Coffee-Chocolate Layer Cake with Mocha-Mascarpone Frosting

A time-consuming, but amazingly tasty dessert. Be sure to line the pans with parchment paper, cool very thoroughly, and invert carefully.

Cake
2 cups cake flour (1 3/4 cup AP flour plus 1/4 cup cornstarch)
3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature< 2 cups (packed) brown sugar 3 large eggs 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup buttermilk 4 tsp instant espresso powder dissolved in 3/4 cup hot water (strong instant coffee will do) Frosting
1/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbs instant espresso powder (instant coffee will do, but grind it more finely)
1 1/2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream, divided
1 1/3 cups sugar
16 oz chilled mascarpone cheese

For the Cake:

• Position rack in the center of the oven; preheat to 325 degrees. Generously butter two 9-inch cake pans; dust with flour; line bottom with parchment paper.
• Sift cake flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt into medium bowl. Cream butter and sugar in stand mixer. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Mix in vanilla. Add flour in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of buttermilk, beating until just blended after each. Gradually add hot espresso, beating just until smooth.
• Divide batter into pans and smooth tops. Bake until tester comes out clean, 40 minutes. Cool cakes for 15, then invert onto racks and remove parchment. Invert again so top side is up. Cool completely.

For the Frosting:

• Sift cocoa into large bowl with espresso powder. Bring 1 cup cream to a boil, and then slowly pour over cocoa mixture, whisking until dissolved. Add sugar and 1/2 cup cream; stir until sugar dissolves. Chill 2 hours.
• Add mascarpone to chilled cocoa mixture. Beat on low speed until smooth. Increase speed to high, beat until thickened and medium-firm peaks form. Do not over beat.
• Brush crumbs off of cakes. Place one cake layer on platter, spread 1 3/4 cup frosting to edges. Top with second layer, press to adhere. Spread thin layer of frosting over top and sides. Chill 10 minutes. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides. Chill.

Curry Chicken Pot Pie

This is a delicious dish shamelessly borrowed from Alton Brown. A great combo of curry and comfort food! I've made a few changes from the original, but only things that simplify the overall recipe. For the original, go here.

Ingredients

• 4 cups frozen vegetable mix, peas, carrots
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 2 cups cubed cooked chicken
• 1 package puff pastry sheets (not bowls)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

If you don't have leftover cooked chicken, simply cut up raw chicken into small cubes and saute in olive oil. Add a some red pepper flakes if you feel daring!

Put frozen veggies in a microwave safe dish and gently warm according to directions on package. It's ok if they're a little under-done since they'll be going in the oven shortly.

In a saute pan heat 1 tablespoon of butter and sweat the onion and celery. In another saucepan, heat the broth and milk. Add 2 more tablespoons of butter to the celery mix and cook out the water. Add the flour and curry to celery mix and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the hot milk/broth mixture and cook until thickened. Add the parsley, salt and pepper. Toss the vegetables and the chicken. Pour into a shallow baking pan, or a large terra cotta pot base (lined with foil if using terra cotta), and top with a full sheet of puff pastry (packages typically have two full sheets per box). Place into the oven and cook until puff pastry has browned and the mixture is hot and bubbly, about 25 minutes.

Flank Steak with So-Hot-You-Can't-Eat-It Pepper and Watermelon Salad

I pulled this recipe out of Bon Appetit (no surprise) last summer, thinking it sounded pretty good. We never had the chance to make it before grilling season ended, so last week we finally got around to it.

This is an interesting one. Husband doesn't like watermelon much, so the salad was already kind of a miss, but it was so spicy that neither of us ate much, throwing away most of the salad.

The next time we make it, there will be drastic changes:

• The meat marinade wasn't noticeable, even though it sat for nearly 12 hours. I'd use the dressing for the salad as a marinade instead.
• The salad is an interesting concept, but a little too variable in terms of texture and of course it was too spicy. I might leave out the watermelon, halve the quantity of sriracha, and double the honey.
• It needed a starch. I'm making rice with it next time and dealing with it more like a stir fry (hence, no watermelon).

The Original Recipe: Grilled Flank Steak with Spicy Pepper and Watermelon Salad

Flank Steak:
1 1/2 Tbs fresh lime juice
1 Tbs olive oil
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tsp sambal oelek (a hot chili paste)
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp honey
1 1/2 lb flank steak

Pepper and Watermelon Salad:
1/4 cup sriracha (hot chili sauce)
1/4 olive oil
3 Tbs seasoned rice vinegar
1 1/4 tsp honey
4 bell peppers of varying color, cut into 1/2-inch squares (2-3 is plenty, really)
2 Tbs minced red jalapeno chiles (we used green, it was fine)
2 cups 1/2-inch cubes of seedless watermelon

Steak Preparation:
Whisk all ingredients together (except steak), pour into a ZipLock bag with the steak and let marinate as long as possible, ideally 4 hours up to 1 day (chill, obviously). Bring to room temperature before grilling.

Salad Preparation:
Whisk sriracha, oil, vinegar, and honey in a small bowl; season dressing with salt and pepper. Place peppers and chiles in large bowl. Toss with 6 Tbs dressing. Let marinate 2 hours at room temperature.

Prepare barbecue (high heat). Grill steak until cooked to desired doneness. Transfer to work surface; let rest 10 minutes. Thinly slice steak against the grain. Drizzle with some of the remaining dressing from the salad.

Toss watermelon into pepper salad. Serve flank steak and salad with remaining dressing alongside.

***

When we make this again, I'll post the new recipe and let you know how it goes.

Coffee-Rubbed Cheeseburgers with Texas Barbecue Sauce

An instant crowd pleaser, this was the most-requested recipe at our last BBQ! It sounds a little strange, but is absolutely delicious. The coffee rub and barbecue sauce could be used on many other meats.

Coffee Rub
1 Tbs freshly ground coffee
2 tsp (packed) brown sugar
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt

Burgers
8 slices bacon (applewood smoked is preferred, but not necessary)
2 lbs ground beef
8 slices smoked provolone
8 hamburger buns (we used onion rolls from Sunflour Bakehaus in Farmington)
8 slices red onion
8 slices tomato
Texas Barbecue Sauce

For the Rub:
Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Can be done up to one week ahead. Store at room temperature.

For the Burgers:
Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Break in half.

Form ground beef into 8 patties. Using thumb, make a slight indentation in the center of each burger. Burgers and bacon can be prepped up to 8 hours ahead. Chill.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Sprinkle 1 tsp of coffee rub on top side of each burger. Place burgers, rub side down, on grill rack. Grill until slightly charred, about 4 minutes; turn.

Place 2 bacon halves atop each burger. Cook 3 minutes. Top each with 1 cheese slice. Cover and cook until cheese melts. Place burgers atop bottom halves of buns. Top with onion and tomato slices. Spoon on Texas Barbecue Sauce. Cover with bun tops and serve.

Texas Barbecue Sauce

A great standard BBQ sauce to use with Coffee-Rubbed Cheeseburgers, BBQ Chicken Pizza, or any other standard summer fare.

1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup ketchup
1/3 cup (packed) brown sugar
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 chipotle chile from canned chipotle chiles in adobo, minced with seeds
1/4 tsp ground cayenne

Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic; stir 30 seconds. Stir in all remaining ingredients.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until reduced to 1 1/3 cups, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.