One Perfect Bite: mocha

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Layered Mocha Cheesecake

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From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I've been testing new recipes for Mother's Day and I've found a handful that I think are good enough to share with you. The cheesecake I'm featuring tonight is truly a keeper, but I must warn you that it is extraordinarily rich. The cake is not hard to make, but it is time consuming and, as these things go, expensive to make. That being said, if you have time and money, and weigh in between 100 to 110 pounds, you owe it to yourself to give this recipe a try. The cake is absolutely delicious. Normally, I send test recipe results down the hill to our teenage neighbors. The Silver Fox, who can put squirrels to shame when it comes to hoarding, nixed that plan and commandeered the cake for God, country and himself. It's best not to ask about order of preference. At any rate, he has frozen the cake, and convinced himself that it is for sustenance. He'll be able to live for months off the girth that "sustenance" adds to his midsection. Calories aside, if you enjoy the coffee and chocolate combo. you'll really love this cheesecake.. Here is how it's made.

Layered Mocha Cheesecake...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of taste of Home Baking Cookbook

Ingredients:
Crust
1-1/2 cups Oreo cookie crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
Filling
2 tablespoons + 1-1/2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
1 tablespoon hot water
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 packages (8 ounces each) cream chesse, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled
Glaze
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter
Chocolate-covered coffee beans, optional

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan. Place it on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18-inches square). Carefully wrap foil around pan.
2) Mix cookie crumbs and melted butter together in a small bowl. Press crumbs onto bottom of prepared pan.
3) Mix coffee granules, hot water and cinnamon in another small bowl. Set aside.
4) Combine cream cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Beat until smooth. Add eggs and beat on low speed just until combined.
5) Divide batter in half. Stir melted chocolate into one portion and pour over crust. Stir coffee mixture into remaining batter and spoon it over chocolate layer.
6) Place springform pan in a large baking pan. Transfer to oven rack. Add 1-inch of hot water to larger pan. Bake for 60 to 65 minutes or until center is just set and top appears dull. Remove springform from water bath to a wire cooling rack. Carefully remove foil and let cake sit for 10 minutes. Loosen sides of cake with a knife, but do not release spring or remove cake from pan. Let cool for 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight.
7) Just before serving, melt chocolate chips and butter in microwave and stir until smooth. Release sides of pan and remove ring. Spread glaze over top of cake. Decorate rim with coffee beans if desired. Yield: 16 servings.

One Year Ago Today: Chinese-Style Pork with Black Bean Sauce

Two Years Ago Today: Hot Browns and Devonshire Sandwiches

Three Years Ago Today: Grilled Asian Eggplant wit Soy-Ginger Glaze

Four Years Ago Today: Yogurt Cheesecake

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Mocha Crumb Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The desserts served at my table have changed a great deal since I wrote my first entry for One Perfect Bite. These days, I have two categories of treats that I serve to my family and our friends. Those designated BB (Before Blogging) are generally less sweet and very easy to do. Back then, theme and variation within a category such as cake, assured our palates would not be bored and made exploration unnecessary. Besides that, desserts BB were a sometime thing, meant only for a weekend treat, or to end a meal when we had guests at the table. Once I began blogging, it became apparent that my laissez-faire toward dessert just wasn't going to cut it in the AB (After Blogging) world. So, I made it a point to feature desserts more often. That pleased our neighbors and the folks who were reading One Perfect Bite. Neither Bob nor I have a wildly active sweet tooth, and more often than not, once a dessert is tested it is sent down the hill to neighbors who love sweet things. Usually. Tonight, however, was an exception. Dinner was a homely, fireplace affair designed to ward off the day's damp and chill. It included a warm crumb cake that is definitely a BB affair and it is not going anywhere. This cake is plain and lacks sophistication but it is really good, and when the planets are aligned and the cake is served warm with really great ice cream, you'll swear you've died and gone to heaven. It would be just plain wrong of me to keep this one to myself, so, from the annuls of my BB collection, here's a recipe for mocha crumb cake that will make your socks go up and down - on your way to heaven of course.

Mocha Crumb Cake...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Starbucks

Ingredients:
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
Cooking spray
1-1/2 teaspoons water

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat an 8-inch round pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
2) Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (flour through salt) in a mixing bowl, and cut in margarine with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Reserve 1/2 cup flour mixture for topping, and set aside.
3) Combine remaining flour mixture, baking powder, and baking soda; add milk, vanilla, and egg. Beat at medium speed of a mixer until blended. Spoon batter into an 8-inch round cake pan coated with cooking spray. Combine reserved 1/2 cup flour mixture and water; stir with a fork. Sprinkle crumb mixture over batter. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool on a wire rack. Serve warm. Yield: 8 servings.