This is an interesting cake. It is basically a very rich, moist chocolate cake that is "iced" with chocolate pudding rather than a buttercream or ganache or some more traditional cake coating. It is baked as two 20cm (8") round layers, each of which are then split. Three of the resulting thin layers are used to assemble the cake and the fourth is crumbled and used to coat the outside.

I didn't get my batter divided quite evenly and one of my layers baked up a little thinner than the other. I was a bit nervous about trying to split the thinner one, so I just left it whole and split the thicker one only. I then stacked two of the resulting layers and crumbled the third. This, of course, resulted in a reduced overall surface area, so the filling and "icing" are somewhat more generous than they're really meant to be. (Same overall proportions, of course, just thicker layers since there are fewer of them.)

This worked fine, but did mean that the cake was a little more... wobbly than it would have been had I made it with the "correct" number of layers.

Honestly, if I had two 18cm (7") round pans, then I'd be tempted to bake my cake in those next time. The 8" layers baked up fine. But I would've felt more confident about splitting them had they been slightly thicker. I think 6" layers would probably be too thick/tall. But 7" might be just about right. Sadly, I only have one 7" pan at the moment. Which still might be worth trying next time. It just makes it slightly more difficult to get the batter divided evenly and, obviously, ends up requiring double the cooking time since you have to bake the layers one after the other rather than in tandem. So, possibly something to consider, but definitely not ideal.

Other than my lack of confidence in splitting the layers though, this recipe worked out great! The cake was delicious and moist with deep chocolate flavour. (Which the coffee and brown sugar help to accentuate.) And the pudding was also pleasingly rich and thick. A winner all 'round!

Chocolate Blackout Cake

Slightly adapted from The Perfect Cake by America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

Pudding

• 1 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 2 c. milk
• 1 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. cornstarch (cornflour)
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 170g unsweetened chocolate
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Cake

• 110g all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter
• 3/4 c. Dutched (alkalized) cocoa powder
• 1 c. brewed coffee
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Combine cream, milk, sugar, cornstarch, and sea salt over medium heat.
2. Break chocolate into pieces and add to milk mixture.
3. Cook, whisking frequently, until chocolate has completely melted and mixture is smooth and homogenous.
4. Continue cooking until bubbles begin to form and pudding thickens.
5. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla, and set aside to cool.
6. Chill for at least 3-4 hours.
7. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F) and grease and flour¹ two 20cm (8") round baking tins.
8. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
9. Mix in the salt.
10. Melt the butter over medium heat.
11. Mix in the cocoa and cook for 1 minute.
12. Remove from heat and stir in the coffee and buttermilk.
13. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar.
14. Mix in the eggs, one at a time.
15. Mix in the vanilla.
16. Divide the batter as evenly as possible between the prepared tins.
17. Bake at 160°C (325°F) for 30-35 minutes.
18. Transfer cake layers (still in their tins) to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
19. Invert tins onto cooling racks and carefully remove the cakes from their tins. Allow to cool completely (1-2 hours).
20. Once cake layers are completely cool, divide each one horizontally.²
21. Place one layer on a serving platter.
22. Spoon ~1 c. of pudding on top and spread all the way to the edges of the layer.
23. Top with a second layer and repeat the process: spreading 1 c. of putting on top.
24. Place a third layer on top and spoon the rest of the pudding over it, completely covering the entire cake -- top and sides.
25. Crumble the fourth layer and sprinkle the chocolate crumbs on top of your assembled cake, covering the top and sides. You will have to press slightly to get the crumbs to adhere to the pudding. Especially on the sides of the cake.
26. Serve immediate or refridgerate for up to 2 days.

---

¹ You may wish to line the bottoms with parchment paper and grease the paper before flouring. This adds an extra step, but will help ensure that the cake relases from the pans cleanly. ^Back
2 The folks at America's test kitchen recommend doing this with a serrated knife. The outline a procedure of scoring the perimeter of the cake layers and then cutting through along the scored lines to get a level split. Personally, I have always preferred my mother's method of using a piece of thread. You simply take a long piece of thread and wrap it around the cake (doing your best to make sure it's roughly level/even all the way around), then grab both ends and pull tightly. The thread should slice neatly through the cake! I've found it a ver quick and reliable method and prefer it to faffing about with knives or cake levelling contraptions. ^Back

Dalgona Coffee (Whipped Coffee)

This is one of the earliest recipes that Aaron and Claire posted on their website. Apparently this interesting whipped coffee went viral during the early days of the pandemic and people started posting lots of videos, challenges, and recipes involving it.

I had completely overlooked it the first few times I went through the blog because I'm not really a big coffee drinker and figured my efforts would be better spent on the food recipes rather than the drinks. But, every once in a while, I do get hit with a hankering for a sweet, milky post-dinner coffee. And this looked like it might fit the bill, so I finally decided to check it out.

The recipe itself is very simple, but quite interesting. It involves combining equal parts instant coffee, sugar, and hot water and vigorously beating them until the mixture becomes light and stiff. Almost like whipped cream or a meringue. The whipped mixture is then spooned over cold (or hot) milk and served.

Based on some quick Googling, this recipe originated in either South Korea or Macau, where it is sometimes served with various toppings. Cocoa, instant coffee crystals, or crushed biscuits are apparently popular garnishes. I'm not really invested enough to try to determine the precise origins. Suffice to say that it is interesting and tasty and, as far as I can tell, popular in both countries.

The coffee foam on its own is quite intense and a bit bitter, but once mixed with the milk, the final result is a bit like a creamy latté or Vietnamese coffee. I quite liked it!

Dalgona Coffee

From Aaron & Claire

Ingredients

Ingredients are per serving. Multiply by the number of servings you'd like to make.

• 2 Tbsp. instant coffee crystals
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. boiling water
• 2-4 ice cubes
• 1-2 c. milk¹

Directions

1. Combine the coffee, sugar, and water and beat with a whisk (or the whisk attachment of a hand or stand mixer) until mixture becomes light, fluffy, and forms soft peaks.
2. Add ice and milk to a large glass.
3. Spoon whipped coffee on top of the milk.
4. Use a straw to mix and drink your coffee.

---

¹ Adjust the quantity of milk depending on how strong you like your coffee. One cup of milk per serving is probably sufficient for those who like relatively strong coffee. One-and-a-half or two cups may be more appropriate for those who like a more dilute, mellow flavour. ^Back

TF loves brownies and this rich, dense, coffee-and-walnut-laced version looked like it would be particularly appealing to her. Indeed, it was!

There is no leavener in these brownies and very little flour, making them very dense and fudgy. The simple glaze on top adds even more chocolate-y richness.

Mocha-Walnut Brownies

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

Brownies

• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 125g unsweetened chocolate
• 2 tsp. instant coffee powder
• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. walnuts, toasted and chopped

Glaze

• 100g dark chocolate
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 Tbsp. corn syrup
• 1 tsp. instant coffee powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease a 23cm (9") square pan, line it with baking paper, and grease and flour the paper.
2. Combine the butter, chocolate, and coffee in a small pot and melt of gentle heat, stirring, until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, and salt and whisk to combine.
4. Beat the eggs with the sugar and pour in the chocolate mixture.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine.
6. Stir in the walnuts.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 40-50 minutes. The brownies should be not quite set in the centre.
8. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan set on a wire rack.
9. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze by melting the chocolate, butter, corn syrup, coffe, and cinnamon in a small pot over gentle heat, stirring, until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
10. Once the brownies are cool to the touch and the glaze is somewhat stiff, but still spreadable, scoop the glaze onto the brownies and spread evenly over the surface.
11. Chill until glaze is set, then use baking paper to lift the brownies from the pan, cut into squares, and serve.

Tiramisu (Dish of the Day)

I really liked the tiramisu recipe that I got from Bon Appetit. I would have just stuck with making that recipe, however there was also a tiramisu recipe in the Dish of the Day cookbook that I've been working with lately. And I wanted to see how that compared (and also be able to check it off).

Although the two recipes shared many similarities, there were a few striking differences. Probably the most significant was the proportion of mascarpone and cream. This version had 50% more mascarpone relative to the BA one, but only 25% as much cream! (It also had twice as much rum.) This recipe also included more than twice as much rum. And, although it had about the same amount of sugar overall, it divided it up differently. The BA recipe put most of the sugar into the saboyon (egg yolk mixture) and only 1 Tbsp. into the coffee. This recipe, meanwhile, put almost 60% of the sugar -- a whole 1/4 c.! -- into the simple syrup for the coffee and only a scant 3 Tbsp. into the saboyon.

Overall, I think I prefer the BA rendition of tiramisu. That said, this one was still good. And I did prefer McMillan's method of making the coffee bath. Making a simple syrup first and then mixing in the coffee and rum ensures that the sugar is very well dissolved and means that you can put more sugar into the coffee without it sinking to the bottom and separating out. I quite liked the sweeter coffee bath. I think it makes it a little more balanced. And I'm also a fan of the higher cheese content of this version. Although I did feel it was a bit skimpy on the cream.

I think next time I'll do a mash-up of the two: Use the coffee bath from this recipe, but with the rum content of the BA one; use the saboyon recipe from BA, but include the vanilla from this one; use the mascarpone content of this recipe, but bump up the amount of whipping cream to be somewhere between what's called for in this one and the BA instructions. Hopefully that will make a nice, balanced tiramisu.

I've included two recipes below. The first is following the recipe as written from the book. This is what I actually did for this iteration. Below that are the instructions incorporating the adjustments discussed above. That's how I'd make it next time.

Tiramisu

From Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Coffee Bath

• 1/4 c. sugar
• 3 Tbsp. water
• 3/4 c. espresso¹
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. dark rum

Filling

• 45g (~2.5 Tbsp.) sugar
• 3 large egg yolks
• 3/4 c. mascarpone
• 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 18-22 ladyfingers
• cocoa, to dust

Directions

1. Combine the sugar and water for the coffee bath in a small pot and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
2. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring, until sugar is completely dissolved.
3. Mix in the coffee and rum into the syrup and set aside to cool.
4. Meanwhile, combine the egg yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl and beat for a minute or two to mix very well.
5. Bring ~5cm of water to boil and set the bowl over the water. Beat the yolk mixture on medium speed with an electric mixer for 7-8 minutes. The mixture should become pale and at least double in volume, forming ribbons when the beaters are lifted out of the mixture.
6. Once the saboyon (yolk mixture) is cooked and ready, remove from heat and beat in the mascarpone and vanilla.
7. In a separate bowl, beat the cream until stiff.
8. Fold the whipped cream into the yolk mixture.
9. To assemble, dip the ladyfingers into the coffee bath. Working with one biscuit at a time, dip it and then place it into the bottom of a loaf pan (or container of your choice). Use ~1/3 of the biscuits for the bottom layer.
10. Top the biscuit layer with ~1/3 mascarpone mixture.
11. Repeat the layers twice more. (Three layers each of biscuits and mascarpone, ending with mascarpone.)
12. Cover and chill for at least 6 hours.
13. Dust with cocoa and serve.

Improved Tiramisu

Ingredients

Coffee Bath

• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 3 Tbsp. water
• 1 Tbsp. instant coffee
• 3/4 c. boiling water
• 2 Tbsp. dark rum

Filling

• 1/4 c. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. white wine
• 3 large egg yolks
• 3/4 c. mascarpone
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 18-22 ladyfingers
• cocoa, to dust

---

¹ I didn't have any espresso, so I just used extra-strong instant coffee. The instructions called for 1-2 tsp. per cup of hot water, so I used 2 tsp. for 3/4 c. Next time I think I'd make it even stronger. Maybe 1 Tbsp. for 3/4 c. ^Back

I've made this tiramisu twice now. (I've made tiramisu before, but I foolishly did not write the recipe down so I had to go hunting for instructions again.) Anyway, the first time I made this, I followed the recipe as written. The second time I made a few tweaks. I definitely prefer the results from the second attempt, so that's what I'm sharing here.

Tiramisu

Slightly adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients

• 3/4 c. very strong coffee
• 1 Tbsp. + 1/3 c. sugar, divided
• 1 Tbsp. dark rum
• 3 large egg yolks
• 2 Tbsp. water¹
• 1/2 c. mascarpone cheese
• 1 c. heavy (35%) cream, chilled
• 22-24 ladyfingers

Directions

1. Brew the coffee and add 1 Tbsp. of sugar and 1 Tbsp. of rum. Mix well and set aside to cool.
2. Put a little water in a pot and bring it to a boil over medium heat.
3. Place egg yolks, remaining 1/3 c. sugar, and water (or wine) in a heatproof bowl.
4. Place the bowl in the pot so that it sits over the boiling water.
5. Beat the yolks on medium to medium-high speed for ~7 minutes. The mixture should become pale and increase in volume significantly. It should form a slowly dissolving ribbon when drizzled over itself. Once this stage is reached, immediately remove the bowl from the heat.
6. Add the mascarpone to the saboyon (yolk mixture) and beat until thoroughly combined and smooth.
7. Set the mixture aside to cool.
8. If you would like to be able to turn your tiramisu out, now is a good time to prepare your pan. Brush an 8.5x4.5" loaf pan with oil and then line it with plastic wrap (leaving a significant overhang). If you don't care about turning it out, then you can just assemble everything directly in the pan, no oiling or lining required!
9. In a clean (preferably chilled) bowl, whip the cream. Start at low speed and very gradually increase the speed to medium-high. Beat until cream is stiff.
10. Add the cream to the cooled saboyon mixtured a bit at a time: Scoop out ~1/4 of the whipped cream and gently fold it in to the saboyon. Repeat until all the cream has been incorporated.
11. Dip a ladyfinger into the coffee mixutre. Give it a few seconds to soak in. I soaked mine for ~8 seconds per side. Place the coffee-infused biscuit into the bottom of the loaf pan. Repeat process until entire bottom of loaf pan has been lined with biscuits.
12. Spread ~1/3 of the cream mixture over the biscuits.
13. Repeat the biscuit-dipping prodecure to create a second layer of biscuits.
14. Spread another 1/3 of the cream mixture over the biscuits.
15. Do one more layer of biscuits and top with a final layer of cream.
16. Cover and chill for 6-12 hours.
17. Uncover the tiramisu.
18. If you would like to turn it out, place a plate or serving platter over the loaf pan and carefully invert the assembly. Carefully and slowly lift the loaf pan up. You may need to gently hold or pull the plastic wrap to encourage the tiramisu to leave the pan. Once the pan is off, remove the plastic wrap.
19. Dust generously with cocoa powder and serve.

---

¹ I meant to try swapping out the water for white wine, but I completely forgot. Something to try next time! ^Back

My robot brain required dessert and there was this cake recipe...

Chocolate Snack Cake

Slightly adapted from the Perfect Cake by America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 c. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2/3 c. mayonnaise
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 c. cocoa powder (preferably Dutched)
• 50g dark chocolate, chopped
• 1 c. coffee, hot

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350&def;F) and grease and flour a 20cm (8") square baking pan.
2. Combine flours and sugar and sift in baking soda.
3. In a separate bowl, combine mayo, egg, and vanilla.
4. In a third bowl, combine cocoa and chocolate.
5. Pour hot coffee over chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth.
6. Gradually whisk chocolate mixture into egg mixture until fully combined.
7. Pour wet mixture into dry and stir to combine.
8. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 35-40 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and let cake cool in pan for ~1 hour.
10. If desired, dust with icing (powdered/confectioners') sugar before serving.

Coffee Frozen Yogurt

I've never actually made frozen yogurt before. I've made quite a bit of ice cream and the odd Italian ice, but never frozen yogurt. Since I've been trying to balance out my macros though and increase my protein (and decrease fat a bit), I figured that having some nice high-protein, low-fat frozen yogurt on hand for when I want a tasty treat probably wouldn't be a terrible plan.

This is mostly based on the vanilla frozen yogurt recipe from the booklet that came with the ice cream maker. I basically just swapped out the vanilla yogurt for plain fat-free Greek yogurt, used a bit more sugar than called for, and threw in some instant coffee crystals we had kicking around.

There is a "coffee latte frozen yogurt" recipe in the booklet. But it calls for gelatin and half-and-half and various other things I don't have and couldn't be bothered to get.

I was slightly worried that the gelatin was a necessary component when adding coffee to yogurt and that the lack of it would somehow cause a structural and/or textural disaster. But it seems to have worked out just fine! I tasted a little bit as I was packing it up to go in the freezer and it was lovely.

Coffee Frozen Yogurt
Adapted from the little Cuisinart "Instruction and Recipe Booklet" that came with my ice cream maker
3/4 c. milk¹
1 c. vanilla sugar²
2 c. plain Greek yogurt³
2 Tbsp. heavy (35%) cream⁴
1 1/2 Tbsp. instant coffee crystals

1. Combine milk and sugar and whisk until sugar is at least mostly dissolved.
2. Add yogurt and whisk some more.
3. Stir in coffee and cream.
4. Let stand for 5 minutes, then whisk again.
5. Pour into running ice cream maker and churn for 25-35 minutes.

---

¹ The original recipe called for whole milk. I used 1% lactose-free milk and it doesn't seem to have hurt it any. I suspect pretty much any milk would work just fine.
² I used vanilla sugar because I had it on hand. If you just want to use regular (granulated) sugar, just toss ~1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract in with the coffee and cream.
³ As with the milk, I suspect any fat content would work out just fine here. It's also worth noting that the original recipe did not use Greek yogurt. If you're going for protein content though, Greek is definitely your best bet!
⁴ I had some heavy cream kicking around the fridge that needed using, so I tossed it in. That said, I suspect you could also use table cream (18%) or half-and-half (10%) with good results. I'd be reluctant to go any lower than that though, especially if you're already using a low-fat milk and/or yogurt.

Coffee (First Pass)

Okay, so maybe it's a bit odd to post a "recipe" for something that's so ubiquitous and readily available (at least here in Canada), but I am not really a coffee drinker. I rarely buy coffee. Once in a while I might order a cup to sip after a nice dinner but, as a general rule, I don't drink it. This means that I have basically no knowledge of how to actually make the stuff. I mean, I worked in a coffee shop for years, but that involved pushing a button on the grinder to grind the right amount of beans for the pot, adding water, and then just letting the coffee maker do its thing.

I recently decided that I would like to be able to enjoy the occasional cup of coffee at home. I figured that a French press made the most sense for me. It is pleasingly simple and compact, inexpensive, and works well for small amounts of coffee. But now I need to actually learn how to make coffee in the darn thing!

I know the general procedure for making coffee: grind up roasted coffee beans, add hot water, filter out the grinds, drink coffee! But, when it came time to actually brew a cup, I realized that I was pretty fuzzy on the details: How fine a grind? How much water? How hot? How long should it steep?

There are definite opinions about such things on the Internet. Being that I'm not a "cupper" or even a coffee drinker really, my preferences may end up deviating somewhat from popular opinion. Honestly, I still haven't even had enough coffee experience to work out what my preferences are. For now I'm just going to make a record of what I did for future reference so that it's easier to compare and refine the brewing process on later attempts.

French Press Coffee
Adapted from Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters
3 Tbsp. coarsely ground coffee beans
10 oz. (1 1/4 c.) water

1. Place ground coffee in French press.
2. Bring water to a boil and allow to cool slightly. (Pouring it from the kettle/pot into a measuring cup probably allows for enough cooling.)
3. Pour hot water over coffee grinds.
4. Stir with a wooden (or plastic) implement.
5. Place lid on French press (but do not depress plunger).
6. Allow to steep for four minutes.
7. Depress plunger and serve.

Batdorf recommends using a bit of hot water to the French press to preheat it before adding the grinds. I didn't do that this time, but I may try it next time. I may also try a slightly finer grind next time. I set the grocery store grinder to its coarsest setting for this batch and that appears to be quite coarse indeed! I may also try measuring ingredients by mass and see how that goes. Playing around with different grinds means different packing fractions which means it's gonna be difficult to be consistent about how much coffee I'm actually using unless I'm doing it by mass.

But, there you go! There is my first pass at actually, properly making coffee (and not just pushing buttons on automated machines).