Tea, sacred revitaliser of the nation. Putting the kettle on for a cuppa forms no part of my own relaxation, the snap of a diet coke tin or popping of a prosecco cork being more likely. Throw chocolate into the mix however and you’ve got my attention.
I realised lately that it was not necessarily tea I didn’t like, but it’s opaqueness (or should that be opacity? Answers below please). Furthermore, it’s full fat milk with swirly stuff happening on the surface that worries me. A hangover from forced drinking of third pint bottles with thin green straws at school.
Lovers of tea, chocolate and strawberries alike will no doubt enjoy this Matcha Jade Selection:
Sencha – a smooth white chocolate centre with sencha green tea and a white chocolate shell decorated with a pretty gold design;
China Rose – milk chocolate centre with rose pouchong tea and a milk chocolate shell. It has a delicate tea flavour and a creamy texture reminiscent of Galaxy (not sure I’d be thanked for this comparison but you get the picture), as pictured on the cake;
Liquid Jade – dark chocolate centre with green tea liqueur and matcha green tea with a white chocolate shell. This was the strongest flavoured of the five, the alcohol flavour taking centre stage.
Masala Chai – milk chocolate centre with Masala chai tea and a dark chocolate shell, decorated with crystalised ginger. This one had a deeper chocolate flavour and the tea was less prominent.
Strawberry Summer – milk chocolate centre and strawberry scented tea and English breakfast tea and a dark chocolate shell.
This Nigella Lawson chocolate cake recipe originally using marmalade is a firm favourite of mine, not least because you can make it all in one pan and there’s barely any washing up. She suggests using other flavours of jam although I’ve taken this a bit further with some Turkish delight too – chocolate or sugar coated, either would work. If you don’t have a double boiler to mix it in one go you could substitute using a small sauce to melt the butter and chocolate and then tip these into a large mixing bowl before adding the remaining ingredients.
The ganache I confess was a problem. I blame my own impatience before holiday. Lack of time to refrigerate meant mine was more of a sauce. I like it that way but you can decide whether you want sauce or chilled ganache. Incidentally, Nigella advocates serving the cake straight from the oven with creme fraiche so maybe my warm sauce is not so far off the mark.
A quick word about two ingredients; I used chocolate coated Turkish delight, discovered After Eight style in Morrison’s and some Baxter’s strawberry jam. The chocolate was Green and Blacks. I received the jam at an afternoon tea event run by Baxter’s from which I have several other recipes to share with you very soon.
I am sending this cake post to Meeta of What’s for Lunch Honey‘s Monthly Mingle which this month is hosted by Erin of The Apartment Kitchen with the theme “Sweet Treats”.
Matcha Chocolate Jade Selection Giveaway
I’m delighted to share with Maison Cupcake readers some of Matcha’s delightful tea chocolates.
To win a box of the new Matcha Jade Selection, leave a comment below this post by midnight BST Sunday June 20th 2010 answering the following question:
Which is your favourite summertime tea or beverage?
This giveaway is open to readers in the UK only. The winner will be chosen at random. Good luck!
Strawberry Chocolate Cake with Rose Tea Ganache
Adapted from Store-Cupboard Chocolate Orange Cake from Nigella Lawson, How to be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking
Serves 8-10
Ingredients
For the cake
125g unsalted butter
100g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
200g strawberry jam
100g Turkish delight
150g caster sugar
pinch of salt
2 large eggs, beaten
150g self-raising flour
20cm round Springform tin, buttered and floured or lined with baking parchment
For the decoration
12-15 chocolates or pieces of Turkish delight. Or real strawberries. Or nothing. As you wish.
For the chocolate sauce/ganache
80ml single cream
1 tbsp rose tea leaves
125g milk chocolate, broken into pieces
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180c or gas mark 4.
2. Using a double boiler, melt the butter over a low heat and then stir in the chocolate pieces until both combined and smooth.
3. Turn off the heat and using a wooden spoon, stir in the jam, Turkish delight, sugar, salt and eggs. When just about combined, beat in the flour a little at a time.
4. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for around 50 minutes or until a cocktail stick comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
5. For the sauce/ganache, warm the cream in a small saucepan on a low heat. Place the tea leaves in either a metal snap-shut tea strainer or a small muslin bag on a string and place in the warm cream leaving to infuse for 10 minutes.
6. Remove the tea leaves from the infused cream and drop in the milk chocolate squares, stirring gently until they melt. Allow to cool.
7. Place the cake on a pretty plate and spoon the cooled chocolate sauce over the top. Decorate the edge of the cake with chocolates, more Turkish delight or any other way you wish.
Oh! This is the prettiest chocolate cake that I've seen…is sure looks so tasty, moist and rich…what a lovely combination of flavors 🙂 And the pictures are awesome!
How about if I move to the UK tomorrow? Will that work? So I can be entered in your chocolate give-away? NO…okay….lol…I understand.
I really enjoyed reading your post and seeing those luscious photos. Come on by for a visit. xo Lynn in Virginia
The cake looks luscious! I'm impatient with ganache too. I like your collages, makes me want to make some of my own. Let's definitely Skype soon. Try adding a Shift + Enter for a single line return in Blogger instead of a paragraph.
WOW Sarah! Your photos are now looking so professional and so is your food styling too! Love all your photos! I'm so loving all your photos! And of course your lovely cake too..my fave..chocolate!! Thank goodness is lunch time now so i'm off for lunch, otherwise my stomach will be complaining! 😀
What a treat….pictures are awesome and thanks for reminding me of the Monthly Mingle!!
Hmmm…summer time tea would be a peach flavoured iced tea..otherwise id go for a Bellini. Something about having a bellini for brunch is very romantic..maybe its cos of the 'originated from Venice' tag attached to it 😉
Why have I never heard of Matcha Chocolat? Seems like a crime given my obsessions! That cake looks absolutely amazing.
My favourite summertime beverage is a Japanese Sencha. Or if it's really hot an iced rooibos with berries. Yum!
I love the look of this cake! Can you make it when we visit you in July? 😛 Hehe. Inspired idea to use a rose tea ganache, I can only imagine how good it tastes!
And of course I'm not going to miss out on a chance to get a hold of those wonderful chocolates – fav summer drink would have to be iced lemon tea.
Hello – I have just stumbled across your beautiful blog, and just at the right time it appears! Your chocolate cake looks absolutely divine. I think my favourite summer drink would have to be a nice cold iced latte. I'm usually much more of a tea kinda girl, but there's something about sipping an ice-cold milky coffee on a sunny balcony somewhere that I just love.
– Bronagh (blogless!)
That chocolate cake looks wonderful! My favourite summertime drink has to be a cool glass (or jug!) of Pimms 🙂
Wonderful cake! My favourite drink is an orange and lemonade…
Claudia
@juliana Thank you very much!
@lynn Yes I will pop over shortly. Thanks for visiting.
@barbara Great tip. Skype soon yes.
@faithy Thank you… I still feel I have a long way to go!
@nina Glad you enjoyed it
@anopenbook Bellini sounds fabulous yes
@natalie They've not been around long but I'm sure you'd like their stuff
@su-yin I will see if I can make one for the barbecue!
@bronagh Welcome! I hope this is the first of many visits.
@amylane Who doesn't love a Pimms?
@Claudia A St Clements? My grandad used to make me those.
I think I'm in love with your cake – it looks fabulous.I have been inspired to sneak of to the kitchen this afternoon and get some baking done. As for my favourite summer drink – it has to be iced tea with a slice of lemon.
It looks absolutely fabulous! Love the Cath Kidston fabric in the background too. I do love things with turkish delight in – I love that rose scent. I'm currently on the holy grail of turkish delight ice cream – trying to recreate something I bought in a now closed down ice cream parlour. I
don't go a bundle on tea either.
I'd have to say my favourite summer drink has to be Pimms. Made properly with cucumber, strawberries and mint. Just summer in a glass.
That milk at school with the green straws? Yuck. But then Thatcher Thatcher Milk Snatcher came and took it away.
How absolutely beautiful. I am feeling really stressed out and tired today, I would so love a slice of that cake.
My favourite summer drink is my favourite drink any time of year, I'm afraid its diet coke LOL.
*kisses* HH
A beautiful cake! I bet it tasted heavenly! Great giveaway.
Cheers,
Rosa
The cake looks absolutely delicious. My favourite drink for summer is elderflower cordial.
My favorite summertime beverage is raspberry lemonade 🙂
Gorgeous cake. Looks divine!!
What a beautiful post and a stunning cake! I have to make this, if only to get some of those yummy sounding turkish delight chocolates – what a find! My new favourite summer beverage is lemon, lime and bitters – so refreshing!
a simply divine looking cake sarah! so perfect for the MM!
Turkish delight are the magic words. Cake looks amazing! I love to make proper mint tea in the summer, failing that jasmine tea. Failing that – pink champagne. x
I've only recently discovered your blog when I was searching for rhubarb muffins (I made the Rachel Allen ones and they were yummy). I also love the dinner with crayons posts since I've got a 2 1/2 year old and a 7-week old.
Can't pass up a chance to win chocolate! I'm an American and even after 5 years in London I'm more of a coffee than tea girl, so my favorite summer beverages are iced coffee and Pimm's and lemonade if I'm indulging (one British tradition I have embraced).
Gosh that take looks seriously rich and delicious! I love all kinds of tea but haven't used it in a ganache before… great photos too Sarah! ps – enjoy the Matcha Chocolat, please don't include me in the comp as I've tried the Jade Selection already so let's share the love with others! 🙂
I want those chocolates!
My favourite tea in summer is either iced Lady Grey, or iced jasmine tea. I stick a jug iof cold water in the fridge over night, with the tea leaves in, and in the morning it's perfect. Lots of ice – perfection!
You get a better flavour if you don't use hot water for iced tea, and the long slow method means the tea isn't cloudy.
Turkish Delight? Really? Wow, what a recipe, but boy does it look fabulous! I'd eat many slices of this in one sitting, cuppa or no cuppa though this would go well with a cold glass of milk. Or coffee. Sarah, you should try coffee.
The very idea of turkish delight, chocolate and Nigella as inspiration strikes me as perfection in the form of cake. Sarah, didn't know your blog before FBC – so glad I came calling!
Favourite summer drink is definitely cold ginger beer. Or sometimes just cold beer.
Mmmmmmm Turkish Delight in a cake and a chocalate cake, thats the closest to heaven I may get. Thanks for the recipe.
As for my favourite drink its still tea, I love Assam in the main, occasionally Earl Grey, if its a ummer cold drink I think elderflower cordial.
My email is on my profile thanks
You made me shudder with the memeory of that ghastly milk at school. What a daily horror it was.
Thanks
Hi Sarah,
I stumbled upon your blog from tastespotting and was blown away by this gorgeous cake; chocolate AND rose tea? Yum!
My favourite summer drink would have to be Prosecco with a teaspoon of rose syrup and a fat strawberry dropped on top – perfect summer drinking…
Sarah
Hi Sarah!
Thank you for your comments on my blog. It was a pleasure to meet you at the FBC. We didnt have much time to talk to each other but I hope to see you again next year.
Oh this cake is divine and I love chocolate. I have tried so many gluten free chocolate cake recipes but I am still looking for the "one"!
Have a lovely weekend.
Hi Sarah. Fantastic post and beautiful photos. The cake looks absolutely spectacular. As for my favourite summer time drink – it would have to be Pimms and ginger beer with oodles of strawberries. Have a great weekend. Reena
Sarah, just today I went down to the PYO near me to get some strawberries, and God they do look lovely, sweet with just the right amount of sharpness. As I tasted some on the way back home I could picture a nice picnic and eating them as desserts. Summer drink? Well, I really love a chilled wine but I always like a nice cuppa when I am home at the end of the day, chilling out. Lapson souchong is my favourite. I had not yet heard of Matcha Chocolate. Sounds so interesting! I will look out for them.
Oh wow, this cake looks absolutely gorgeous! I have a weakness for tea-flavoured chocolates and Turkish delight, and damn if this doesn't cover all the bases. I don't live in the UK (unfortunately) so no chance of me entering the giveaway, but that's ok. Think I'll have to try to recreate your cake soon!
This cake looks absolutely divine!! I love tea and chocolate together. My favourite beverage, to go perfectly with a slice of this cake, would be a fragrant cup of Earl Grey tea. However, during the hot summer I prefer to cool down with an iced chai latte 🙂 I have also not heard of Matcha Chocolate, I may have to do a little research…!
Oh wow, that cakes just looks INCREDIBLE. We used to get chocolates with Earl Grey flavoured ganache from the Pierre Marcolini shop by Spitalfields and they were just wonderful so I'd love to be so lucky as to try Matcha's.
My favourite summertime tea is so simple – heaps of fresh mint, picked straight off the garden barge, topped up with hot water. That mint is so naturally sweet you don't even need sugar, and you can keep on topping it up for hours. We even have a little clay teapot JUST for mint tea!
I made this cake for my husband and his cyclist mates to eat after a 145km ride. The first thing he said when he got home was that the cake "had them begging for mercy. And another piece!!!!" I used blueberry jam in my version. Thanks for a great recipe.
this looks like the loveliest cake in the world. I am absolutely addicted to all things rose – mmmmmmmmmm xx