Pork Chops & Chicken

Mississippi Mud Cake With Bourbon Espresso Glaze

(This is an older picture of the cake. Smoother bundt pan.)

I live for this cake and crave it on a regular basis. I make the best regular chocolate cake. Simple, no guffs about it super moist chocolate cake and chocolate frosting. But every once in a while I need a kick to the cake. I found this recipe ages ago. I don't even remember what I was looking for at the time I think it had to do with bourbon. It doesn't even matter now.

This recipe calls for bourbon two times. In the cake and in the glaze. I am all about it.

Mississippi Mud Cake With Bourbon Espresso Glaze
Via Bon Appétit, July 1999




Ingredients:

Cake

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, cut in to pieces
6 oz unsweetened chocolate or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup brewed espresso, or very strong coffee
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup bourbon (Buffalo Trace)
4 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Glaze

6 tbls. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
6 tbls. packed brown sugar
2 tsp. instant espresso powder
6 tbls. whipping cream
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbls. Bourbon (Buffalo Trace)

Make cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 12-cup Bundt pan. 

*Use a rounded bundt pan over the novelty pans. I used a novelty in this example of making the cake because it's all I had on hand, but I find that the smoother pan is better.

 

Mix flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl.

Combine butter, chocolate and brewed espresso in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over low heat until chocolate and butter melt (mixture may look curdled). Remove from heat. Add sugar and bourbon. Whisk until sugar dissolves and mixture is smooth.

Using electric mixer, beat eggs and vanilla in large bowl until blended. Gradually beat in chocolate mixture. Add flour mixture and stir just until blended.

Transfer batter to pan; smooth top.

  

 

Bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean and cake begins to pull away from sides of pan, about 45 minutes. Cool in pan on rack 15 minutes. Invert cake onto rack; cool completely. 

From the older images.

For glaze:

  

Stir butter, golden brown sugar and instant espresso powder in small saucepan over medium heat until butter melts. Stir in cream. Simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat.

* I forgot to snap an image of the bourbon going in the glaze, but it is in there.

Gradually add powdered sugar, whisking until smooth. Mix in bourbon. Cool slightly.

 

Place cake atop rack on baking sheet. Slowly drizzle glaze over cake, allowing glaze to run down sides of cake and cover as much of cake as possible. Spoon any glaze drippings from baking sheet over cake. Let stand 30 minutes. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover with cake dome. Let stand at room temperature.)

* I do not drizzle the glaze on the cake over a rack. I did that one time and wound up wasting a ton of glaze. I do it right on my cake container and let the glaze drizzle where it may. Once you do that, you get nice little pile ups that you can spread on your cake slice when you cut into the cake. Not the prettiest thing you can do, but tastier.

Krispy Kreme A La Candice

I don't know what comes over me when I get ideas to bake things at 1 am. I should learn to tell myself that it is okay and they can wait until tomorrow, but when I got to make something, it has to be done right away. Well I got the urge last night and made Krispy Kreme donuts. I was originally going to make Chocolate Eclairs. I probably should have after realizing too late that my kitchen wasn't hot enough to proof my donuts and they wound up taking a few more hours to make versus 2. Live and learn.



Krispy Kreme Copycat

By Roosie

2½ hours | 2 hours prep

24 doughnuts

Doughnuts

• 2 (1/4 ounce) packages yeast
• 1/4 cup water (105-115)
• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk (scalded, then cooled)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• canola oil

Creamy Glaze

• 1/3 cup butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 4-6 tablespoons hot water

Chocolate frosting

• 1/3 cup butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 4-6 tablespoons hot water
• 4 ounces milk chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips

*The dough after it was mixed and not raised yet.

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water in 2 1/2-quart bowl.
2. Add milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening and 2 cups flour.
3. Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly.
4. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
5. Stir in remaining flour until smooth.
6. Cover and let rise until double, 50-60 minutes.

*I don't have a proper donut cutter. I used a biscuit cutter and an attachment from my pastry bag to cut a hole in the center.

1. (Dough is ready when indentation remains when touched.) Turn dough onto floured surface; roll around lightly to coat with flour.
2. Gently roll dough 1/2-inch thick with floured rolling pin.
3. Cut with floured doughnut cutter.

1. Cover and let rise until double, 30-40 minutes.

 

1. Heat vegetable oil in deep fryer to 350°.
2. Slide doughnuts into hot oil with wide spatula.
3. Turn doughnuts as they rise to the surface.
4. Fry until golden brown, about 1 minute on each side.
5. Remove carefully from oil (do not prick surface); drain.
6. Dip the doughnuts into creamy glaze set on rack then when slightly cooled spread chocolate frosting on top.
7. Dip in sprinkles or other toppings after chocolate if desired.

*Forgot to snap a pic of adding the powdered sugar.

1. Creamy Glaze: Heat butter until melted.
2. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.
4. Stir in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency.

*I only had a few ounces of milk chocolate. My images reflect that I had to use cocoa powder and butter and sugar to compensate. Then I added the amount of butter the recipe called for. I didn't get a shot a of the finished product though. I can say that the way I made this glaze, it tasted just like hot fudge glaze. A most excellent effect.

1. Chocolate Frosting: Heat butter and chocolate over low heat until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat.
2. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.
3. Stir in water 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency.

Chocolate Berry Rum Shakes

Through someone talking about shakes on Twitter, this idea morphed into a good idea for an afternoon beverage, liquor fix, chocolate fix. Plus there is berries in it. Chocolate, mixed berry, rum shakes.

I had these frozen berries I bought from Costco intending to make a quick pie with. Once you freeze berries they are never the same afterward. They are like vegetables and turn to mush due to all the water in them. I had to get rid of them. Blender and ugly fruit? Bingo!



Ingredients:

1 pint of rich Chocolate Ice Cream
1 to 2 cups frozen Mixed Berries
1 cup Dark Rum (1/2 cup if you are a light weight) Not Meyers rum. Use a darker golden dark rum like Thomas Tew or Pussers. Captain Morgans will work too.
1/3 to 1/2 cup Milk
2 tbls Unsweetened Cocoa Powder or Chocolate Syrup, or Hot Fudge Topping
4 to 5 medium to large sized ice cubes



Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Make sure milk and rum are on the bottom. Without a good liquid base it won't blend very well. Oh and don't forget to keep that blender lid on tight. Everyone I know has had at least one blender accident.



Serve with straw and enjoy.

*Disregard my choice of using Frozen Yogurt in the picture. Stonyfield Farms is very yummy and very rich tasting, but milky, creamy ice cream is a better idea.

Savor Washington D.C. 2009

Okay I am finally ready to blog about Savor in D.C. I have been avoiding this blog post. Not for any reason in particular though. I just haven't felt like blogging until after the American Craft Beer Festival was over. For those of you who don't know, I manage the BeerAdvocate.com beer festivals and help organize them as well as staff the volunteers for the festivals. The ACBF needed over 300 volunteers. So there was a lot to do and I just didn't feel like blogging. But now that it is all over, I am back!

The deal with Savor. Savor was created to highlight food and beer pairings at a finer level by the Brewers Association. They began this event last year over a 2 day period showcasing fine foods paired with exceptional craft beers. This year they only had the event on one day.

As someone who hosts beer dinners for a living through BeerAdvocate.com, I am always interested in the various interpretations and presentations of beer and food combination's. Also, BeerAdvocate.com happens to be one of the sponsors for this event. And for what this event costs ($95 a head) it's good to be a sponsor.

Here is a list of the participating breweries this year.

Breweries for Savor

And the list of food and the food and beer pairings.

Menu

Pairings



When we first arrived, we were hustled around the side of the National Building Museum to the VIP entrance and didn't have to wait in the massive line.

 

I was able to get inside with only a few moments to snap some pictures before the guests entered.



Cheese and accouterments.



Flying Fish Brewing Co. Abbey Dubbel with Moroccan Spiced Lamb Burgers and Exit 4 American Trippel with Cherrywood Grilled Steak Skewers.



Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA with Grilled Beef Skewers with Fire and Spice. Merry Monk's Ale Belgian Style Tripel with Flautas De Pato.



Smuttynose Brewing Co. with Passion Fruit-Mango Mousse cups and Gravitation Quad with Black Bean and Shitake Mushroom Quesadillas.

 

Captain Lawrence Brewing Co. Xtra Gold American Tripel with Maryland Crab Cake Sliders (I am giggling at the "Contains Shellfish" warning on the sign. Their effing crab cakes! Come on people.) Captains Reserve Imperial IPA with Maytag Blue Cheese.

Boscos Brewing Co. Ghost River Hefeweizen with Chicken Breast A La Blanche De Chambly (Sauce is made with Unibroue's Blanche De Chambly, a white ale made in Canada.) Ghost River Golden with Grilled Beef Skewers with Fire and Spice.

 

A few extras I spied lingering around. Kingsbury Chocolates Espresso cups. I am not sure which cheese this is. It's either gouda or gruyere with roasted red peppers. The chocolate was by the Great Divide Table though not the right pairing it went with the Espresso Oak Aged Yeti (Imperial Stout) that Great Divide had.

More beef skewers. Boring. But the beers were not boring at all. Sexual Chocolate is awesome.

Nice fatties. Chesapeake Bay oysters.

Espresso Sambuca Parfaits

Crystal shot glasses layered with Sambuca flavored cream
Spiked with chocolate bits
Topping an espresso pudding
Garnished with striped chocolate sticks and a delicate chocolate wafer.

That is Alec Lopez's hand from The Dive Bar and The Armsby Abbey holding this cup for display. I wanted to explain what this was according to the description. This was more like some espresso jello with cream on top. While it tasted fantastic, the texture was a little creepy.

This was to be paired with Schafly's Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout.

Jicama and Green Papaya summer rolls with Schafly's Oak aged Barleywine.

Sprecher Abbey Triple with Vegetarian Samosas.

 

Breckenridge Brewing Co. 471 IPA with Andouille Sausage en croute.

 

Sierra Nevada Brown Saison with Shrimp Satay and ginger.

Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale with Southwestern Black Bean Soup.

 

Heiner Brau Maerzen with Pulled Pork BBQ sliders.

 

Avery Brewing Co. Brabant Barrel Aged Wild Ale with Open Faced Tenderloin Paninis. Since the ones at Avery were decimated, I found them again at the Capitol City Brewing Co. (Arlington) paired their Amber Waves Ale. They even had the Scallop Burgers with Cilantro Lime Mayo too.

And who could pass up Russian River? I just wanted the Pliny the Elder. I didn't care about the pairings, plus they looked like shit by the time I got over there. I just wanted to say hi to Natalie and Vinnie. Vinnie Cilurzo is arguably the man who created the Double IPA craze in the states and makes one of the best in the country. 

And last but not least Allagash. I started with the Passion Fruit-Mango cups and I ended with them. They were delicious and pretty.

 

Over all the experience was good, but I have to say the food was rather disappointing. The event cost $95 per person. And the food was repeated over and over at various tables. I only took pictures when I saw something new. But the amount of beer and brewers and repeated food was staggering.

The food quality was okay, but I still think that even if they had no choice but to repeat the food, it should have been awesome. It was okay but basically it was wedding appetizer food and nothing was really extraordinary.

The beer and the selections were great. But this event is supposed to be a food and beer event. If I were a foodie, or a novice to beer trying to understand this event or the hype around food and beer, I wouldn't get it. I would think this is one expensive ass happy hour.

I am not trying to impugn the efforts that the Brewers Association went through to make this event happen, but it could have been 100 times better and I will tell you why.

Last year they had much more variety or maybe it was just a higher caliber of food. But the problem with last years event, it was held on two days and at times where everyone was starving. 5pm on Friday, 12 and 5 pm on Saturday. As soon as everyone entered the venue the food was wiped out. All the pairings were wrong on each table because they had to scramble to replace what was wiped out with pairing food from other places.

Again as a novice to beer or foodie, I wouldn't have understood it. Since nothing matched, and everything was replaced with Elbow chocolates and duck purses. It would have just seemed like an expensive way to spend the afternoon with snacks and beers.

This year they had one shot to get it right. One session, 7:30 until 11pm. They handled the amount of food okay but it wasn't all that for the price. I suppose if you look at it as an all you can eat and drink for $95 bucks, I guess that's a good deal, but the purpose of this event wasn't supposed to be a free for all. It was supposed to be an awesome food and beer event. It was only okay and only the beer was stellar.

The side events around Savor were much better. The Lupulin Reunulin event at RFD the day before Savor was awesome. BeerAdvocate.com had held a pub crawl all day leading up to this event. This event was a speaker panel of the "Big Dicks" moderated by the ever so lovely Julie Johnson of All About Beer. Ken Grossman and his son Brian of Sierra Nevada joined in on the action too.

The "Big Dicks" are a bunch of brewers we like to call the cool kids, the popular guys in the industry. Sam (Levi's) Calagione of Dogfish Head, (Pretty Boy) Adam Avery of Avery Brewing Co., Rob (Dirty) Tod of Allagash, Tomme (You ruined my beer, now I hate you!) Arthur of Lost Abbey, and Vinnie (Where the fuck is RR in Mass.?) Cilurzo of Russian River (not pictured because his ass was late to the party). Everyone talks about their beers, everyone wants to meet them and hang out with them.

It's all good fellas and all in love. Really, I am good friends with all of them, but I have to bust their balls. Each one of their nick names is an inside joke. Except for Sam who really was a Levi's Jeans model back in the day. It's okay to ask him about that too.

With this event we tasted 16 beers and listened to this panel discuss the beers and drink them together. It was an awesome event. We noticed everyone around us was smashed by the end of this event, and I couldn't help but think what pussies when I had been on a pub crawl all day and was barely buzzed. I had to laugh at that.

One guy nearly got his ass kicked by me during this event though. He was rudely shooshing us and I mean being a straight up bitch about it, those who were standing in the back of the room. It was a social event, drinks were flowing, how can you expect people to be dead silent? And on top of that it wasn't even that bad or loud. I told this douche bag, whom was so rude and pretty much deserved a beat down, that he was rude after the event. He got holier than thou saying he spent $40 bucks to get into the event. Big Hairy Deal! I spent $40 bones too. So did everyone else. I made Alec Lopez and Sherri Sadowski owners of The Dive Bar and The Armsby Abbey, laugh out loud when the crybaby was still crying about the price, I told him "I will fuck you up" right to his face. I meant it too. He was such a bitch for that. Alas he didn't spoil the night, the mood, or all of my fun.

I am not really that hardcore to fight a guy, but I did want to dump beer all over this guys head. Sadly though, it is true that I do have a foul mouth.

But that night was not about crybabies. It was a fun gathering of friends and industry folk. Lots of laughing and information about these beers being discussed. And the "Big Dicks" cutting it up on stage.

After Savor on Saturday, it was also Adam Avery's 50th 43rd birthday. I left Savor early with the Ladies Of Cambridge Commons from Boston. We went and got a drink or six. Then Todd Alström (my husband) called me to tell me everyone was at Matchbox. So I headed over there.

On the way over I got into a dance battle with some Queens on the streets of D.C. They were clearly humoring me, but then we broke out into Voguing and the shit got serious fast. But I won! Ya Betta Ax Somebody! Totally true story. I battled and won for my peeps!

Then I met up with Sherri (I thought her name was hot ass bitch the entire weekend. She is gorgeous!) and Alec again. Greg Koch of Stone was there along with Adam Avery, and a bunch of other people at Matchbox. Poor Adam though. A crazy girl grabbed a hold of him and really became aggressive with her um "affections" towards him. Yeah her husband was standing right behind her while she told everyone at the bar that she would totally Bone Adam and that her husband wouldn't care because Adam was a celebrity and they loved his beers. Yeah her husband looked rightfully upset and "unthrilled" with his wife. As were we all. Poor Adam indeed. What a way to spend his birthday! Surviving a near rape. It's what you get though when you're Pretty Boy Adam I suppose.

We had a great laugh at his expense for that though. I will owe him some drinks for that.

All in all the weekend was good. I preferred the events before and after Savor the most and the company we kept. Not to mention the great new people we met. Savor was okay, but they better make next years flawless. The beers were the only thing holding it together this year for an other wise very expensive, yet mediocre food and beer event.

Dark Chocolate Toblerone and Pecan Cookies

 

I am supposed to be on a diet, but every time I go visit family, I have to bring something sweet. My sister-in-law is pregnant with baby number 2 and she expressed love for Toblerone. I was going to make the Toblerone block into cookies a few weeks ago but opted to use dark chocolate Kit Kat bars instead. Good thing I waited.

Again I used the simple Ghirardelli Chocolate chip cookie recipe. It really is the best recipe out there. And as proven twice now you can substitute the chocolate and play around with some of the ingredients. In this case I replaced the chocolate chips with large chunks of chopped up Toblerone


(Noticeably absent from the picture is flour. I bought a giant 25 pound bag from Costco and it sits on the floor not on the counter tops.)

The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie

• 1 400g block/bar Dark Chocolate Toblerone coarsely chopped
  
• 2 1/4 cup(s) unsifted flour
• 1 teaspoon(s) baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) teaspoon salt
• 1 cup(s) (2 sticks) butter
• 3/4 cup(s) sugar
• 3/4 cup(s) packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoon(s) vanilla
• 1 cup(s) chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Stir flour with baking soda and salt; set aside. In large mixer bowl, cream butter with sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

Gradually blend dry mixture into creamed mixture.

Stir in nuts and chocolate bits.

Drop 1 tablespoon of dough per cookie onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake at 375ºF for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.

    

Dark Chocolate Kit Kat Cookies With Heath Toffee Bits

I had some serious chocolate to get off of my hands.



I went to London ages ago and bought like a dummy those giant Toblerone Dark chocolate bars. I also bought a freaking 8 pack of dark chocolate Kit Kat bars.

For the record, I am extremely jealous of ANYWHERE that isn't the U.S. when it comes to Kit Kat bars. They can have all the variety they want. They have freaking 70% Dark Chocolate Kit Kat bars. WTF!! Kit Kat Senses with Hazelnut filling. I mean come on. Why can't we have that?

Now granted these are all made by Nestle. We do have Nestle in the states, but our Kit Kat bars are made from Hershey's. They released flavors for a limited edition. But in Australia when I was visiting, they had Cookie Dough Kit Kat. For Real! All we have is crappy Caramel and White Chocolate plus the classic milk. Big Whoop. Can I get an Amen for them to bring the Cookies'N'Cream, and Cookie Dough versions here? Mint Chocolate Kit Kat anyone?

Anyhoo...

These chocolate bars have got to go. So I made cookies. Sans the Toblerone this time, but next batch will be made with it unless I come up with something more creative.

I used the Ghirardelli chocolate chip cookie recipe for the base. It's simple and it makes well perfect cookies. Don't go by the picture in the recipe. I don't know why they used those, because when I use this recipe I get the perfect cookies every time. Those pictured in the link look busted.




2 cups Dark Chocolate Kit Kat bars chopped (4 packages)
2 1/4 cup Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 cup Butter
3/4 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla
Heath Toffee bits optional

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Stir flour with baking soda and salt; set aside.

Side Note: I don't usually do this step. It would be easier, but for me I put in each ingredient one by one.



In large mixer bowl, cream butter with sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

Side Note: When my butter is too cold to blend, I nuke it for a few seconds to soften it up.



Gradually blend dry mixture into creamed mixture.



Stir in and Kit Kat and Heath bits.



Side Note: I added Heath bits at the last minute so I didn't get a picture of it going into the mix but I added about half a cup to 1 cup.



Drop 1 tablespoon of dough per cookie onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Side Note: Notice the round pan in the second pic. LOL! I had to use my nonstick pizza pans because I realized at the last second all of my cookie sheets were dirty. Same thing just round.

Bake at 375ºF for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.

 

Serve with ice cold, tall glass of milk.

Belgian Raspberry Brownies With (Espresso) Truffle Ganache

I stumbled upon this recipe a while ago, but decided to give them a chance now. I modified the recipe a bit to use espresso truffles as the ganache topping. I didn't make my own truffles this time around. There was no point to melt chocolate into truffles only to remelt them for ganache topping. I don't like Lindt chocolate at all and the recipe calls for Lindt truffles. For quick melting chocolate, I just ran to the store and picked up Starbucks Espresso Truffles. In this case it's not the quality of the chocolate I was looking for but more the rich espresso notes. This is to go along with the beer I have planned for these brownies. La Muerta Imperial Stout from Freetil Brewing Company in San Antonio, Texas. A bottle was given to us from Scott Metzger the Founder and CEO at the Craft Brewers Conference in April.

My brownies also came out a lot lighter than the images produced for this recipe from the original source. There are two reasons why. One, I used a Belgian style blonde ale with raspberries called Éphémère from Unibroue in Quebec, Canada instead of a preferred Framboise Lambic like Lindemans. I didn't have any on hand, but I did have Éphémère instead which is very effervescent and has a strong raspberry nose, but lighter body and sweet essence of raspberry on a blonde ale. Also I didn't have an 11x8 pan to bake the brownies in. I had an 8x8 or 9x13. I went with the 9x13 to make thinner brownies. So while my brownies aren't as pretty, they did turn out AMAZING. Full of rich flavor.
 

Belgian Raspberry Brownies with Truffle Ganache (Recipe By Emiline)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup raspberry beer
1/4 cup seedless raspberry preserves (Mine had seeds. No big deal)
5 ounces coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate (Sharffen Berger Bittersweet)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup dark cocoa powder (I used Droste)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ganache:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
5 ounces coarsely chopped dark chocolate truffles (Starbucks Espresso Truffles)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line an 11x8-inch baking dish with foil; coat with cooking spray.

 

Melt 1/2 cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; stir in beer and raspberry preserves.



Side Note: Since you only need 1/2 cup of beer, you might as well pour yourself the rest and enjoy it while you bake.



When mixture is hot, and starts to bubble, turn heat off, and stir in bittersweet chocolate, until melted, and well combined; set aside.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, beat together granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla, for 3 minutes.



Reduce mixer speed to low, and beat in melted chocolate mixture, until well combined. Stir in flour mixture, until just combined.

Scrape batter into prepared dish; bake at 375 degrees F, for 20-25 minutes, or until set.

Side Note: For the 9x13 pan 20 minutes was enough.



Plunge dish into a larger baking dish, filled with ice water, until brownies are cool.

To make the ganache,

Melt 1 tablespoon butter, in a small saucepan set over medium heat; stir in cream.



When mixture starts to bubble, reduce heat to low, and stir in chopped truffles, until melted, and smooth.

 

Pour ganache over brownies, and smooth the surface, using a rubber spatula.
Freeze the brownies until ganache is set, about 15 minutes.



Lift the foil-lined brownies out of dish, and slice into bars, using a sharp knife.

(The bottle for La Muerta is BAD ASS!!)

The beer pairing for this recipe can go in two ways. Either with the raspberry beer you made the brownies with, definitely the Lindemans over the Unibroue Blonde ale even if it has raspberries in it. The Lindemans is pure fruit though and would be a better fit. Or you can go classic and pair chocolate with an Imperial Stout.

In this case though, I am pairing them with La Muerta. Obvious reasons behind this one. A rich roasted stout 10% ABV with chocolate raspberry brownies and espresso ganache is a no brainer. The rich espresso notes from the ganache will marry perfectly with this beer as it already has roasted coffee notes on it.

I will have to update this post after I drink the beer itself and let you know exactly what I think of this pairing. I am taking the brownies to some friends house to watch the Kentucky Derby and share the beer with.

Until that time, read the reviews for this beer on BeerAdvocate. All A's. They explain the flavor profile well enough and you will understand why this beer will work with the brownies.

Chocolate Review: Romanengo Cioccolato Fondente Amaro 61%

Pietro Romanengo fu Stefano is an exquisite candy shop from Italy that has been around since the late 1700's. I fret to use a generic term like candy shop, but it is truly what they make, only they make gorgeous, world-class candies and confections. 

A quick read on their history. Romanengo Past and Present

I was mostly familiar with their Dragée's or sugar coated almonds and their candied fruits that came in amazing wooden boxes for an incredible presentation, from when I worked at Formaggio Kitchen.

They also make these wonderful candied sugars with liquid centers. The centers were flavored with rose, lemon, anise and other wonderful flavors.



As well as Fondants di Frutta with a multitude of flavors like mint, lemon, Pears, banana and orange to name a few.



Recently I was given a bar of their dark chocolate. I am mostly a fan of Italian chocolates. The time and care put into their products is seen across the board in all the chocolates from any region in Italy. Knowing what kind of exquisite candies Romanengo makes, needless to say I was very excited about the chance to enjoy their chocolate bars.

Romanengo is from the Liguria region of Italy in the Province of Genoa. The coastal, northern region of Italy.

They are purists about their chocolate. This is important when dealing with high quality chocolate bars. They use Mexican beans for their chocolate, though I am not sure of the varietal currently. Pending information request.

Updated: The information about the beans they use has been given.

The "Messicano" chocolate you are tasting does not really come only from Mexico. It is an old and traditional name used by our company for more than 150 years. The beans actually come from a variety of places, mostly in Central America (if you want, it is not a "single cru", but a "blended" chocolate).

Our philosophy does not place a great importance on origin or on high cocoa percentages but on the process. We use a 1860 mixer with granite wheels (able to bring out all the flavors, which is not the case of modern machines) and we conch the paste for 72 hours (again, in a granite-wheeled machine). And we do not use soy lecithin which would speed up the process but somehow (we feel) spoils the taste.

From their website:

We produce our chocolate by mixing cocoa paste in a traditional old mill (mélangeur) and trough, both with their own granite stones, where the chocolate is "beaten" non-stop for three days and three nights. The granite brings out the chocolate's wonderful aroma.
We never use soy lecithin: Romanengo chocolate is made exclusively from cocoa, sugar and cocoa butter with absolutely no additives (except the milk used to make milk chocolate).
Romanengo makes bars of plain chocolate (62% cocoa) and bars of milk chocolate.
Our range also includes what we call "family" chocolate, once produced in endless varieties and melted to produce a delicious drink. It is made from near-equal quantities of cocoa and sugar but no cocoa butter. The chocolate is available in the traditional "santé" version or flavoured with cinnamon. 

Cioccolato Fondente Amaro

Bean Origin: Blended Central American Beans
Varietal: Unknown
Cocoa Percentage: 61%

Ingredients: Sugar, cocoa-paste, cocoa-butter, vanilla flavor. Cocoa 61%

Amaro means dark in Italian. So the name of the bar implies exactly what you are going to get with a 61% cocoa chocolate bar.

The Nose: Light smokiness, rich tobacco, almost like pipe tobacco, tree bark notes as well as rich buttery notes from the cocoa butter, and berries.

Smells like classic semi-sweet chocolate chips. This is not meant to be an insulting characteristic or a generic term, but it rather it has a smell that reminds of me of home when I was a kid making chocolate chip cookies with my mother.

Texture: Smooth when dissolving on the palate, but a little dry and crumbly when bitten into. A little chalky. It melts very slow on the palate. Not as creamy as I had hoped for.

Side Note: I learned a little neat trick when tasting chocolate about the cocoa butter used from a great new friend, Pete Slosberg who used to own Cocoa Pete's and was the founder/owner of Pete's Wicked Ale. The cocoa bean is grown between 20ºN of the equator and 20ºS of the equator.

Cacao is grown plus or minus 20 degrees north and south of the equator.  What I was told by the technical people at my chocolate provider is that cocoa butter is softest near the equator and gets progressively harder as you approach the furthest north and south limits. Also, when chocolatiers mention a cacao percentage on the label, it isn't really pure cacao directly from the beans. It's cacao from the beans plus extra added cocoa butter, e.g. a 70% cacao chocolate could be 60% cacao plus an added 10% cocoa butter. The extra cocoa butter will smooth out the chocolate. It's next to impossible to glean how much extra cocoa butter is added, but it's worth asking the supplier directly.

I find this fascinating because this chocolate is very much representative of that factor. It's a slow melt in the mouth and the beans were a blend from around Central America. This would indicate that their beans were produced further away depending upon how much coco-butter they actually used.

Taste: A complex flavor profile. It begins almost tasteless until the bar begins to melt. Once it begins to open up there are rich nutty flavors. Slight roasted cocoa bean taste that doesn't stay on the palate for very long, but pops enough upfront to let you know it's there. Then it really opens up into bright cherries, and has a slow lingering tartness. There are fresh tobacco notes as indicated on the nose and a deep red wine grape taste. The finish is a light smokiness again as indicated on the nose.

Very low bitterness, but definite higher acid content based on that lingering tartness.

To me this is the reason the Italians reign supreme on chocolate making. Even with a higher acid content, it doesn't jab you in the neck from shoddy processing or less care in the fermentation process. Sometimes with lactic acid and the bacterial process in the fermentation can't be helped. But it's those chocolate producers who go to the farms and care to research the issues with their production who make all the difference in the world. Again you are getting tart fruit flavors that are wonderful to eat and experience in the flavors of chocolate versus actual physical reactions to the acid content.

I am stickler about this because once this factor of acid content became apparent to me, it really makes or breaks chocolate bars for me.

An excellent chocolate bar over all.

Chocolate Review: Askinosie Soconusco 75%

[Image via ansto.gov.au. This article is a fascinating article about the molecular science of chocolate.]


I have decided to thrust myself forward into the delicious world of chocolate. As I read more books, and gather advice from friends and people involved in the chocolate community, I am finding myself more and more fascinated.

Chocolate seems simple enough to get into as a hobby, you just eat it! As someone who makes the best chocolate cake you have ever had, and bakes all the time with chocolate, it seems like a natural fit for me.

However, it's not as easy as some would think however. Learning about say the fermentation of cacao beans, or delicacies of how each bean tastes from different regions is a lot of information to retain. It won't happen over night. It was like my journey with cheese when I worked in a high end cheese shop. I was put on the floor and started selling immediately and I didn't know anything about cheese regions, and varieties and all the nuances that impact the flavor of cheese. It was get what the customer wanted and ask questions later. I worked there for two years. And even until my last day, I still struggled with learning about the vast amounts of cheese. Partly because I spent all of my time in the bakery where the chocolate and the beer was!

After I left, I suddenly remembered everything. I was pissed about it too. Where was this so called retained information when I needed it for selling points to customers in the store? None of that matters now. I don't care if I ever sell it again. I do however, know exactly what I am looking for now.

This journey into chocolate for me I feel will end up being a lot like cheese. One day I am just going to be able to talk about chocolate without any prompting or having to reference my notes on flavor profiles and guides. I can sort of do that now, based on flavors, but I am still learning why certain chocolates have berry flavors, why there might by high or low acid contents, and what really happens when cocoa beans are fermented. It's a lot to digest. Literally and figuratively.

So what I thought I would do here, is take a variety of single origin chocolates that I written extensive tasting notes on and discuss them here. Review them. I will post them one at a time to give each one I review it's fair share of time.

These are my opinions and my own individual palate talking. An important note to make, taste is subjective. I cannot stress that enough. Everyone has different palates. They might not be able to taste certain flavors, or maybe they taste a dominating flavor too much. It's all relative because it is up to the individuals mouth.
 
This is a very good guide for understanding how to taste chocolate. Two sources from The Nibble. This is a good way to bulk up and get familiar with where I am going in the tasting of these chocolates.

Flavors and Aromas of Chocolate and Flavors and Aromas of Varietal Chocolate.

Also a quick note about bean varietals from All Chocolate.


So without further delay, let's get in to some chocolate shall we?

 

[Click images to enlarge.]

This first review is all about Askinosie. I first encountered them at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver a few years ago. I was very excited about a single origin chocolate company coming to a beer festival. I am so over wine and chocolate. Despite loving red wine, beer and chocolate is so much more adventurous and fun. It's nearly limitless with the possibilities for pairings.

Side note: Two of the most unique chocolate and beer pairings were Avery Brewing Co. Samaels, a 14.5% ABV Oaked English Strong Ale paired with Venchi Puro Cocao 75% Chili Pepper chocolate. The rich buttery oak and huge sweet malts, married well with the slow heat of the chili peppers and the chocolate wrapped everything on the palate up without being too robust. Even at 75%.

And Stone Ruination, a 7.7% ABV clean and robust DIPA with Elbow's chocolate covered Fleur De Sel Caramels. The hops cut right through the butteriness of the caramel and allowed fresh bittering hops to play with sweet vanilla and sugars. It was interesting and I never would have pegged this to work.

Askinosie can now be found at Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge, Ma. for anyone who is local. I recommend ordering from Askinosie online though. FK puts 100% mark up on their products. Especially rare imports or hard to find items. To have them shipped from FK would be even more. They are however, one of the few places that carries some of these chocolates. You might have to take the hit on some of the prices if you can't locate them some where else. It's worth it in the long run, but you need to know that you are getting hit with huge prices.

This company works directly with the farmers. They pay higher than fair trade wages. They travel to Ecuador and  Mexico and share 10% of the net profits with their farmers. They also work closely with the farmers about giving their input on the early stages and fermentation process of their beans.

They also use their own cocoa butters. From their site:

What's the big deal about your cocoa butter and your natural cocoa powder?

The big deal is -- we are the first small batch chocolate maker in the U.S. to press our own cocoa butter AND the only makers of natural cocoa powder. Our Natural Cocoa Powder is made right in our factory using the same beans we use to make our dark chocolate. We have a custom press in our factory that we use to make the cocoa press cake from chocolate liquor that we create with beans from San Jose Del Tambo, Ecuador and Soconusco, Mexico. The cake is then refined to a powder that is easy to bake with. It is an authentic single origin powder that is unsweetened and non-alkalized. The true flavor of the beans translate into a rich dark cocoa powder great for baking.

Our cocoa butter is also pressed in our factory using the same custom press as the natural cocoa powder and we are the only small batch chocolate maker to do this. But don't take our word for it. Emily "Duff" Anderson, chocolate guru for Zingerman's Delicatessen, writes--
               
When I found out that Shawn and his team from Askinosie are actually pressing their own cocoa butter from the San Jose Del Tambo and Soconusco beans, I was pretty impressed. This means that the "cocoa butter" on the ingredient list of the bars is coming from the same beans used to make the chocolate, which is pretty cool.

Soconusco 75%

Bean Origin: Soconusco, Mexico
Variety: Trinitario
Cocoa percentage: 75%

The Nose: It smells very smoky. The roasted chocolate aromas are very subdued compared the amount smokiness I picked up. There is a slight berry essence on the nose. It's very slight.

Texture: Smooth texture. No grittiness, slightly chewy and waxy.

The Taste: This is a progressive ride on the palate. Immediately you taste it and it's very smooth. Low acidity.

Side note: How you can tell if there is a high amount of acid in the cocoa or not, is by your neck. It's one of the ways that acid can stand out. If you get that sharp sensation in the gland area of your neck just below your ear and jaw line, that can indicate that there is too much acid in the chocolate. That can come from the fermentation process and lactic acid is one of the key factors among others that gives it that sharpness.

It starts off smooth and there is upfront bitterness that lingers into a citrus flavor, that then sort of morphs into a delicate berry flavor. It has a tangy flavor, but then mellows out in to earthy roasted finish. So much going on with this chocolate.

Despite this kind of roller coaster on the palate, it's very balanced and smooth as well as rich. It's very complex and a fantastic representation of Mexican chocolate. It shows how sophisticated Mexican chocolate can be. Mexican chocolate can be over looked or lumped in to a flavored category with spices added to the chocolate. I also adore any dark chocolate with high amounts of cocoa that makes me forget how strong it actually is. The balance of the flavors and control of the acid contents really contributes to this factor. 

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This type of result from Askinosie is why I personally prefer Italian chocolates. This is what you would expect from Italian chocolate makers. Even though Askinosie is an American company out of Missouri, I have to congratulate Askinosie on a job well done. This is good quality chocolate.

I have a slight bias when it comes to how the Italians make chocolate. Nearly everything I have had from Italian chocolate makers has this same kind of smoothness, and richness that allows the real flavors of the chocolate to come out and not be overtaken by shoddy processing of the beans. They care for it, they have mastered it, and it shows.

The French in my opinion have never mastered this when it comes to their bars or straight chocolates and single origin chocolates. But I will go on record and say I am not familiar with newer versions of single origin bars. I am ready and willing to have my mind changed. But I do not favor Cote d'Or (Belgian but the same quality as the French), or Valhrona. Maybe for baking, but not so much for eating. The acid contents again always hit my neck with too much force. They are however, masters of beautiful truffles, and superior with flavors in truffles.

I have yet to get into too many Swiss chocolates. If Lindt Chocolates is any sort of indication of what is superior to the Swiss, I might have a problem with them. To be fair though, you never know unless you go there and find little shops and hand made chocolates. Since I haven't been there yet or haven't had enough variety from them, I typically leave them out of the discussion. For now anyway.

The Belgians are considered the worlds master chocolate makers. I am not on this bandwagon. I appreciate their affinity for milk chocolates even some of the newer Dark/Milk blends (higher cocoa percentages to milk chocolate), but over all I feel like they fall in the same lines as the French. They make beautiful chocolates and have a great way of incorporating flavors, but pound for pound their origin chocolates, are no where near the quality of the Italians.

While visiting Germany a few years ago, in Bmaberg, there is a small chocolate shop there that specializes in making Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier truffles. Smoked beer truffles. They were delicious. They also had the best piece of Stollen I have ever had in my life. But while visiting I picked up a bunch of single origin bars. Sadly during all of the multiple stops and having to pack and repack my bag about 60 times, I left them behind somewhere. I hope it was a maid who cleaned up after us found them and enjoyed them.

I am quite sure these last opinionated paragraphs are fighting words to some, but I invite all to challenge this idea. Find chocolates and taste them, compare them and review them.

Be Advised: Once you get into tasting finer chocolates, it's a door you can open, but cannot close. I will leave you to experience that statement on your own.
 

Worth A Read

 

So while I am doing my research for chocolate training, I picked up this book to read. So far it's wonderful. I really like the way Mort Rosenblum tells a story. I highly recommend it.

Most chocolate books have interesting beginnings and opening chapters, but then turn in to recipe books. That's fine if I am looking for a recipe, but for now I want the history of chocolate and the history of some of our well known chocolate companies. Then it's on to techniques and tricks of the trade.