Need more caffiene? Why not bake a cake ...

THE nation will be awakening to the most invigorating of mornings today – not just as it’s the first issue of Wokingham.Today, but it’s also International Coffee Day.

With around two billion cups of coffee consumed every day, Aldi is helping coffee lovers celebrate with two coffee-fuelled recipes to awaken tastebuds in the form of a Mocha Cake to indulge in throughout the day, and a Coffee Rub to be slathered over your favourite meat for something different.

Aldi’s Mocha Cake

For the sponge

� 100g Butter at room temperature � 150g Caster sugar

� 3 tbsp Milk

� 3 Eggs

� 200g Self-raising flour

� 125g Fairtrade dark chocolate

� 4 heaped tsp Fairtrade granulated coffee

For the Icing

� 1 tbsp Milk

� 1 tbsp Fairtrade coffee granules

� 150g Butter

� 300g Icing sugar

� 25g Fairtrade dark chocolate

Pre-heat the oven to 180°/350°F/Gas Mark 4 and grease two 8 inch circle cake tins.

Melt 125g of the chocolate and butter in bowl over a pan of simmering water.

In a small bowl heat the milk in the microwave and dissolve the coffee granules in the milk.

Stir the sugar into the butter and chocolate and add the milk and coffee mix.

Whisk in the eggs one at a time, and whisk in the flour.

Evenly divide the batter into the tins and bake in the oven for 12-14 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack.

To make the icing; heat the milk in the microwave and dissolve the coffee granules in the milk.

Mix the butter, milky coffee and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Spread half of the mix over each cooled cake layer and sandwich together.

Grate the chocolate over the top of the cake to create a cappuccino look.

Aldi’s Coffee Rub

� 1 heaped dessert spoon of Easy Days Ground Coffee

1 heaped dessert spoon Demerara Sugar

� 1 heaped tsp Smoked Paprika

� 1 heaped tsp Sea Salt Crystals

� 1 flat tsp Ground Cumin

� 1 flat tsp Dried Thyme

� 1 flat tsp Chilli Flakes

� ½ tsp Garlic Granules

Put all the ingredients into a mortar and pestle and grind to a smooth rub.

Use 3g to 4g for each steak (or about a tenth of your mixture).

Rub over both sides of the meat and cover and rest out of the fridge for 15 minutes.

Then cook to your liking.

Keep any unused rub in an airtight container.