boozy

October 18, 2015

Chocolate Irish Whiskey Cake.

Chocolate Irish whiskey cake. Oh yes. This cake combines two of my favorite things: chocolate and booze. Okay, I’m actually not that into the booze. I mean, I enjoy a nice adult beverage (or three) on occasion. But there’s just something about baking with booze. Booze-infused baked goods are just extra special because the alcohol adds an extra layer of richness and deepness to desserts. Trust me when I say this; you’re not gonna get drunk off this cake. Sorry to [maybe?] disappoint? 😉

I made this cake for a work potluck awhile back. We had a “Taste of IT” day – in which my team of IT people brought in desserts from different countries. Immediately I knew I had to represent Ireland [my heritage is mostly Scot-Irish], but then it was a matter of trying to think of what to make. I briefly contemplated Irish scones, but obviously this chocolate cake won out. I’m a huge scone fan, but I mean… let’s be honest. Scones or boozy chocolate cake? Boozy. Chocolate. Cake. Enough said.

This cake is chocolatey and the Jameson and coffee make it extra rich. I topped it with homemade whipped cream, and then sprinkled it with some cocoa powder, and that was a most wise decision. Perhaps the best part about this cake is that it’s not overly sweet. I think that most European desserts tend to have less sugar than American desserts – which is probably for the best. Regardless, this was a fun cake to make, and I prefer to eat it cold. I made the cake with Kerrygold Irish butter, but you can use regular, unsalted butter if you like. The thing about European butter is that it has a much higher fat content, making it much more rich and tasty than your typical butter in the American grocery stores. That being said, if you can find Kerrygold, use it. It’s pretty awesome butter, if I do say so myself.

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Chocolate Irish Whiskey Cake.
Yield: One 8×8″ (or 9×9″) round cake.

Ingredients:
– 2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
– 6 TBSP. Kerrygold unsalted, at room temperature
– 1 cup granulated sugar
– 1 cup all-purpose flour
– 1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder [I used regular because it’s all I had on hand. This is okay, but Dutch-processed will make the cake more rich and dark.]
– 1 tsp. baking powder
– 1/2 tsp. baking soda
– 1/8 tsp. kosher salt
– 3 large eggs
– 1/4 cup fresh brewed espresso or strong coffee
– 1/4 cup Irish whiskey, such as Jameson
– Optional: Powdered sugar, for dusting
– Optional: Homemade whipped cream, for topping
– Optional: Extra cocoa powder, for dusting

Instructions:
1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F, and ensure that the oven rack is in the middle. Grease an 8 or 9-inch baking pan with butter or spray, and coat the pan with flour. Be sure to remove any excess flour.
2. Place the chopped chocolate into the bowl of a double boiler, and allow it to melt over fairly low heat. Once melted, remove from the heat to cool.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until it becomes pale yellow, thick, and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through. This will take about four minutes.
4. While the butter and sugar are mixing, sift the dry ingredients [flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt] into a medium bowl.
5. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the eggs, one at a time, until they are well incorporated. Slowly add the melted chocolate and mix until combined.
6. While the mixer is still at a lower speed, carefully add the dry ingredients, and mix until combined. Next, add the espresso/coffee and the whiskey.
7. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, and scrape down the entire outside and bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula. Ensure that all the ingredients are incorporated.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 45 minutes (I think my oven only took about 35-40 minutes, but baking times may vary).
9. Remove the cake from the oven, and let it cool for 5 minutes. Invert onto a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely before ready to serve.
10. To serve: Dust the top with powdered sugar, or top with homemade whipped cream and cocoa powder. Enjoy!

+ Recipe from Kerrygold USA.

December 27, 2014

Tiramisu.

Tiramisu is one of those desserts that looks all fancy schmancy. It has intimidated me ever since I learned what it was.

Admittedly, it’s not one of my favorite desserts – despite the fact that I do enjoy coffee – so therefore, I’ve never had much motivation to make it for myself. However, it is one of my dad’s favorite desserts. I realized a few months ago that I have never bothered to make it for him. {I have baked all kinds of treats for my dad in the past, so I’m not a bad daughter, I swear!} Finally, this Christmas, I decided it was time to take the tiramisu plunge.

I started with a [simple enough] recipe from the Use Real Butter blog. And you know what? Making tiramisu really isn’t that difficult. Of course, I fumbled through a few steps, but overall, it’s not that difficult to make. The most difficult part of making the tiramisu is making the custard portion. And then it just takes some time to assemble. {Note: See my recipe notes after the recipe itself; I’ve shared several “first time lessons learned” below.}

This tiramisu is light, fluffy, and rich. But it’s not too sweet. It’s got a nice cocoa flavor and a subtle espresso flavor, but even for people who aren’t coffee fans, it’s not overwhelming. I’d give it an 8.5 out of 10; would make again. I only wish mine turned out a bit prettier – I wanted to pipe the top layer of filling on top, but alas, it still tastes great. 😉

tiramisuvertical Tiramisu makes a good post-Christmas dinner dessert.

Dem layers doe.

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Tiramisu!

Yield: I used an 8×8″ square glass pan and got about 8-10 servings. You can use an 8×8″ or 9×9″ pan and you should be fine.

Ingredients:
– Four [4] egg yolks
– 1/4 cup granulated sugar
– 1/4 cup Kahlua or other coffee liqueur
– Pinch of salt
– 8 oz. mascarpone cheese
– 1 cup heavy cream
– 3 packages lady fingers/savoiardi [I used three 5 oz. packages of lady fingers.]
– 2 cups hot brewed espresso [I used Medaglia D’Oro instant espresso powder brewed in hot water.]
– 2 TBS. unsweetened cocoa powder or grated bittersweet chocolate [I used cocoa powder this time.]

kahluaespresso Instructions:

Make the Filling:
1. In the top of a double boiler over simmering water, place the egg yolks, sugar, Kahlua, and salt. Whisk the ingredients constantly for about six minutes, or until the mixture becomes thick. When lifting the whisk out, you should be able to leave a “ribbon” on the surface. {Note: If you’re concerned about egg safety, check the temperature of the “custard” – the temperature should reach 160°F. I like to live life on the edge, so I didn’t bother checking it.}

2. Remove the custard mixture from the heat, and set the bowl on ice to cool. Be sure to stir it occasionally.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer [or in a bowl with an electric hand mixer], mix the mascarpone cheese and heavy cream together. Then beat the cheese/cream mixture together until heavy peaks form.

4. Once the egg custard mixture has cooled completely, fold it into the cream and cheese mix until it’s evenly combined. Set aside the filling until you’re ready to assemble.

tiramisufilling Dat filling doe.

Assemble the Tiramisu:
1. One at a time, dip each lady finger into [cooled] espresso. Arrange them in a single layer on the bottom of the pan. Spread about one third of the filling evenly over the lady fingers. Dust the top of the layer with cocoa powder.
2. Repeat step one for the second layer.
3. For the third layer, you can either spread the remaining filling on top, or pipe it all pretty over the lady fingers. Finally, dust with cocoa powder.
4. Place the tiramisu in the refrigerator for twenty-four hours so that it can firm up and allow all of the flavors to meld together. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes/”First Time” Lessons Learned:
– On lady fingers: Apparently, there are two different varieties of lady fingers at the store. There are softer ones, and crunchy ones. My dad could only find the soft ones at Kroger, so I took them out of the package and let them get a little dried out for a day or two. I think that was a good choice, because even after being dried out, they still got a bit too soggy in places from dipping them in the espresso. Next time, I’ll probably just make my own crunchy lady fingers. They seem fairly easy to make from scratch.
– On layering/dipping the lady fingers: Be careful not to get the lady fingers too saturated with espresso. If they become too soggy, they will make the final product a bit “soupy.” Soupy – in this case – is gross.
– Cooking the custard: To make the filling, I made a “makeshift” double boiler. A makeshift double boiler is just a sauce pan filled with simmering water, over high heat. Then I just place a heatproof bowl on top, and put the custard ingredients in to whisk/cook.
– On the cocoa powder: If I were in my own kitchen when I made this, I would have used a sieve or sifter to dust the cocoa powder on each layer. However, I didn’t have access to those tools, so I just used a strainer to sort of “sift” it over. It didn’t turn out as pretty, but it worked well enough.

Tiramisu recipe from Use Real Butter.

Tiramisu also makes a nice breakfast, along with a cup of hot, black coffee. 😛

PS: This blog post is dedicated to my dad. I’m glad you enjoyed my first ever homemade tiramisu! 🙂

December 23, 2014

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Bailey’s Buttercream.

I never knew that it was possible to love a boozy cupcake as much as I love these. Holy crap. I first had one that was made by a fellow baker/coworker – Kelley – at a party awhile back. And it was just love at first sight.

You might be wondering what it is about using a stout beer in cake that makes the cake so amazing. I don’t know the exact science behind it, but something about that stout added with the cocoa powder adds an extra depth of flavor and richness to the final product. It’s hard to explain; it’s just one of those things that is awesome.

I have made these cupcakes several times, but I recently made them again for an ugly sweater party with some friends. Usually I prefer to use one of St. Louis’ local brewery’s stouts in these cupcakes – 4Hands’ Chocolate Milk Stout – it’s seriously one of my favorite stouts. This time, however, I opted for another local brew: Schlafly’s Coffee Stout. I think that the coffee in the stout really added another nice depth of flavor to the cupcakes; coffee and chocolate are always a good pair. Of course, you could use a common stout, such as Guinness. I’m just a fan of using local products in my final baked goods wherever possible, and the 4Hands and Schlafly stouts are solid choices. 🙂

Since these cupcakes were for a Christmas party, I got pretty festive with them. I have an overabundance of sprinkles, so I used some of my Christmas-y sprinkles. I then added these cute little plastic pine tree cupcake toppers to several of them. I think they turned out pretty well, and that’s my absolute favorite part of baking: when treats turn out tasting delicious AND looking awesome. It’s just the bees knees.

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Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Irish Whiskey Chocolate Ganache Filling + Bailey’s Buttercream Frosting

Yield: 24 regular sized cupcakes. I actually cut the recipe in half for the Christmas party, which is easy to do with this recipe.

Ingredients:

For the Cupcakes:
1 cup stout beer [such as Guinness, or opt for an awesome local stout if you can]
1 cup [2 sticks] unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder [preferably Dutch-process]
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

For the Ganache Filling:
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate [I used the Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate bars]
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 TBS. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 to 2 tsp. Irish whiskey [Optional – I used Jameson.]

For the Bailey’s Frosting:
3 1/2 cups (14 oz.) powdered sugar
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 to 8 TBS. Irish cream [I used Bailey’s… Creamy beige!]
8 oz. (1 block) full-fat cream cheese, COLD and cut into 6 to 8 chunks

Instructions:
Make the cupcakes!
1. Line 24 regular muffin tins with liners, and preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Over medium heat, bring the stout and butter to a simmer in a saucepan. Add the cocoa powder, then whisk the mixture until it’s smooth. Allow it to cool slightly.
3. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl: flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer [or with an electric hand mixer], beat the eggs and sour cream until blended. Add the stout-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture, and beat until it’s just combined.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and beat briefly on a low speed. After that, use a rubber spatula to fold the batter until it’s totally combined.
6. Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3rds to 3/4ths of the way full, and bake the cupcakes until a toothpick comes out clean, about 17 minutes [mine only took 15 minutes, but oven times vary]. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely on a rack.

Make the Filling + Fill the Cupcakes:
1. Chop the chocolate [or use chocolate chips], and transfer it to a heatproof bowl.
2. In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream until it’s simmering. Then pour the cream over the chopped chocolate. Allow it to sit for a minute, then stir it until it’s smooth. Add softened butter and the whiskey, if using, and stir until combined. Allow the ganache to cool until it’s thicker but still soft enough to pipe. [You can put it in the fridge to speed up the process, but you will need to stir it every 10 minutes.]
3. While the ganache is cooling, you have two options for preparing the cupcakes for filling: either use a Wilton No. 230 tip to fill them [it is a tip that kind of resembles a bird’s beak, used for filling cupcakes], or cut the centers out of the cupcakes and spoon ganache into them, then replace the tops with the cake you cut out of the top. For a more detailed post on filling cupcakes, this post on Annie’s Eats is a good one.
4. Fill the cooled cupcakes with the ganache, then prepare them for frosting!

Make the Frosting:
1. Into a small bowl, sift the powdered sugar. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, 1 1/2 cups of the powdered sugar. Mix until it’s fluffy and thoroughly blended.
2. Next, add more of the powdered sugar along with 3 TBS. of the Irish cream, and mix again until combined. Add the rest of the powdered sugar, the remainder of the Irish cream, and the vanilla extract. Mix until evenly incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
3. Finally, turn the mixer up to medium high speed, and then add the cold cream cheese a chunk at a time. Wait about five seconds after each addition so that the mixer can incorporate each. Turn the mixer up to high speed and beat the frosting for about one minute, until it’s smooth. Be careful to not over beat.
4. Frost the cupcakes using a piping bag and tips or spread on with a knife. Be sure to use the frosting within 30 minutes or it may become too soft.

Recipe Source: This recipe was given to me by one of my former coworkers, Kelley. I think the chocolate stout cupcake + Irish whiskey ganache recipes are from Smitten Kitchen. I’m not sure where the Bailey’s buttercream recipe comes from, so if you know… please tell me!

lightscupcake One more photo for good measure: some bokeh from the Christmas tree in the background, plus my friend Katie being an awesome hand model!