Chocolate Iced Coffee and Cardamom Slices

I was looking for something to nibble on after lunch and was aghast to discover my cake cupboard was bare. Luckily these slices are quick and easy to make, yet still pack a punch when it comes to flavour. I think cardamom and coffee are a marriage made in heaven and the addition of a little chocolate butter icing, well that just seals the deal!

Prep time: 20 Mins (Plus some time to cool)
Baking time: 30 Mins
50ml of Strong Black Coffee (Piping hot)
6 Cardamom Pods
150g Unsalted Butter (Softened)
150g Caster Sugar
2 Medium Eggs
1/2tsp Baking Powder
175g Plain Flour
75g Icing Sugar
25g Cocoa Powder
75g Butter (Softened)

So let's begin! Bash up the cardamom pods in a pestle an mortar and tip into the hot coffee. Leave to go completely cold. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and grease a 30cm loaf tin, lining the base with baking paper. Cream together the butter and the flour, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Pour in the coffee, through a strainer to catch the smashed up pods, then sift in the flour with the baking powder and mix it all up to a smooth batter. Spoon evenly in the tin and bake in the centre of the oven for around 30 minutes, until a metal skewer can be cleanly removed when inserted into the sponge. Remove and leave for 15 minutes in the tin, then carefully remove from the tin and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

For the icing sift together the icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl containing the butter. Cream together until thick and fudgy, then spread on top of the cooled sponge with the back of a spoon or flat knife. Slice with a sharp knife and you're all done!