Pine Cone Cakes
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Makes 12
- 225g/7.9ozs cake flour
- 300g/10.6ozs brown sugar
- 45g/1.6ozs cocoa powder
- 1.5 teaspoons bicarb
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 cup/250ml/8.8flozs coffee
- 1/2 cup/125ml/4flozs water
- 1/2 cup/125ml/4flozs sunflower oil (or other flavourless oil eg canola, grapeseed, rice bran)
- 45ml/1.6flozs white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
- 100g/3.5ozs dark chocolate, very finely chopped
- 180g/6ozs Nutella
- 3-4 tablespoons Baileys, rum, Grand Marnier, Chambord or liqueur of choice (or use orange juice)
- 240g/8.5ozs Milo cereal
Step 1 - Preheat oven to 160C/320F. Line the base and sides of a 20x20cm/8inch square or round tin. Whisk the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, bicarb and salt together in a large bowl. In a jug whisk the coffee, water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Make a well in the dry ingredients and whisk in the wet. Stir in the chocolate.
Step 2 -Pour the batter into the tin and rest on the counter for 10 minutes (to allow proteins in flour to relax for a more tender cake). Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the centre is no longer wobbly. Cool and cover. You can make the cake the day beforehand.
Step 3 -Line 2 trays with parchment. Measure out the Nutella and liqueur. Crumble up the cake with your hands mixing in the Nutella and liqueur combining well. You don't want any dry patches to the crumbled mixture. Measure out 12 lots of cake crumbs (I use a scale to weigh out 12x100g/3.5ozs quantities).
Step 4 -Shape into a cone shape using your hands. The heat from your hands will make this mixture form a cohesive shape. Place the bottom of your palms together (like if you were resting your face on your hands). The bottom should form a V and this is where you can shape the cone's top. Place on the baking tray and repeat with remaining mixture.
Step 5 -Wash hands well. Place some of the cereal in a bowl and then place them concave side facing up starting at the base. Do row after row but make sure that you alternative the placement of each piece of cereal. Cup together the cone at the top so that the cereal stands up closer to the body (rather than being spread out). Dust with icing sugar and serve.