Espresso-Shot Chocolate Ganache Frosting

Yup! You heard me, correctly.

Espresso-Shot Chocolate Ganache Frosting.

It’s the best of both worlds.

Chocolate + Coffee. If you’re not a coffee drinker, that has nothing to do with it.

You can’t tell me you don’t like coffee & therefore you refuse to try this recipe.

I’ve heard it before. Yet, coffee-haters devour my brownies… & I tell them my secret: You just devoured espresso.

You see, espresso serves as a chocolate enhancer.

Remember that watery taste I described in my last post? When you bite into something & you can taste a void?

That’s what happens to a lot of chocolate desserts – especially (in my opinion) chocolate cakes & frostings.

I must give credit where credit is due. This buttercream frosting was inspired by Taste Magazine & Martha Stewart’s Chocolate Ganache.

(I promise you I don’t worship this woman. However, she (*cough* or her STAFF) comes up with some really superb ideas!)

Taste Magazine had an issue with an espresso cake which used extra light olive oil instead of butter to preserve the moisture of the cake. I decided to try it out for some dinner guests & flew with it!

I don’t believe in coffee OR chocolate flavoured baked goods that lack chocolate OR coffee, respectively.

So… I pulled out my favourite chocolate cake recipe… Googled (love Google) Martha Stewart’s Chocolate Ganache recipe… And whipped up a basic buttercream frosting recipe.

Espresso-Shot Chocolate Ganache Frosting

• 125g of softened butter
• 4+ Cups of confectioners sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp completely cooled espresso
• 1/2 – 1 whole recipe of thoroughly-chilled MS Chocolate Ganache*
• 1-2 tbsp whipping cream

~ Cream butter. Add 4 cups of confectioners sugar & salt.

~ Add vanilla, whipping cream, & espresso. Whip together thoroughly.

~ If too runny, add another cup of confectioners sugar.

~ Continue whipping & drop spoons of ganache.

~ Beat until frosting forms soft peaks.

~ Serve on cakes, cupcakes, salted crackers, pizza… You’ll want it on everything. 😉

* The amount of ganache is a matter of preference. I use the entire recipe & add confectioners sugar as needed. The goal is to have airy, whipped frosting. You do not want a heavy frosting nor a runny frosting.

“Whip it. Whip it good.”

Combina-cipe

Combina-cipe: (Cahm-bi-neh-sip-ee) n. The result of a rebel chef who carries the notion that they have masterminded a superior form of two or more recipes.

Hello. My name is Caelyn. And this is the look I get on my face when I’ve tasted something that has caused the wheels in my mind to churn until I’ve created something of my very own.

I can never claim originality. But then again King Solomon – the wisest man to live – said “there is nothing new under the sun”.

So, in essence, none of us can make that claim.

I digress.

In posts gone by, I mentioned briefly our holidays that were spent with my mom’s parents who braved the Atlantic for the first time ever to visit the “wilds of Africa”…

My grandfather is one of my culinary heroes. He has taught me so much & was patient enough to instruct this non-perfectionist on his perfectionist cooking methods.

He purchased me a kitchen scale (if you don’t have one, get one).

Set aside a few days for baking & cooking.

And even taught me how to make his famous Date Chew Cookies.

Meet the Master Chef:

And again…

And one last one of his hands…

Whenever we are with my mom’s parents, Pap’s Chewy Date cookies are requested along with several other “Grandma & Pap favourites”.

Being an adult & contributor in the kitchen, it is way more fun working with Pap & discovering each other’s kitchen quirks.

This time, my pap & I got some good laughs out of our differences.

For instance, I believe that unsalted butter is a sin to use in baking. Not even going to sugarcoat it.

In my humble opinion, I hold that unsalted butter leaves a watery void in food that my tastebuds are highly sensitive to.

Although I am convinced I get my urge to adapt recipes from Pap, my suggestion to try salted butter scared him. – That same kind of “scared” you get when your child with the Learner’s Permit (or younger sibling, in my case) requests to drive you to the store.

I respect that.

So, out of respect, I waited until he was safely back in his kitchen in America to try things MY way. 🙂

You may be familiar with Sally’s Baking Addiction. If you are not, make sure you are self-disciplined & motivated because I’m sure that most of you resolved to live healthier lifestyles & lose weight this year.

My sister, who has not had dessert in two years, introduced me to her. Devilish of her, right?

Whenever I want to get ideas & adapt my baking recipes, I weigh most recipes against hers.

I combined her Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with my pap’s recipe.

These are reasons why I know this is a good decision:

• She toasts her walnuts. (Need I say more? … I will, anyway.)

• She includes cinnamon in her dough which inspired the spices I incorporated in mine.

• She uses molasses

• Unlike Sally, my pap mixes various dried fruits & loads the dough with them.

Besides that, their recipes are pretty similar. Including the fact that she, too, uses unsalted butter.

But that’s all the better for me.

I took the best from both worlds & formed my own Utopia.

My dough tastes divine.

I’m a believer.

“Whip it. Whip it good.”

Tres Leches w/ Sopapilla & Strawberry Garnish

I like to think that I am Spanish. But my sisters remind me that I really can’t claim any heritage over another because we are such a hodgepodge.

I, however, like to think that “hodgepodge” means I can choose whatever I want.

It’s still being debated.

Growing up predominately in the southern states in America, I have had the blessed privilege of Central & South American cuisines.

Best food ever… At least, that’s how I feel in this moment.

My favourite desserts are puddings, cinnamon-sugary anythings, & fruit desserts (especially my mother’s apple pie).

My boss in Houston is the one that got me hooked onto Tres Leches. I had never had it at home & I quickly fell in love.

What did I do all my life BTL (“Before Tres Leches”)??

Then one day it occurred to me: Why not combine all of my favourites??? Pudding. Cinnamon sugar. Fruit.

That’s just what I did.

If you’re not familiar with Pioneer Woman, then you must stop what you’re doing & go to her blog! She is one of my culinary heroes & I have yet to discover a recipe of hers that I do not like.

She also lives my wildest dream: a creative diva-chef-housewife-entrepreneur-mother helping her rancher cowboy husband.

One must have a lot of stamina & a passion for what they are doing to accomplish what she does.

… I googled & compared different recipes. (Of course I chose hers.) Then I took my quick & easy Sopapilla chips recipe. And then I chose as my contrasting garnish: Strawberries.

The fruit garnish is where PW & I part ways. I’m not a fan of cherries.

Step 1: Follow PW’s Tres Leches Recipe

Step 2:

• 4 lg white tortillas
• c. 1/2 C Cinnamon-Sugar mix
• Coconut Oil

~ Preheat oven to 350 F OR 180 C.

~ Slice tortillas into 5ths.

~ Brush both sides of tortilla slices with Coconut oil.

~ Press both sides of coated tortilla slices on a plate of Cinnamon-Sugar.

~ Place on a cookie sheet & bake for 10-15min or until golden brown.

~ Remove from oven & immediately place into a bowl to cool.

~ Rinse & slice strawberries (I use whole strawberries because I LOVE the taste; but this is at the discretion of the chef).

~ Cut & serve your completed & chilled Tres Leches. Garnish with strawberries & place one Sopapilla chip per serving.

Bon appetit!

“Whip it. Whip it good.”