Mocha Cake

Ready to kick your next chocolate cake up a notch? Look no further than this Mocha Cake, a delicate blend of coffee and chocolate to satisfy that sweet tooth.

"Mocha Cake"

1 1/2 cups (packed) brown sugar
1 cup flour
6 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup brewed coffee
1 stick (4oz) unsalted butter melted
1/2 cups mini semisweet chocolate chips
Confectioner's sugar
Whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350*. Grease 8-inch square baking pan, line with parchment, then grease parchment. In bowl, whisk brown sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Make a well in center. Whisk eggs & vanilla into the well to blend. Gradually whisk in coffee and butter, then whisk in surrounding dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips; transfer batter to a pan. Bake until toothpick comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Cut into 16 squares; serve with whipped cream. Serves 16.

This recipe can be found in the Jan/Feb 2013 Rachael Ray Mag.

Enjoy! :)

Friends over for dinner

One of my favorite things to do is to entertain! For this event I invited two friends over for dinner. I really wanted to make something down-home and hardy. . .  I mean after all it is wintertime. For this meal I pulled out Rachael Ray's My Year of Meals. I made her Chicken Potpie Casserole with her simple piecrust and for dessert I mad Chocolate Cookie Stacks with Lemon Cream. Sadly, I will not publish the recipe for the casserole due to its length. If you find yourself pulling out her cookbook to make this amazing dish be mindful of the wine you use. A sweet wine will leave a lasting impact that you can taste in the dish. I made this mistake and it really made the casserole have a sweet taste, I tend to enjoy my foods to be a little saltier. But, the meal still received positive reviews and the gust really enjoyed it. Also, when making this dish be mindful of time. This casserole will take you at least 3 hours to make. 

To make the Chocolate Cookies Stacks with Lemon Cream you will need: 1cup heavy cream, chilled. 1/2 cup lemon curd. 16 chocolate wafer cookies, such as Nabisco Famous.  4 tsp. finely chopped store-bought candied lemon peel.  

In a large bowl, using mixer, whip cream until stiff but not dry, about 5 minutes. Gently fold lemon curd into cream. Line 4 large custard cups or ramekins with jumbo muffin-cup liners. Place 1 cookie in bottom of each. Top each with about 21/2 tbsp. lemon cream. Continue layering cookies and cream, using 3 more cookies per stack and ending with 1tsp candied lemon peel. Refrigerate until cookies are soft and cream is set. At least 6 hours, or overnight. Makes 4 tip: the longer the cookies have to set the softer and fuller they will be!