Cold-Brewed Iced Coffee

If you have ever been intimidated by the process of making coffee, but enjoy iced coffee, this recipe is for you. Heck, if you just like coffee, this recipe is for you. Nothing could be simpler to make, yet it produces a super smooth, not bitter flavor (what's the opposite of bitter? I'm blanking...I'll just go with smooth).

I got into this recipe when I was in Israel two summers ago, sweating profusely during my 9 am trek to class. I would put out the coffee and water mixture at night, and in the morning stir up some of the coffee concentrate with water, ice, soy milk, and sweetener, thereby mustering up the courage to venture into the 90+ degree morning.

I realize that we find ourselves in February now, but in Los Angeles that means nearly 80 degree weather some days, so some of us can give this a chance. Or bookmark it for a warmer time in other climates. Or drink it in your warm home and imagine you are in a warmer place. No excuses to not make it, see?

Don't forget that this makes a coffee CONCENTRATE - it will be strong if you don't water it down as the recipe indicates. I opted for the new Starbucks Blonde roast, which is the one coffee of theirs that I have ever wanted to buy a whole pound of...smooth is again the adjective I'd choose for this roast. Whatever coffee you use, expect to experience slightly different notes in it with this method.

(the numbers on the measuring cup are supposed to be backwards - to read from above the cup!)

Cold-Brewed Iced Coffee

taken from smittenkitchen

Mix 1/3 C medium-coarse ground coffee with 1 1/2 C water. Leave in a covered container at room temperature overnight (8-12 hours, longer doesn't hurt).

Strain through a coffee filter, fine mesh strainer, or cheese cloth. In a tall glass filled with ice cubes, mix equal parts water and coffee concentrate, adding milk and/or sweetener as desired.

SO EASY! Enjoy!

Mississippi Mud Pie

I actually spelled out M-I-SS-I-SS-I-PP-I in my head as I typed the title of this post. I love how some mnemonics stick with you for life - it gives me hope that I'll at least remember one word per language I study over the course of my life!

Unlike the language details that gradually slip away out of disuse, I know that I will remember this pie. It participated in a dear yearly ritual: ringing in the New Year with my own set of Woo Girls. As I've said to many of my friends, I have always found New Year's a disappointing holiday - until I started spending it with my Woo Girls. This was our third celebration together, and it just gets better every year. And this pie was...the icing on the cake? Or something like that. In any case, it was rich, good, and easy - just allow time for each layer to set, and you'll be enjoying the yumminess before you know it.

This recipe is from my Christmas gift to myself, Baked Explorations. Coming out of the NYC bakery Baked, it is full of rave-reviewed recipes that are new takes on classic American baked goods. The photos are gorgeous, the reinventions creative, and for once I want to make the entire pie/tart section of a cookbook - and I'm a cake girl!

A few notes:

• Be aware that American desserts mean butter, cream, corn syrup, and even shortening sometimes.
• I would use the unsalted butter as indicated; I did not, due to butter availability in the kitchen, and the dessert tasted salty to me. There is plenty of salt in the cookies to complement the sweetness of the filling.
• Each layer of the pie needs time to set in the refrigerator or freezer, so make sure to build that waiting time into your plans. I've bolded the waiting time in the recipe below.
• Let the finished pie sit in the freezer long enough for each layer to come to a consistent hardness; we were in a rush to eat the pie, so the ice cream was not as solid as the fudge layers, which I found harder to eat since it squashed out of the middle.

That being said, here's the first pie I tried from Baked Explorations (to be shortly followed by the first cake):

WOOOOOHOOOOOOO!

Mississippi Mud Pie (there I go again spelling it!)

from Baked Explorations

Chocolate Cookie Crust Ingredients:

30 chocolate wafer cookies, about 6 oz.

1 T granulated sugar

6 T (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Filling Ingredients:

4 oz. dark chocolate (60-72%)

1/4 C plus 1 T heavy cream

3 T unsalted butter

2 T light corn syrup

1 C confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 T Kentucky bourbon

1 pint good-quality coffee ice cream

1/2 C toasted pecans, coarsely chopped

Bourbon Fudge Topping Ingredients:

2 T heavy cream

2 T unsalted butter

1 T light corn syrup

3 oz. good-quality dark chocolate (60-72%)

1 tsp Kentucky bourbon

1. Chocolate Cookie Crust

Pulse the wafer cookies into fine crumbs with a food processor (if you don't have a food processor, place the cookies in a heavy duty ziplock bag and beat them with a rolling pin - but beware of holes in the bag!). Makes about 1 1/2 C. In a mixing bowl, stir together the crumbs and sugar.

Pour the melted butter over the crumbs and mix well. Transfer the crumb mixture into a 9-inch pie plate and press it into the bottom and up the sides. Use the back of a large spoon or the bottom of a measuring cup to get an even crust. Set the crust aside in the refrigerator.

2. Filling

Place the chopped chocolate in a large heatproof bowl.

In a medium saucepan, bring the cream, butter, and corn syrup to a simmer. Remove the mixture from the heat, pour it over the chocolate, and let sit for 1 minute. Then whisk the chocolate mixture until it is completely smooth. Whisk in the confectioners' sugar and bourbon.

Spread the fudge evenly over the bottom of the pie crust, cover it, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Soften the coffee ice cream by placing the container in the microwave for 10 seconds on high. Put it into a large bowl and use a rubber spatula to beat it until it is slightly malleable. Spread the ice cream over the chilled fudge filling, sprinkle it with pecans, gently pressing them into the ice cream, and freeze the pie for about 1.5 hours, or until the ice cream is firm.

3. Bourbon Fudge Topping

In a small saucepan over low heat, heat the cream, butter, and corn syrup together until the mixture begins to simmer. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate. Whisk until the fudge is smooth - if you still have a few stray chocolate chunks, reheat the mixture over very low heat until they are completely melted. Stir in the bourbon.

Beat the fudge topping until it reaches room temperature, and pour it over the ice cream and pecan layer in a zigzag pattern. Freeze the Mississippi Mud Pie until it is set, about 20 minutes. To serve the pie, cut it with a warmed sharp knife.

The pie will keep in the freezer, tightly covered, for up to 4 days.

Happy New Year indeed!

Chocolate Stout Cake, aka Baking with Guinness

What better way to include others than chocolate cake? Oktoberfest concluded this week, which means that you all will probably have some leftover beer sitting around...and even if not, why not make a cake loaded with stout (read: Guinness-like beer!), coffee, and dark chocolate? This is a nice dark cake, not too sweet, with a rich ganache icing - and I've been told it gets better over time (it didn't last long enough in my house for me to taste it on day 2). If you don't overwhip the egg whites like I did this last time, the cake should end up light and moist. The Guinness also lends a subtle yeastiness to the cake, a quality I appreciate when using it in this beer bread.

So here you go! Enjoy the remainder of the stout left in the can or bottle after you apportion some for the recipe:

Chocolate Stout Cake
from Bon Appétit (see original recipe for notes on beer)

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons sugar
3 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup chocolate stout, regular stout, or porter
2/3 cup freshly brewed strong coffee

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans, line each with parchment paper on the bottom inside, and set aside.

Melt chopped chocolate in a double boiler and remove from heat.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat butter and 1 1/4 C sugar together until light and fluffy (about 2 minute). Beat in egg yolks one at a time. Add melted chocolate, then stout, then coffee. Beat in flour mixture in two additions until just incorporated.

With clean dry beaters, whip egg whites and remaining 3 T sugar until stiff but not dry. Then fold 1/3 of whites into the cake batter, then the remaining whites in 2 additions.

Divide the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the top of each with a rubber scraper.

Bake about 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pans on a rack for 20 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of each layer and turn out onto racks to cool completely.

Ganache Icing
1 pound bittersweet chocolate (54% to 60% cacao), chopped
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

Place chopped chocolate in medium heatproof bowl. Combine whipping cream and espresso powder in medium saucepan. Bring cream mixture to simmer over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally.

Pour cream mixture over chopped chocolate; let stand 1 minute, then whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth (try to whisk without incorporating air bubbles). Chill chocolate frosting until slightly thickened and spreadable, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours (or for quick chilling, place frosting in freezer until thickened and spreadable, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes).

Using serrated knife, trim rounded tops from both cake layers so that tops are flat (optional). Place 1 cake layer, trimmed side up, on 9-inch-diameter tart pan bottom or cardboard round, then place on rack set over baking sheet. Drop 1 1/4 cups frosting by large spoonfuls over top of cake layer; spread frosting evenly to edges with offset spatula or butter knife. Top with second cake layer, trimmed side down. Spread remaining frosting evenly over top and sides of cake.

DO AHEAD Can be made up to 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate. Let cake stand at room temperature at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours before serving.

Chocolate Macarons with Coffee Buttercream

I continue to be content with my Parisian macaron recipe (can I call it mine now that I've adapted it to a new flavor with the strawberry macarons?), especially after it worked so well with the coffee buttercream that I made this week. I'm starting to realize that macarons get a large proportion of their flavor from the cream in the middle; the cookies themselves have to be mainly made of ground almonds, and any flavor they have has to be from some sort of dry ingredient source in order to not disturb the all-important texture of the macaron. So, this time I introduced coffee to my chocolate macarons with a few flecks of instant coffee on top of each macaron and a nice coffee cream in the middle. I was told these are the best I've made yet, although I am afraid they did not look as perfect as they have in the past. Still, very content.

I thought I'd include the whole macaron recipe, in all its glorious detail, plus a recipe for the coffee buttercream, which would be striking on chocolate cake as well.

This recipe is as verbose as it is because it has VERY IMPORTANT tips that will make your macarons succeed, so do read it carefully. Macarons are very much about proper technique. I've italicized a few parts that I missed the first time I made them, or that I find very unique about this recipe.

Chocolate Macarons
From NPR's The Splendid Table

5 oz. (1 1/3 C) finely ground almond powder or blanched almonds (see step 3)
2 C plus 2 T powdered sugar
1/4 C unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder (high quality if possible) plus more for dusting
1/2 C egg whites (about 4 large egg whites)

1. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper, put each baking sheet on top of another baking sheet (or use two insulated baking sheets) and fit a large pastry bag with a plain 1/2-inch or 3/8-inch tip; set these aside for the moment.

2. If you've got almond powder, just sift the almond powder with the confectioner's sugar and cocoa. If you're starting with almonds, place the almonds, sugar and cocoa in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process until the mixture is as fine as flour, at least 3 minutes. Stop every minute to check your progress and to scrape down the sides of the bowl. This is not a quick on-and-off operation. Although the almonds may look as though they're pulverized after a minute or so, they won't be. The nuts really need 3 to 5 minutes to be ground to a powder or flour. When the mixture is ground, press it through a medium strainer. In all probability, you'll have about 2 tablespoons of solids that won't go through the strainer - discard them.

3. For this recipe to succeed, you need 1/2 cup of egg whites, which may mean using 3 egg whites plus a part of another white. The easiest way to get a portion of a white is to break the white into a cup, beat it lightly with a fork and then measure out what you'll need. (If you put the egg whites in a glass measuring cup, the whites should come just to the 1/2-cup line when the cup is on the counter and you've crouched down to check the measurement at eye level.)

4. Once the eggs are measured, they need to be brought to room temperature so they can be beaten to their fullest volume. You can leave the whites on the counter until they reach room temperature, or you can put them into a microwave-safe bowl and place them in a microwave oven set on lowest power; heat the whites for about 10 seconds. Stir the whites and continue to heat them -still on lowest power - in 5-second spurts until they are about 75 degrees F. If they're a little warmer, that's okay too. To keep the eggs warm, run the mixer bowl under hot water, dry the bowl well, pour the whites into the bowl and fit the mixer with the whisk attachment.

5. Beat the egg whites at low to medium speed until they are white and foamy. Turn the speed up and whip them on high just until they are firm but still glossy and supple - when you lift the whisk the whites should form a peak that droops just a little. Keep the whites in the mixer bowl or transfer them to a large bowl. Working with a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients gently into the whites in 3 or 4 additions. There are a lot of dry ingredients to go into a relatively small amount of whites, but keep folding and you'll get everything in. Don't worry if the whites deflate and the batter looks a little runny - that's just what's supposed to happen. When the dry ingredients are incorporated, the mixture will look like a cake batter; if you lift a little with your finger, it should form a gentle, quickly falling peak. Try to incorporate all the dry ingredients in a total of 50 strokes or less.

6. Spoon the batter into the pastry bag and pipe it out onto the prepared baking sheets. (To keep the paper steady, "glue" it down by piping a bit of batter at each corner of the baking sheet.) Pipe the batter into rounds about 1 inch in diameter, leaving about an inch between each round. (Because you're going to sandwich the baked cookies, try to keep the rounds the same size.) When you've piped out all the macarons, lift each baking sheet with both hands and then bang it down on the counter. Don't be afraid - you need to get the air of the batter. Set the baking sheets aside at room temperature for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven.

7. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. You need to bake these one pan at a time, so dust the tops of the macarons on one pan with cocoa powder (or sprinkle decorative nibs on top to match the filling flavor) and slide one of the sheets into the oven. As soon as the baking sheet is in the oven, turn the temperature down to 350 degrees F and insert the handle of a wooden spoon between the oven and the door to keep the door slightly ajar. Bake the macarons for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they are smooth and just firm to the touch. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack (see step 8 for information on removing the macarons from the parchment), close the oven door, turn the heat back up to 425 degrees F and, when the oven is at the right temperature, repeat with the second sheet of macarons.

8. To remove the macarons from the parchment - and they should be removed as soon as they come from the oven - you need to create moisture under the cookies. Carefully loosen the parchment at the four corners and, lifting the paper at one corner, pour a little hot water under the parchment paper onto the baking sheet. The water may bubble and steam, so make sure your face and hands are away from the sheet. Move the parchment around or tilt the baking sheet so that the parchment is evenly dampened. Allow the macarons to remain on the parchment, soaking up the moisture, for about 15 seconds, then peel the macarons off the paper and place them on a cooling rack (I don't usually do this step, but it is helpful if you want to be absolutely certain your macarons do not tear when you remove them from the paper).

To finish:

Make a ganache and let it cool, or make a buttercream (coffee buttercream recipe below).

1. When the macarons are cool, sandwich them with ganache, buttercream, or ice cream. For the ganache/buttercream: Pipe or spread a dollop of filling about 1/2 inch across on the flat side of one cookie and use the flat side of another to complete the sandwich and to spread the ganache so that it runs to the edge. Transfer the filled macaroons to a covered container and place them in the refrigerator to soften overnight before serving.

Keeping: Baked, unsandwiched macaroons can be kept in an airtight tin at room temperature for 3 days. Once filled, the macaroons should be chilled and served the next day.

Coffee Buttercream

1 stick (1/2 C) unsalted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 C powdered sugar, plus extra to thicken as desired
1/2 T coffee (strong instant is fine) or more to taste
1/2 T heavy cream or milk (heavy cream makes it richer!)

Beat the butter and the vanilla until soft with an electric or stand mixer, and then gradually add the powdered sugar. Add the coffee and heavy cream/milk, and beat until light and fluffy. Add more powdered sugar if it's too thin to keep shape between cookies.