eggs, free range or organic
  • 150g self raising flour
  • 30g good quality cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • A shot of espresso or tablespoon of vanilla extract (optional)

Preheat your oven to 180/ gas mark 4. Grease a 23cm spring form cake tin and line the base with greaseproof paper.

Bash up the chocolate into small pieces and place in a heatproof bowl with the butter and sugar. Pop the bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure that the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching the water. Give it a little stir from time to time, until it is all melted, glossy and smooth. Remove the bowl, and leave it to one side for 10 minutes to cool slightly.

Whisk the eggs in jug, and once the 10 minutes is up gradually whisk the eggs into the chocolate mixture. Do this bit by bit, and whisk vigorously between each addition. Once the eggs are all incorporated sift in the self raising flour, cocoa and sea salt, then fold them in with a large metal spoon until just mixed together. Stir in the espresso or vanilla, if using, and then pour the cake mix into your prepared tin.

Bake in the middle of your oven for around 50 minutes, or until just cooked through. A skewer should come out clean, but still look like the cake is moist. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 – 15 minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. I then slice my cake into 3 even rounds, and finish however my heart desires! Sea salt caramel and cream, black forest gateau, with boozy cointreau and orange frosting… the possibilities are endless.

 

Categories // Baking & puddings, Cake decorating, Celebration, Starters & sides Tags // Baking, Birthday, Cake, Chocolate, Coffee, Sweets

Easing into breakfast

09.10.2014 by georgie // 2 Comments

Ok, so I’d be lying if I said I didn’t start everyday with a coffee. I try and eat well, I don’t eat ready meals or fast food but I’m not a health food aficionado – I need caffeine and I need it within half an hour of waking up. And I’m not even a coffee snob; I adore good freshly ground coffee and living in east London there really is no shortage of amazing coffee roasters and cafes – see below for some of my favourites. However I’m Greek Cypriot and I also have a real love for instant coffee. Nescafé especially, as it reminds me of being a kid. (If you have ever been to Greece or Cyprus you’ll know how much the locals love a frappé).

So this morning was a Nescafé morning. The small caffetiere was dirty and being morning and me being lazy I hit the instant stuff. Heaven.

However anything other than coffee in the morning is a struggle. Weekend brunch is a winner, weekday mornings however just feels a little too early. And at the moment, where I am at home a lot of the day it’s quite easy to skip this all-important meal. I am trying to get into a routine though and this morning I wanted to go for a swim and knew I had to eat something first: cue the breakfast smoothie. I’ve really taken to smoothies over the last few months – it’s ‘something’ as opposed to eating nothing and is easy on the digestion for this breakfast-avoider. But most importantly, it’s the 5-a day thing. Actually consuming your 5 a day is hard work and takes dedication, so knowing I’m getting some nutrients feels like a bloomin’ good reason.

So for today’s breakfast I made a ‘raspberry milkshake’, which was incredibly delicious, nutritious and way better than a crusha down the Wimpy.

And the best tip of all? Chop up any ripe fruit you have lying around and freeze in sandwich bags, always ready for a smoothie attack. Reduces waste and makes smoothies lovely and thick – especially bananas, which give you a gorgeous creamy texture.

Here are a few of my favourites. All recipes serve 1. And if you haven’t got frozen bananas, use fresh and add a couple of ice cubes to chill.

 

Raspberry Milkshake

  •  A small chopped and frozen banana
  • Handful of raspberries
  • 8 grapes (or just use a few more raspberries)
  • Large spoonful of organic black cherry yoghurt (also be delicious with Coyo – dairy free coconut yoghurt)
  • Freshly pressed apple juice

Place all the ingredients into a blender with about 250ml of apple juice. Blitz until you have a smooth and creamy smoothie, adding a little more apple juice till you have your desired consistency.

Raspberry Milkshake

 

Breakfast on the run

  • Heaped tablespoon of rolled oats
  • 1 medjool date, stone removed
  • A couple of good pinches of ground cinnamon
  • A small chopped and frozen banana
  • a teaspoon of chia seeds
  • Full fat cows milk or almond milk (or any milk of your choice – hazelnut, soya, rice etc)
  • A drizzle of honey (I only use honey if I am using cows milk, as the others tend to have a sweetness to them already)

Place all the ingredients into a blender with around 250ml of your preferred milk and leave to sit for 3-4 minutes, to give the chia seeds time to swell up and do their thing. Blitz until you have a smooth creamy texture, adding a little more milk if you think it’s a bit thick.

 

The Popeye

This is based on a favourite of ours where I work, the kermit juice, an absolute winner of a breakfast smoothie. The twist being a squeeze of lime and milled flaxseeds, for optimum iron intake and a hit of omega 3.

  •  A small chopped and frozen banana
  • 1 small kiwi, peeled and chopped
  • Large handful of baby leaf spinach, washed
  • A squeeze of lime
  • Fresh apple juice
  • A tablespoon of milled flaxseed

Place all the ingredients in the blender with around 250ml of the apple juice. Blitz until super smooth, adding a little more juice if needed.

 

Coffee coffee…

So, if you’re ever in London town and want to hit some top coffee spots check out the links below for some of the best beans around.

Monmouth Coffee – Founded in ’78 Monmouth really has been around longer than a lot of these places put together. Expect to queue for what is exceptional coffee and totally worth it (it moves quickly). One of my favourite things? Curling up with a coffee in the Borough Market branch and digging in to the bread, butter and jam in the middle of the large table. All from the market and around £3 for as much as you can eat.

Climpson & Sons – a pioneer in the East London coffee roasting trend, Climpson’s has been around for 9 years and is still one of my favourite brews around. Their Broadway market no-nonsense cafe is always worth a visit, and great value for money.

OZONE – Old St based coffee roasters, this place does an exceptional flat white and some of the best brunch in town. The kedgeree is out of this world.

Caravan Exmouth Market and Caravan Kings Cross – Small batch coffee roasters, the blends are delicious along with superb food. Personal fave is the ham hock hash with poached eggs and mustard hollandaise. Be prepared to queue for a long time on the weekends though.

Allpress – Based in the heart of hipster central, Shoreditch based Allpress do great coffee and simple but delicious food. A perfect mid-shop caffeine hit.

TAP – I have a real soft spot for Tap, their laid back approach and delicious coffee make this an approachable contender. You don’t need to queue for hours or eat anything, you can sit and read and just drink delicious coffee. I spent many hours in there before or after the numerous hospital appointments we have had over the last year. And the staff are always nice.

Workshop – One of the largest of the coffee shops, Workshop Clerkenwell do great coffee and good food. Their corn fritters with halloumi, poached eggs and chutney are dreamy. The other branches have great reviews too.

Flat white at Ozone Coffee Roasters
Flat white at Ozone Coffee Roasters
Omelette with smoked haddock - Ozone Coffee Roasters
Omelette with smoked haddock – Ozone Coffee Roasters

Categories // Breakfast & brunch, Drinks Tags // Breakfast, Coffee, Dairy-free, Drinks, Gluten-free, Smoothies, Vegan, Wheat-free

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Georgina is an award winning food writer, cook and presenter from North London.
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