Happy Birthday ComfyDays...

Today we are celebrating one year ComfyDays and I still cannot believe that exactly one year ago I spontaneously decided to post my very first recipe (HERE), clueless where the journey would take me and what to expect. Many doubts and questions went through my head... would someone be interested in my blog or my recipes, would I be able to keep up with my posts, would I find time to follow up on my blog or would I rather lose my passion to write once I posted something. Now one year later... relaxed, happy and fulfilled, I can say that it was a very right thing to do! With over 70 published posts, more then 100 shared recipes and more than 500 followers in facebook, I am still super excited to write my small little stories, share my pictures and recipes, with the very same passion I felt when writing my very first post, but definitely with less doubts and fear. 

My family and friends were my greatest supporters and I would like to thank each of you for believing in me. Not only that they encouraged me to start the blog, but also gave me ideas for my next posting, tried my dishes and were the best food critics ever, gave me tips and tricks on how my pictures can be made and played my models when needed. I did enjoy every posting I wrote and I am looking forward for many others to come.

We celebrated this special day with a mocha cake and salted caramel frosting (after some baking pause of all the Christmas goodies). I wanted to make this cake for some time now, but never found the right occasion. The cake is rather heavy on calories I know, but it must be tried....

Mocha cake with salted caramel frosting

• 75 g butter softened
• 200 g sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 300 ml buttermilk
• 3 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoon instant coffee powder
• 350 g flour

Preheat the oven to 180C. In a stand mixer mix together butter and sugar, till soft and pale in the colour. Add eggs (one at the time) and vanilla mix well. In a separate bowl combined coffee powder with buttermilk. Sift flour and baking powder. Now add the wet and dry ingredients alternately to the egg-butter mixture (in 3 badges) always starting and ending with dry ingredients. Pour the batter either in 2 baking form (18 cm each) or all in once in one baking form. Bake about 30-40 minutes if using 2 pans or about an hour when using one pan only. Check with a wooden stick if cake is ready. Take it out and let it rest at the cooling rack. Once cake is cooled, slice it in equal layers.

• 1 cup of strong coffee
• 1-2 teaspoons brown sugar

Mix both ingredients and pour it over the cut layers, letting the liquid soak into the sponge. By doing this you will add additional coffee flavour to the cake and make it even more moist.

• 250 g salted butter softened
• 400 g dulce de leche

In a stand mixer, mix the butter till light and fluffy and pale in colour. Add whole cane of dulce de leche and mix till all well combined.

Frost the cake with the frosting, between the layers and on the side. Let the cake rest for 15-20 minutes in the refrigerator.

• 20 ml double cream
• 80 g dark chocolate

Heat up the cream, take it from the heat and add the chocolate (roughly chopped). Let is rest for 5 minutes. Whisk the chocolate with the hand whisk till smooth and shiny, it should still be runny. Cover the top of the frosted cake with a thick layer of chocolate, letting it run down the sides. Decorate the cake and serve...

And here some highlights from 2015, with my most favourite recipes... Many birthdays were celebrated and new cake creations have been tried, there was a challenge of the french cooking in Provence and Swedish sweet delights in south of Sweden, some nice, cosy and hearty dishes for autumn with many figs creation, many sweets delights and Julia Child challenge in winter...

Enjoy!