Murder by Mocha (42 page)

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.

Makes about 30 cookies

For Cookie Dough Bites:

4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter, softened
¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons white granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛
teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons brewed coffee
½ cup sweetened condensed milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup (about 6 ounces) mini semisweet chocolate chips
30 toothpicks

For Double Dipping (optional):

1½ cups walnuts, toasted and very finely chopped
(see toasting tip on page 334)
¾ cup Chocolate Ganache (recipe follows)

Step 1—Make dough:
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars with an electric mixer. Beat in the vanilla, salt, coffee, and condensed milk. Add in the flour and chocolate chips, mixing until the dough comes together and is well blended (do not overmix).

Step 2—Chill, roll, and freeze:
At this stage, the dough is too sticky to roll. Cover your mixing bowl with foil and chill in the refrigerator 15–30 minutes (or wrap dough in plastic or foil and chill overnight). Pinch off pieces of dough and roll into bite-size balls (about 1 inch in diameter). Set balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper (be sure to line the baking sheet or the dough will stick to the pan). Sink a toothpick into each of the dough balls. (Warning: If serving to young children, do not use toothpicks.) Freeze until firm, 1–2 hours.

Step 3—Double dipping (optional):
Place toasted walnuts in a sealed plastic bag and hammer with a rolling pin or large spoon until the nuts are very finely chopped. Or grind the nuts in a blade grinder or food processor. Place them in a shallow bowl and set aside. Make the Chocolate Ganache (recipe follows). Remove cookie dough balls from the freezer. Pick up each dough ball by its toothpick, dip top half of each ball into the chocolate ganache, followed by a dip in the bowl of finely chopped walnuts. Place the double-dipped balls back on your lined baking sheet. When the sheet is full, return it to the freezer for another 20 minutes or until the ganache hardens into a delicious chocolate shell. Store your finished Chocolate-Chip Cookie Dough Bites in the refrigerator or freezer in a plastic container or sealable plastic bag.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

Makes about ¾ cup

1½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Method:
Place the chocolate chips into a microwave-safe container. Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stop and stir. Repeat again until the chips are completely melted. Add the cream and stir continually until smooth and shiny. If vigorous stirring does not produce smooth results or if the ganache begins to harden, return the bowl to the microwave for another 30 seconds and stir again.

Note:
When making large batches, note this ratio for double dipping. For every dozen Chocolate-Chip Cookie Dough Bites, you’ll need ½ cup of finely chopped and toasted nuts plus ¼ cup of ganache—which can be made with ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons heavy cream.

Chicken Mole with Guinness Stout (for Mike Quinn)

Based on a recipe from Punch, who claimed every mama in Spanish Harlem had a secret combination of ingredients that made the mole her own, so it is with Clare’s version.

The name for mole, the rich Mexican sauce often served with chicken, came from the Aztec word
molli
meaning “concoction.” Clare’s version, heavily influenced by New York City’s melting pot of cultures, truly lives up to that Aztec etymology. She plumbed her Italian heritage for ingredients like fennel but gave the biggest nod to Mike’s Celtic heritage with the addition of the dark and malty Guinness stout.

Mole is an acquired taste and certainly not for everyone. The key to making this wild range of ingredients work as a whole is to keep the blend balanced. Not too spicy but not too bland, either, and always tempering the bitter with the sweet.

Makes 6 servings

4 chicken breasts (skin on, bone in) or 1 pound cooked and
shredded chicken (about 3 cups)
2½ cups Guinness stout
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons canola or corn oil
water
½ pound bacon, chopped
2 large red onions, chopped
2 large yellow onions, chopped
1 Spanish onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, smashed
2 bell peppers, chopped (approximately 1 cup)
½ jalapeño pepper, seeds and veins removed, chopped (for a hotter
mole, use 1 jalapeño, or leave it out completely for no heat)
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon fennel seeds
2 tablespoons ground almonds (or 1¼ teaspoons almond extract)
1 ounce semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, for garnish, optional

Step 1—Poach the chicken:
You can poach the chicken just before making the mole or a day in advance. Place the 4 chicken breasts in a large pot or Dutch oven, skin side up. Ideally, they will sit in a single layer or overlap only a bit. Pour 1½ cups of the Guinness, the salt and pepper, and the oil into the pot and fill the rest of the way with water. The liquid level should be high enough to cover your chicken by 1 full inch. Bring the pot to a boil, and then turn the heat down to a simmer. Half cover the pot, cooking for about 15 minutes. Then turn off the heat and cover the pot fully, leaving the chicken to finish cooking in the hot water for another 15 minutes. Remove chicken from the poaching liquid. When cool enough to handle, discard the skin and shred the meat into pieces (discard bones). Set aside the shredded chicken. (If making a day in advance, place in a plastic container and refrigerate.)