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Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Mardi Gras Chocolate II: Chocolate Cupped Cakes with Coffee & Chicory


Nothing says Mardi Gras to me quite like New Orleans Coffee with Chicory. David Guas and Raquel Pelzel have a fabulous recipe in DamGoodSweet: Desserts to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth, New Orleans Style for Chocolate Cupped Cakes with Coffee and Chicory... lots of c's there.. including chocolate. This recipe was posted at Epicurious. Can't you just taste it?

"This coffee and chicory cupped cake is made with a stiff, eggless cake batter that gets topped with a cocoa crumble and then covered with coffee. Baked in actual coffee cups, the cake soufflés up and makes its own built-in lava sauce on the bottom. It's fantastic eaten within an hour or two of baking while the cake is still warm, soft, and molten."
Ingredients:
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup brewed New Orleans–style chicory coffee

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Heat the oven to 350°F. Spray the insides of 6 large oven-safe coffee cups or six 6-ounce ramekins with nonstick cooking spray and place on a rimmed baking sheet.

To make the cocoa sprinkle, whisk 1/4 cup of the sugar, the light brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons of the cocoa powder in a small bowl until most of the brown sugar lumps are broken up, and set aside.

Using a stand mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer), blend the butter and remaining sugar together on medium speed until the sugar looks like wet sand, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the cream and vanilla, mixing until well blended, using a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Whisk the flour, the remaining cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl and then add it to the butter mixture. Mix on low speed until a stiff dough comes together, then increase the speed to medium and beat for 15 seconds.

Divide the batter between the coffee cups, filling each one about half full, using the back of a spoon to press the batter into the cup. Top each with 2 tablespoons of the reserved cocoa sprinkle and then pour 21/2 tablespoons of coffee over the cocoa. Bake until the cakes soufflé up and the top of each cake is crusty and dry on top with no visible wet spots, about 55 to 60 minutes. Cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Tip: If you don't have oven-safe coffee cups, make this cake in a 9-inch-square baking dish and serve it casserole style, scooped into dessert bowls (it may need an extra 5 to 10 minutes in the oven).

Photo: Ellen Silverman

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