Mocha Fudge Sauce

In Part 2 of the series, we dive into a wonderful mocha sauce for all your dessert pleasures.

Welcome to Part 2 of my blog series on what to do with leftover coffee. I really cannot bring myself to throw it away, and have scanned my library for any and all (well, maybe not all) recipes for using this ingredient. The sauce in question has to be the best I have come across as many times the flavors or consistencies have been disappointing. It was delightful to come across one as excellent as advertised. The book in question is “300 Best Chocolate Recipes” (that right there got my attention when I bought it), and it lives up to expectations. Please note that there are also chocolate sauce recipes in this book that call for merlot wine or bourbon, the bourbon probably being the best, but not having tried them, I cannot speak as to how they taste. See references below for all bibliographical info. One more thing, you will need your spoon, as in, it’s fabulous right out of the jar. Sort of a dessert in its own right.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

½ cup packed light brown sugar* (See note)

1 cup hot, fresh coffee(I used leftover)

½ cup whipping or heavy cream

½ cup light corn syrup

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

2 tbl. dark rum

In a large saucepan, whisk together cocoa powder and brown sugar. Add coffee, cream and corn syrup, whisking until smooth.

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking continuously. Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate chips and rum.

Let cool, it will thicken some, and serve. The author also suggests instead of the rum you could add kirsch or crème de menthe, but personally, I’d hold out for the Chambord. 

References:

Hasson, Julie. “300 Best Chocolate Recipes.” Toronto: Robert Rose Inc., 2006.

Note: I used dark brown sugar as dark has so much more flavor than the light.  It is your choice, as either way it is delicious.

You can follow the further adventures of Sue or sign up for a class at her website: www.svanslooten.com or email: suevanslooten@icloud.com.

Black Magic Cake

Black Magic Cake

Deep, dark, and delicious mean anything? This cake speaks to the inner chocoholic in all of our chocolate hearts.

I have decided that the next few blogs will center around one peculiar ingredient, coupled usually with chocolate. The darker the better. The key ingredient? Leftover coffee. Hold on, now, haven’t we all had pots of leftover coffee, and regret having to throw it out? After all, coffee is expensive these days! And coffee and chocolate go together beautifully. So over the course of the next several weeks, we will look at a cake, fudge sauce (you might want that with the cake, see photo), Tiramisu, and the one savoury entry, a coffee glaze for BBQ and fish. 

The cake in question originally came from an old cookbook of mine, but as usual, has been tweaked here and there. I’ve made this one many, many times, and felt it needed sharing. It’s pretty simple to put together, and bakes in a 9X13 pan, two pluses in my mind. The book in question is an oldie but goodie, and goes by the appropriate name of Choice Chocolate Recipes, put out by Farm Journal in the 70s. I’ve made many of the recipes in this book, but this one remains my favourite. 

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

2 cups sugar (Please note, when I make the cake, I only use 1 cup white sugar)

¾ cup baking cocoa

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

2 eggs

½ cup vegetable oil

1 cup strong black coffee (*see note)

1 cup buttermilk (**see note)

1 tsp. vanilla

Stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in mixing bowl. Add eggs, oil, coffee, buttermilk and vanilla. Beat with electric mixer at medium speed 2 min. Pour into greased 13X9” baking pan.

Bake in a 350 oven for 40 minutes or so, until cake tests done. Cool pan on rack. Makes 16 servings. 

Next blog:  How to make the fudge sauce, so stay tuned. 

References:

Manning, Elise W., Editor. “Farm Journal’s Choice Chocolate Recipes.” New York: Doubleday Company, Inc., 1978.

Notes:

1.     If you don’t have leftover coffee, but still want to make the cake, you can use 2 tsp. instant in one cup hot water. Let cool.

2.     If you don’t have buttermilk, you can use a scant 1 cup of milk with 2 tsp white vinegar, cider vinegar will also work. Stir together and let sit for a couple of minutes.

You can follow the further adventures of Sue or sign up for a class at her website: wwwsvanslooten@icloud.com.

Delicious Gourmet Style Chocolate Bark

This tasty version of chocolate bark is elevated to gourmet status by the addition of cocoa nibs, those tasty little crunchy bits of chocolate-y flavor. This yummy treat was inspired by a Facebook post by Castronovo Chocolate, a premier American chocolatier from Florida. (See website link below.) Fortunately for those of us living on planet Earth, they ship, as I recently have discovered. Winter is a good time to order. I’m quite sure their version is superior so, for my recipe, while you are awaiting delivery, purchase the best chocolate you can find.

Gourmet Style Chocolate BarkPhoto by Sue Van Slooten

Ingredients:

1 lb dark chocolate, chopped, best that you can find

1 cup dried tart cherries, cut in half

½ cup unsweetened coconut

2 tbl. or to taste, cocoa nibs to sprinkle on top

More coconut to sprinkle on top

Lightly grease a cookie sheet. Melt the chopped chocolate over gentle heat until completely melted, stirring frequently. Stir in the cherries and1/2 cup coconut. Mix well. Turn out onto the cookie sheet and spread until about ¼” thick. Sprinkle the top with more coconut and cocoa nibs, pressing lightly into the chocolate. Let cool completely (or chill), break up into pieces. Feel free to hoard it all to yourself. Sharing recommended but not necessary. Makes about 2 lbs. candy. 

Important Notes:

http://www.castronovochocolate.com Beautiful website. Last accessed February 17, 2016.

You can follow my further adventures at www.svanslooten.com, and you can email me at suevanslooten@ripnet.com.  I teach cooking and baking classes at my home on beautiful Big Rideau Lake, Rideau Lakes Township, ON. I specialize in small classes for maximum benefit. Give me a call, sign up for a class, and I’d love to see you. 

Healthy Chocolate Silk Pie

Often when I get a new cookbook, the first thing I look at is the dessert section. It is sort of like reading the book backwards, from back to front. I figure, if the desserts are good, everything else will be. Some say you should always check the veggie section first, and there’s good logic for that, but I always start with dessert. When eating out, I do usually judge a restaurant by how well, or not, they cook the vegetables. In cookbooks, though, I start with the desserts. This brand new book did not disappoint. Thomas Gosney’s “Method of Procedure” is a wonderful book, great recipes, beautiful photography, and oh yes, he is one heck of a chef. Immediately I saw the chocolate pie recipe, and thought, have to try that one, no two ways about it. You will be seeing a couple of his recipes in upcoming blogs, so taken was I by this book. 

This is a chocolate pie unlike any others I have made. It starts with a crumb crust consisting of granola and macadamia nuts ground together, and bound with melted butter, like an extravagant graham cracker crust, only better. The filling consists of silken or extra soft tofu with over half a pound of chocolate. (That must be the reason right there why I liked it so much.) That’s it. Nothing fancy, but the results sure are. Thomas decorated his pie with raspberries and macadamia nuts, I used mint leaves and macadamia nuts. There is a trick to this pie, in that you have to combine the filling ingredients extremely quickly, or as he says, you’ll have a mess. Listen to the man. I can see how that would happen. But the results are super worth it. Here’s the recipe:

Healthy Chocolate Silk Pie w/Gluten Free Macadamia Crust

24 oz. silken or extra soft tofu

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

2 cubs gluten free granola

1 tbl. melted butter, or vegan butter (I used a little more)

1 cup macadamia nuts, save 16 for garnish

16 raspberries, for garnish

I will give Thomas’ method exactly, with any changes I’ve made in parenthesis. 

Pour granola, melted butter, and macadamia nuts into blender (I used a food processor). Make sure to take out 16 for the garnish. Blend until granola and nuts grind up finely. You will have to stop and stir several times to make this happen. This will ensure you won’t burn up the motor. Pour mixture into pie dish and press with spoon on the sides and bottom to form a tight crust. Wash out blender. Place tofu into blender and blend until creamy smooth, set aside. Break chocolate into small pieces and place in a double boiler. A pot of water with a stainless steel bowl or glass Pyrex will do nicely. The water temperature should only be slightly simmering and turn off heat. Place bowl on top to melt chocolate. The melting point of chocolate is 110 degrees. Make sure the water is not too hot or you will have problems. When the chocolate is completely melted remove from double boiler. Using a wire whip pour the tofu into the chocolate, whipping rapidly until the mixture completely incorporates. DO THIS VERY FAST AND DON’T STOP! It only takes a minute, if not, you will have a lumpy mess. (I also warmed up the tofu in the microwave a little, to facilitate the blending, and hopefully not seizing the chocolate.) Make sure to add tofu to chocolate, not the other way. Use a rubber spatula to pour mix into pie dish, smooth out top. Garnish with macadamia nuts and raspberries around the sides, alternating each one. (I used alternating mint leaves and nuts, as you will see in the photo.) Place the remaining in the center. Chill for 1 hour. Serves 8-10 pp.

Notes:

Gosney, Thomas. Method of Procedure. Xlibris, 2015.