Mudslide Brownies

I know that these brownies look kind of like layered fudge, but do not let that fool you.  Between the espresso, vodka, coffee liqueur and chocolate covered coffee beans-they are far from that!

Let me tell you now, this is ultra rich and fudgey, so dieters beware.  Also, if you are an insomniac, this will only promote your problem.  The coffee and chocolate is sure to keep you up for hours.

Overall I was well pleased with the recipe.  The only issue I had was that the chocolate covered coffee beans were not that easy to grind and then they did not stick to the frosting, even though I did press down on the top after sprinkling.

Mudslide Brownies
adapted from Southern Living

Ingredients/Brownie Layer
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs
2 tsp espresso powder
2 tbs coffee liqueur
4 (1 ounce) unsweetened chocolate baking squares
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup chopped toasted pecans
1/2 tsp salt

Ingredients/Topping-Frosting
2  1 ounce squares of unsweetened baking chocolate
2 tbs butter
2 tsp espresso powder
2 tbs vodka
2 tbs whipping cream or half and half
2 tbs coffee liqueur
2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup of chopped chocolate covered coffee beans (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease a 9X13 inch pan.  Then line pan with aluminum foil and grease the face up side of the foil inside the pan.

Sift together the flour and salt and set aside.  In another bowl beat eggs and then add both sugars, stirring until blended.

Take a small saucepan and place over low heat.  Add butter and chocolate squares, stirring until all is melted and blended.  Remove from heat and stir into the sugar/egg mixture.  Once that has been blended, mix in the coffee liqueur and the espresso powder.

Fold in the sifted ingredients until no dry streaks remain and then stir in the pecans.  Fill prepared pan with batter and smooth the top, making sure that it is all even.  Place pan in oven and bake until brownies are set on top, about 20-25 minutes.  Remove pan and place on rack, brownies should remain in pan to completely cool.

To make the frosting, place chocolate squares and butter in small saucepan over low heat.  Stir periodically until the mixture is completely melted.  Pour mixture into a medium size bowl.  Add all vodka.,whipping cream, chocolate liqueur and espresso powder, stir until all is blended.  Lastly, place a sifter over the bowl and sift in powdered sugar in 1/4 cup increments, beating mixture after each addition.

Once you have come to the desired consistency of your frosting, spread evenly over the cooled brownies. If desired, sprinkle chopped chocolate covered espresso beans over the top and press lightly to adhere to frosting.  Once frosting is set, remove brownies from pan using the aluminum foil lining.  Then cut with a sharp knife to serve.
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Mixology Cupcakes

With New Years right around the corner, I thought it would only be appropriate if I mixed up some spirits to make a cupcake treat.  This one has 3 types of alcohol in it, so I did not skimp on the mixer at all!  Even though I am not a certified mixologist when it comes to bar drinks, I think these are well worth presenting at a New Year's Eve party.

The base is a cupcake made with port wine.  Then, I poked holes in the top with a wooden skewer and brushed some syrup on top made out of Godiva liqueur.  It not only made the cupcakes have more flavor, it made them very moist.  Instead of leaving it at that, I frosted them with a fluffy Amaretto frosting.  The final touch was chocolate sprinkles on top.  The recipe makes 20 cupcakes.

Before I get to the recipe, I wanted to write a few thoughts about the coming of the New Year.  It is a time when the door is open to set things straight.  In other words, to get your house in order before 2012 gets here.  This may mean settling differences you may have with family or friends.  Or it may mean that you fix that door that has been creaking for the last 6 months. By doing that, the new year will be a fresh start.  Once your house is in order, then it is time to sit down and raise a glass to say goodbye to 2011 and hello to 2012! I wish all of you a happy New Year and that at midnight tonight, you are ringing in the New Year the best way you know how! Cheers!

Mixology Cupcakes
by fhourtrader

Ingredients/Cupcakes
4 eggs, separated
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup red wine
1 2/3 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt, plus 1 pinch

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare muffin pan by greasing the top edge of the cavities.  Then line with cupcake papers.  Set aside.

Sift together flour, baking soda and 1/4 tsp of salt.  Then whisk in the sugar.  Pour in 1/4 cup of vegetable oil and stir until all is blended.  Mix in 1/4 cup of red wine.  Then repeat the same, adding the two liquids in 1/4 cup intervals until all the wine and oil is mixed in.

In a small bowl, beat one egg yolk with a fork and then add to batter.  Stir batter with a wooden spoon until mixture is smooth and the egg is mixed in.  Continue with the same process for each of the egg yolks, so all is blended into the batter.  Set aside.

Fill a separate bowl with the egg whites and a pinch of salt.  Then beat at a high speed until the egg whites hold stiff, but not dry, peaks.  Fold the egg white mixture into the sugar/wine batter until no white streaks remain.

Then fill the cupcake liners with the batter. You can either pour it into the paper liners or use an ice cream scoop.  The cups should be filled evenly, about 3/4 full.

Place cupcakes in oven and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes.  Remove and let cool in pan for 1 minute and then transfer to rack to finish cooling.

Once cool, take a wooden skewer and poke holes in the top of the cupcakes.  The holes should be about 3/4 the depth of the entire cupcake.

Ingredients/Godiva Syrup
1/2 cup Godiva Chocolate Liqueur
2 tsp sugar

Stir together ingredients in a small saucepan and place over medium heat.  Let cook and stir until sugar is completely dissolved.  Then remove from heat and let cool for 30 minutes.

Using a pastry brush, brush syrup over the top of the cupcakes and let soak in.  Continue with the process until no more syrup is left.

Regarding the frosting below, it cannot be made in advance.  It must be prepared and used immediately.

Ingredients/Frosting
adapted from Martha Stewart

1 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cup plus 2 tbs of butter (room temp)
4 egg whites
3 tbs and 1 tsp water
2/3 tsp vanilla
pinch of cream of tartar
2 tbs Amaretto
pinch of salt

Place sugar and water in a saucepan and stir. Put over medium high heat and let come to a boil until the sugar dissolves.  Then let cook until it reaches the soft ball stage or 238 degrees.  This can happen very quickly and if your mixture turns from white or clear to an amber color, it probably has gone past the soft ball stage.  Once proper consistency and temperature is reached, remove from heat.  Then pour into a heat proof bowl to let cool.

In a medium size bowl, beat egg whites for 30 seconds.  Then add the cream of tartar and salt.  Then beat on medium high until stiff peaks form but mixture is not dry.

Once the sugar syrup has cooled to lukewarm temperature or cooler, pour 2 tablespoons into the egg white mixture and beat for 30 seconds.  Then add the rest of the syrup and beat for 3 minutes.  Set aside.

In another bowl, cream the butter till fluffy. Add 1/4 cup of the butter to the sugar batter and beat for 2 minutes.  Continue with this process of beating the butter into the sugar batter in intervals.  Lastly add vanilla extract and amaretto and beat for 1 minute.

Then cut the corner off a gallon zip lock bag and place decorating tip inside, sticking out of the corner.  Fill the bag with the frosting and then ice the cupcakes.  Lastly, top with chocolate sprinkles.
                              **LAST YEAR: Pink Champagne Cupcakes**

Cranberry Invasion Cake

Well I still have that large bottle of creme de noyaux, so I decided to make a cake with it.  I thought that the almond flavor would go well with some cranberries.  My biggest peeve about swirled cakes, breads and coffee cakes is that there is so little of that swirl included, you can barely taste it.  I set about making a cake with a big flavorful swirl in it as you can see.

This picture is actually my the first draft of the recipe.  If you notice, there is a lot of crumbs on the plate.  That is actually almonds.  One of the changes I made is that the almonds go in with the cranberry mixture, that way they are in the cake and not apt to fall off, like in this picture.   There were some other trials and errors, but I will save you all that detail.

The cake is better served the next day.  With time, the flavor of the creme de noyeau develops more.  The burst of cranberry flavor with the almond cake is exactly what I was looking for in taste as well as texture.  Now on to the final recipe that I arrived at:

Cranberry Invasion Cake
by flourtrader

Ingredients/Cranberry Filling
1 1/2 cups cranberries
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup finely chopped toasted almonds (optional)
3/4 cup water

Ingredients/Cake
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1/4 cup creme de noyaux
1 cup sour cream
1 tbs vegetable oil
red food coloring

Prepare a 10 cup bundt pan by brushing all the inside with melted butter and then dusting with bread crumbs.  Set aside.

To make the filling, place all ingredients (except for the almonds) in a medium size sauce pan.  Put saucepan over medium high heat and stir.  Cook filling for 15 minutes or until thickened.  Filling mixture should reduce down to 1/3 of the original mixture.  This is basically a cranberry sauce, so it will thicken quite a bit when cooled.  Transfer mixture to a heat proof bowl and let cool completely before using. 

Now, you can start making the cake.  Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees or if you are using a dark pan, 325 degrees.

Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy.  This should take about 2 minutes.  Add one egg and beat for 30 seconds.  Then beat in the additional egg.  Pour in the creme de noyaux and the vegetable oil.  Beat on low speed until evenly distributed.  At this time, put in 2 drops of food coloring and beat.  Continue with this process until desired color is met.

Fold 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the batter.  Then blend in 1/2 cup of sour cream. Repeat this task, ending with the dry ingredients, until completely mixed together.  Be careful not to over work the batter.

Spoon 1/2 of the cake batter into the pan and smooth it out even.  If using almonds, mix them into the cooled cranberry filling.  Carefully spoon the filling on top of the cake batter in the pan.  The trick is to get it even but not touch the edges of the pan.  If you touch the edge with the filling, that section will most likely stick and you will have difficulty getting your cake out of the pan.

After you have used up all the filling, spoon the rest of the batter on top and smooth it out. Place cake in oven and bake for about 50-55 minutes or until done.  Cake is done when tester comes out clean and it is golden brown on top.

Let cake cool in pan set on a wire rack for about 20 minutes.  Then invert on to rack to finish cooling.  If you have some difficulty, slide a butter knife around the edges and then try to invert cake.  Once cooled, you can dust with confectioners sugar or drizzle with glaze (click here for recipe).
                            **LAST YEAR: 18 hour Guinness Burgers***