Sunday was my baby brother’s 19th birthday! 19?! In another year my parents will no longer have any teenagers! Mom, do you feel free yet? Anyway, Sunday… we got together to celebrate of course! Last week I found this delicious looking dessert and emailed my Mom about getting together to make it, Robert’s birthday was perfect timing! I found this recipe through the Rachael Ray emails I get a few times a week. Usually I take a quick look and drop them in my ‘Food’ outlook folder so I can search for recipes later when I need them. This one just screamed at me that I needed to make it now! Mocha Ice Cream Cupcakes… yummmmmm. Here is the link to the recipe… http://www.rachaelraymag.com/Recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/dessert-recipes/mocha-ice-cream-cupcakes
Did I mention how much my family is addicted to coffee and chocolate? This recipe just seemed perfect for us, and especially for an occasion that we would all be together (minus sister who is away at college). Because my mom and I bake/cook a lot we did use some of our experiences to tweak the recipe as we went and I’ll explain below with the pictures! Enjoy!
We started taking pictures when we were most of the way through making the cupcakes. We were dealing with ice cream so we had to work fast!
This is a pull back of what we were using. Jumbo muffin pans were a must to fit all the layers. You started with a sugar cone and butter crust. Then the recipe called for toasted whole almonds that you toasted and then chopped. We toasted pre sliced almonds and chopped them slightly. Then you drizzle chocolate over the chopped almonds in the bottom of the crust. Next layer coffee ice cream, then chopped chocolate covered espresso beans. Here is another small change we made. Instead of buying chocolate covered espresso beans which are expensive. My Dad coarsely ground some espresso beans from home, and then we melted dark chocolate and made a sort of espresso brittle. After it set up in the freezer we chopped it up and used it! Very simple, and way more cost effective!
After the first espresso bean layer you repeat. Coffee ice cream, chopped almonds, coffee ice cream, espresso brittle. Then you stick them in the freezer to set up!!
After they freeze for a while we whipped up some fresh whipped cream, grated some chocolate and garnished! Tip for getting them out of the pan…. Hot water soaked kitchen towel underneath pan, and then use plastic knife to get around edges a little bit. They released very easily like that!
My Grandma serving up the frozen treats!
MMMMMmmmmm.
Brother Robert awaiting dessert!
Tried to get a picture of the layers, but the ice cream kind of surrounded all of them. You can see the almonds and chocolate in the bottom, and the flecks of espresso brittle throughout! These were definitely a great birthday treat after some delicious bbq dinner! And as always, a great way to create with the family!
Sam
Espresso Bark How-to:
ReplyDeleteMeasure 1/4 c. chopped chocolate into a bowl. Melt in microwave stirring EVERY 15 SECONDS. When it's 1/2-3/4 melted, stop mw and just stir to complete melting.
Chocolate notes: I like Trader Joe's 2 lb bars, Bittersweet or Dark, Lindt Excellence bittersweet, or for sweeter, Baker's German Chocolate baking squares.
Coarsely grind about 1/3 c. espresso beans to the consistency of, say, Grape Nuts cereal.
Coffee notes: Don't hesitate to use all or part decaf. The fresher the grind, the better the taste. Grind coarser if you want.
Stir 1/4 c. espresso grind into melted chocolate. Spread on a lightly buttered plate. Chill in frig or freezer until set. Set plate on hot dishcloth until chocolate disk will lift free. Chop on cutting board.
Alternately, use a flexible plastic plate (Solo disposable?) or waxed paper on anything.
Sam, why didn't we use waxed paper? lol
Gail, creative co-conspirator!