Robusta coffee cookies

 

Once and awhile a batch of cookies is baked for snacks and packed for lunch and breaks.

I don’t like real sweet cookies, so I omitted the icing. Nuts, raisins etc are a good addition

and coffee/chocolate flavor a plus!

The Robusta give a different tone to the flavor versus regular coffee

if you can’t read my writing

cream sugar with 1/2 cup shortening, add 1 egg, mix well (with kitchen aid mixer w/ paddle).

Sift flour for 2 cups measure, and add the following:

1/2 teaspoon baking soda,

1/4 teaspoon salt,

1 teaspoon baking powder

about 1 teaspoon ground cloves (or less if fresh ground)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (maybe 1/4),

about 1 teaspoon fine grind coffee (may be less if you are not familiar with the taste of Indian Robusta, preferred for a different flavor)

about 1 teaspoon fine grind cocoa nibs or cocoa powder to taste

Resift all dry ingredients together.

Add dry ingredients alternately to the sugar/shorting mix with 3/4 cup strong brewed coffee.

Add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and some grated un sweetened chocolate less than an ounce, or more if preferred.

Add more flour if mixture is thin to obtain a consistency of frosting.

For ease of sheeting cookies, fill a pastry bag without a tip and pipe on prepared cookie sheet or drop with a table spoon.

about 13 minutes @ a 375- 400 degree oven for a slightly soft cookie, they will firm slightly when cool.

They can be iced if preferred, I left mine plain. about 3 dozen or less depending on size.

adapted from supermarketguru.com

Hershey’s Chocolate Cake Recipe

for file and reference:

cake

Chocolate and Raspberry Mousse Layered Cake

The Hershey’s chocolate cake recipe is one I often bake. It is the moistest, easiest cake you can make. Often it can be eaten with out frosting. Needing a birthday cake, I made the following amendments.

Bake the cakes as directed, two 9 inch cakes, let cool thoroughly.

Using a spring form pan place one layer in the pan.

Make  chocolate mousse*. With a spatula, layer in the  chocolate mousse. Gently place the other cake layer on top. This was now at the top of the spring form pan. Wrap with tin foil and place in freezer.

Now I wanted a top fruit flavored mousse layer.  Make a raspberry mousse**.  Using an additional 9 inch spring form pan, layer the raspberry mousse in the spring form pan. Wrap and freeze.

Assembly: unwrap and remove the chocolate and chocolate mousse layered cake from the spring form pan. Now unwrap and place the frozen raspberry mousse layer and place it on top of the cake. Wrap the four layered cake with foil and return to freezer or LET THAW and serve.

If I had a deep enough spring form pan I could be done in all one pan.

Important note: Let the cake thaw before serving, if served right from the freezer  the  mousses  are frozen hard and requires a hefty knife to cut. When thawed the mousse is fluffy and light.

*Chocolate Mousse:

Melt about 3 ounces chocolate with 3/4 cup water in a sauce pan (low heat) stir in 3/4 cup sugar (more or less to taste) and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and stir over medium, then simmer and stir for 5 minutes. Temper in 3 egg yolks. cook and stir  1 minute longer. Cool to room temp. Add one and one half (1-1/2) teaspoons vanilla. set aside.

Whip 1-3/4 cup heavy cream until soft peaks form.

Whip ONE HALF of the above chocolate mixture into ONE HALF of the whipped cream. This is the chocolate mousse filling. (reserve the other half of the chocolate syrup to drizzle over cake or other uses.

**Raspberry mousse:

Add about one pint or so of fresh or frozen(defrosted) raspberries to mixer bowl  with a whip attachment, mix till they are broken up. Add and slowly whip the remaining ONE HALF of the whipped cream. Adjust for sweetness or  tartness with sugar and or a bit of vinegar, lemon juice. I didn’t make it overly sweet as the cake is sweet enough.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! J&K

Mousse recipe adapted from:

Elegant Chocolate Mousse, page 52

Baker’s Book of Chocolate Riches

First Printing  1983 General Foods Corporation

Library of Congress Catalog # 83-82254

Mocha Pudding

adapted from Chocolate Cornstarch Pudding, Joy of Cooking,

melt a piece of chocolate in the top of a double boiler, about an ounce.
stir in about 1/2 cup raw sugar, 1 3/4 cup milk, 1/8 teaspoon milk and a demitasse of espresso
heat till boiling

dissolve about 4 tablespoons of cornstarch in about 1/4 cup whole milk and add slowly.

cook for ten minutes, stirring constantly, you have to stir it for ten minutes without interruption !

cover and cook 10 -12 minutes

cool by stirring and add 1 teaspoon vanilla
pour into custard cups, chill . you can caramel coat the molds, or make semi sweet chocolate cases. I didn’t ….

WOW you an make pudding without opening a box mix or using instant (gratification) pudding mix !

Learned skills , working with cornstarch, utilizing a double boiler, recipe recommends reading about cornstarch, page 548.