The Hazards of Combining Flavors: Espresso Cheesecake Brownies

“Tomorrow, I will combine everything I like about dessert into one mega-dessert!”

This dessert is a crazy mixture of several other desserts.  There is a layer of very chocolatey brownie.  Then there is a rich cheesecake, flavored with coffee. To top them off, there is a sweet-tart layer of sour cream.  

Combining flavors is a risky business.  You never quite know what will be delicious and what will fall flat. And the more flavors you combine, the greater the chance that you will choose one that people don’t like. As a result, I wasn’t able to give these brownies away very quickly. Coffee haters and cheesecake haters both spurned these brownies.

Dessert: Delicious yet Devious

For me, this dessert was a dream come true.  I love coffee, I love chocolate, I adore cheesecake (especially in small amounts), and sour cream was literally the icing on the cake.  

Quick Hot Cocoa: An Easy Treat

 “Tomorrow, I’m going to make hot cocoa without a mix.”

I occasionally get into hot cocoa grooves.  I can go months and years without drinking hot cocoa and then, one not-so-special day, I must have it.  

I’m admittedly food snobbish about many things, but not hot cocoa.  One day, I tried to be.  I decided to melt bittersweet chocolate and add some milk, making a thick concoction that was undeniably delicious.  However, it was so rich that I threw up. Yeah...cool story, right?

Since that unpleasant experience, I have preferred a less rich, very milky hot cocoa. Something that resembles the kind made from a mix, but without the trip to the store. Since I usually keep milk and cocoa on hand for baking, this recipe is perfect for a one-off hot cocoa craving.  Without the vomit.

FILL ME WITH DELICIOUS

Quick Hot Cocoa
(one serving)

1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoon water
¾ cup milk (any fat %, non-dairy would probably work as well)
drop of vanilla extract

Combine cocoa, and sugar in a microwave safe mug.  Pour over water and stir.  Microwave on high for 30 seconds.  
Add milk and stir to combine.  Microwave on high until as warm as you like (about a minute on my microwave that is from the the 80s).
Add a drop of vanilla extract.  Stir one last time.  Serve with marshmallows or whipped cream, if you like.

Source: Top Secret Recipes- Starbucks Hot Chocolate by Todd Wilbur

Make It Yourself: Chocolate Blackberry Ice Cream

“Tomorrow, I’m going to make homemade ice cream.”

The first time I made ice cream, I announced my creation on Facebook, as proud as a first time mother posting baby pictures.  Moments later an incredulous acquaintance replied: “You can make ice cream?”

Of course you can make ice cream! It’s right there in the name: ice+cream=ice cream.

The awesomeness of homemade ice cream isn’t cost effectiveness (it’s more expensive), nor necessarily quality (you can’t quite recreate the smooth, easy to scoop industry texture at home).  The awesomeness of homemade ice cream, sorbet, and frozen yogurt is this:  You can do whatever you want to it.

You can put literally anything you want in your ice cream.  You can go wild.  I once made strawberry ice cream using sour cream instead of cream.  I froze thick homemade strawberry lemonade into a sorbet.  Actually, those things weren’t that whacky, but they were certainly not standard strawberry ice cream!

Maybe you’re more daring than I and will try something truly crazy.  Hot sauce? Bacon? Curry? Garlic? Anything, my brave friend.

This recipe marries blackberry and chocolate, and the marriage is a very happy one. It isn’t the craziest of combinations, but it is different from plain old chocolate!  It is very dense, very rich, and delightful.  Feel free to play around with it all you like.

Blackberry Chocolate Ice Cream
(makes about a pint)

5 oz good quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup heavy cream
1 cup 2% milk
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons blackberry jam

In a saucepan, bring milk and heavy cream just to a boil, and remove from heat.
In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar.  Whisking vigorously, very slowly pour the milk mixture into the egg-sugar mixture.
Return the egg-milk mixture to the stove and set over medium heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture has thickened. When finished, if you take up a spoonful and run your finger down the bowl of the spoon, the custard should not fill in the track left by your finger.
Place the chocolate in a bowl and immediately pour the hot custard over it.  Let stand for two minutes, then gently stir the mixture with a spatula until chocolate is completely melted.
Chill custard.  Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.  During the last few minutes of churning, add the blackberry jam.  Pack the ice cream into a container and store in freezer for at least two hours before serving.

Source: Adapted from “Unbelievably Good Blueberry Ice Cream” from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.