¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup buttermilk, low fat is fine (to make your own, see end of recipe)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup black, brewed (and cooled) coffee
Chocolate Guinness Glaze (recipe follows)
Step 1—Prep the pan: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut out a round of parchment paper and place it in the bottom of an 8-inch round layer-cake or springform pan. Lightly coat the paper and sides of the pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
Step 2—One-bowl mixing method: Place both sugars, cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk to blend. Add in the buttermilk, egg, oil, vanilla, and coffee. Whisk again until the ingredients are well blended (but do not overmix or you’ll create gluten in the flour and your cake will be tough instead of tender). Pour the batter into your prepared pan.
Step 3—Bake: Place the cake in the center of the oven and bake for 30–35 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (with no batter clinging to it). Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes. Run a knife around the outside of the pan, place your serving plate over the top and carefully flip to remove. Peel off the parchment paper. You now have a flat and even top to your cake! To finish, pour the warm Shiny Chocolate Guinness Glaze (recipe follows) all over the cake top, allowing it to drip down the sides and soak into the spongy cake. Let the glaze sit for about 30 minutes to set. Then serve and eat with joy!
Note on Cake Flour: I highly recommend using cake flour for this recipe for the best result. Cake flour is milled finer and lighter than regular all-purpose flour and will give you a more tender cake. If you’ve never bought cake flour before, look for it in boxes (not sacks) in the grocery store aisle where all- purpose flour is sold. If I still haven’t convinced you to use cake flour, and you want to use all-purpose flour for this recipe, then make sure to reduce the amount of flour by ¼ cup.
How to Make a Buttermilk Substitute: Buttermilk adds a wonderfully bright tang to recipes, deepening the complexity of flavor beyond plain milk. To make your own sour milk replacement for buttermilk, simply place 1 tablespoon lemon juice (or white vinegar) into a measuring cup and fill it with milk (whole or low fat) until the liquid reaches the 1-cup line. Allow this mixture sit for 10 minutes at room temperature, and then use it as you would buttermilk in any recipe. (Note: Clare’s Moist Mocha Cake recipe calls for only ½ cup buttermilk.)
Shiny Chocolate Guinness Glaze Clare Cosi is always on the lookout for things that might make her favorite Irish cop happy. Guinness stout in the glaze of a chocolate cake? Perfect. “When using beer for a recipe,” she warns, “allow it to sit and warm to room temperature. Of course, beer foams when you first pour it. You’ll need to let the foam settle before measuring the beer or simply spoon off the foam and measure the liquid. To keep the extra beer from going to waste, you might want to invite someone who likes beer to join you in your kitchen.” (And, in Clare’s case, it’s no mystery who that someone is going to be.)
Makes about ¾ cup of glaze, enough to cover one 8- or 9-inch round or square cake
¼ cup Guinness stout (measure beer only, not the foam)
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
¼ cup confectioners’ (powdered) sugar
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips (3–4 ounces)
Step 1—Cook glaze: Combine the corn syrup and stout in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in confectioners’ sugar until well dissolved. Remove from heat and whisk in the grated chocolate until it melts and the glaze appears shiny and smooth.
Step 2—Finish cake: For good pouring consistency, be sure to use the glaze while it’s still warm. To make pouring easier (and give you more control over where the glaze lands), transfer the warm glaze to a container with a spout, such as a glass measuring cup. Pour slowly over the top of your cake, covering the surface completely and allowing the glaze to drip down the sides. Tilt the cake plate a bit (if necessary) to help even out the distribution of the glaze. The glaze will set in 15–30 minutes.
Note: You can always double the recipe and serve the extra on the side, pool it on serving plates, or try it as an ice cream topping. (It tastes like hot fudge!) To reheat extra glaze for serving, simply pop it in the microwave or warm it on the stove, and whisk until smooth.
Chocolate Espresso Saucers (Flourless Mocha Almond Cookies) Why are these flourless cookies called Espresso Saucers? Because these strange and amazing mocha-almond cookies bake up as round and flat as the saucer of a demitasse in which an espresso is traditionally served. Sweet, crispy, chewy, and chocolaty, these treats are an exotic edible—perfect for a murder mystery. They are also made without one bit of flour so their texture is unique. They’ll practically melt in your mouth.
Makes 18–20 large, flat cookies
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon espresso powder
4 large egg whites, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup slivered almonds, toasted (see toasting tip on page 334)
Step 1—Prep the oven and pan: Preheat the oven to 325°F. These cookies will stick to your pan so make sure to line a baking sheet with parchment paper and coat the paper with nonstick spray.
Step 2—Make the batter: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and espresso powder. Stir in the egg whites and vanilla to create a batter. Fold in the almonds (be sure to toast first for better flavor).
Step 3—Bake: The cookie batter will expand and flatten quite a bit so keep plenty of room between each mound of batter. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes. You’re looking for the cookie to expand and the surface to firm up and crack. Important: These cookies will break apart easily while still warm. To cool, carefully slide the parchment paper off the hot baking sheet and onto a cooling rack (or use a spatula to carefully transfer one cookie at a time). Once cool, these cookies will harden up nicely.
(No-Bake) Ganache-Dipped Chocolate-Chip Cookie Dough Bites Made without eggs, this “raw” chocolate-chip cookie dough is not only safe to eat but heaven on your tongue. Dipped in chocolate ganache and rolled in finely chopped nuts, each little ball of dough becomes a tiny ice cream sundae on a toothpick. A fun, retro dessert for a party and an adorable treat for any coffee or tea tray.
