Sourdough Adventures #21: Discard Chocolate Coffee Cake w/ Ganache

We had a family reunion to attend, so I opted to bring a dessert made with sourdough discard. It's been a nutty month between vacation and coming back to work, coaching summer interns, etc.  So I haven't made any actual sourdough bread in a while.  

Natural light, some expert slicing by your MIL, and a brand new phone will do wonders for your food photography, just FYI.

This chocolate cake recipe from Milk & Pop looked gorgeous, so I settled on that.  And while my version ended up a touch dry (I think I overbaked it a bit), I would not let that discourage you from trying it.  I followed their recipe pretty tightly, only change was the addition of about a 1/2 Tbsp of cinnamon, so you can click the link to jump to their recipe if you're interested in trying.  If I made this again I might add some dry instant pudding mix, or up the oil content just a bit, to ensure a more moist cake.

The original baker's trick for using sugar inside the pan to ensure the cake comes out cleanly?  *chef's kiss* WILL DEFINITELY be using that again.

I DID opt for a different icing option than what Milk & Pop had shared, and instead made a simple ganache by heating 

• 1 cup heavy cream

And then stirring it into 

• 9 oz of semi-sweet chocolate

This made a gorgeous smooth glaze...and honestly, made too much.  You could probably do about half that (4-5 oz chocolate, 1/2 cup cream) and have plenty to cover this cake.  Thankfully, we had some strawberries on hand to help with the excess...

The cake was a hit at the reunion--up against some stiff competition. As with any Midwestern potluck--dessert options matched entrees and sides in a 1:1 ratio.  And you've gotta try them all...it'd be rude not to. 

Thirsty Thursday: Irish Channel Coffee

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, we'll be totally cliche and have an Irish Coffee.  BUT...because this is a Cajun Food blog [in theory], we'll put a NOLA spin on it.

Photo courtesy of cresentcityliving.com

Those not from NOLA may not be aware, but the Irish have strong historic ties to Louisiana; in fact, by 1850 one in five New Orleans residents was an Irish immigrant, forming the largest Irish population in the South.  The neighborhood just south of the Garden District is known as The Irish Channel for those who settled there in the 19th century, while another large community of Irish immigrants populated the Irish Bayou area in current East New Orleans.

Sadly, these 1800's immigrants likely never had an "Irish Coffee", as the drink was invented in the 1940s.  It was brought back to the U.S. in 1952, and much like the traditions of shamrocks, leprechauns and pots o'gold, wedged itself into our perception of our ginger-haired neighbors across the pond.

HOWEVER, if Irish Channel dwellers HAD ever made themselves an Irish Coffee, I'd like to imagine it was made with good New Orleans Style chicory coffee... and perhaps this tasty pecan praline liqueur I found recently.

Proudly made in New Orleans!

NOTE: I am fully aware that this is a very foofy version of an Irish Coffee, and that the traditional version is made with whiskey and brown sugar, with heavy cream floated on top.  However, I'm not much for whiskey, I had Cool Whip in the house, and this is MY blog.  So suck it. :)

INGREDIENTS:

4-6 oz strong chicory coffee

2 oz Irish Cream

2 oz Pecan Praline liqueur

whipped cream to top 

INGREDIENTS:
In a tall coffee mug, combine the Irish cream and praline liqueur.  Pour hot coffee over, and then top with whipped cream (I used a ziploc bag to pipe the Cool Whip on top).  Add a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg for garnish.

Pinterest Project: Homemade Peppermint Coffee Sugar Scrub

After making so many gifts this Christmas (lotion bars, candy, body scrub, cocoa mix, etc) I realized that I didn’t really keep any for myself!  For shame.  So I rooted through my Pinterest boards and decided to give this coffee sugar scrub a whirl.

Why coffee?  The article states that just the smell of coffee can help perk you up in the morning (SO true), and the caffeine is good for your skin.  I took it a step further & used a coffee/chicory blend, because a) this is a Cajun food blog, and nothin’ screams “NOLA” like a cup of chicory coffee, and b) because chicory has some great skin health benefits of its own. It can be used to reduce swelling, it’s an anti-inflammatory, and it can help tighten your skin & reduce wrinkles, while increasing collagen synthesis.

 

Ingredients:

1 cup white sugar

5 Tbsp coffee grounds (I used Community Coffee’s New Orleans Blend w/Chicory)

1/8 - 1/4 cup oil (I used coconut oil, but you could just as easily do almond oil, olive oil, etc.)

2 tsp of extract or essential oils, your choice.  The Pinterest recipe recommends peppermint & vanilla to help wake you up, which I really like.  You could also use almond, coconut, etc.

 

DIRECTIONS:

Combine the sugar & coffee in a small bowl & mix well.  Then add your extracts (I used peppermint & vanilla), and slowly add the oil.  You may not need to use the whole 1/4 cup.  Just add enough til you get all the grains coated & it will hold together.  Beyond that, it’s up to your personal preference.  If you accidentally add too much, just mix in a little more sugar and/or coffee.

Transfer to a sealable jar (I save old pickle & olive jars & keep them in my pantry for projects like these—just clean them out really well), and voila—you’re done!

NOTE:  The coffee grounds will leave a bit of a mess in your shower, so just be prepared for that.  If you have a detachable showerhead or a handheld shower head, it’ll clean up really easily.

This cup’s for you, Nana.

For a while now, I’ve had a personal mission to find a coffee cup in same pattern that my grandparents had: Corelle’s Butterfly Gold.  I would occasionally see saucers or plates show up at the thrift stores, but never the mugs.

While I’ve never been much of a collector of such things, that pattern has a strong connotation in my memory, and brings back so many happy thoughts of times with my now deceased Nana & PawPaw.  They were both teachers, and just wonderful people. I know everyone feels that way about grandparents, but it really was a true blessing to have them in my family.  My Nana taught me a love of arts & crafts, of seeing potential in things for what they could become, to exercise my imagination, and devour books.  My grandpa taught me to make spaghetti, to drive a car, and would never turn down a game of Scrabble.

From the time I was little until I was 14, they lived in Texas & I only saw them at Christmas & during the summer, when my parents would ship me off down there for a month or two so they could have some solitude.  After that, they moved back to Missouri, close to the area where I live now, which meant I got to visit them much more frequently—particularly once I started college. (Hey, 50 minute drive to do laundry, rather than the 2 hours up to my parents’ house?  Heck yeah!) 

My Nana loved Christmas more than any other holiday, which is probably where I developed my affinity for it as well.  We would have Thanksgiving at her house, and then, the next morning, we busted into the attic and brought down all the Christmas décor.

(Every gift got a big reaction, which is very gratifying for a 12 year old shopping on allowance money.)

Nana loved Christmas stockings, and stocking stuffers.  She made us stockings one year…and eventually, the stocking stuffers wouldn’t all fit inside, so she then made one-gallon drawstring sacks of Christmas fabric that became our new “stockings”.  PawPaw buried an orange and a half-dollar coin at the bottom of our stockings every year.

PawPaw loved old Westerns, and the Steelers, and Arnold Palmer.  We spent a lot of time on the couch watching those together.

Sadly, they were also both heavy smokers, and my Nana developed multiple myeloma in 2000.  She fought it hard for several years, and it even went into remission for a while.  But in 2003, it came back with a vengeance, and you could just see she didn’t have the strength to fight anymore.  We got to say our goodbyes at Thanksgiving that year, and she passed a week later.

True to Nana fashion, she had already bought each of us our Christmas present for that year, which my aunt found in the attic, unwrapped, with our names written on the bottom.

My last Christmas gift from Nana.  Still sits on my bedside table to this day.

My PawPaw was lost without her, and went to join her a year later, suffering from health conditions of his own, though we all know he just couldn’t bear to be without her anymore.

So…all that said…that’s why I had a mission.  To find one, just one, coffee mug.  Why a mug?  Because it was from one of those mugs that I had my first ever sip of coffee.  And, like nearly all 14 year olds, I hated it.  They drank their coffee black, with little to no sugar.  Ugh. 

But then I started college…and caffeine became a necessity.  And so I would have coffee with Nana & PawPaw on the weekends while doing laundry…with about 4 teaspoons of sugar added in.

Now, I have coffee every morning.  Thanks to the hundreds of flavored creamers out there, I never have to make the “coffee grimace” ever again.  But I still think about that first sip now & then.

And today…today would be my Nana’s birthday.  Which is why Fate led me to a stack of Butterfly Gold coffee cups at a thrift store on Wednesday.  So for 99 cents, I get to have coffee with my Nana today.  Worth every penny.

Thirsty Thursday: Keurig Cafe au Lait, Green Goddess Style.

A while back I mentioned my adventure to the Green Goddess cafe in New Orleans for the Notorious Bacon Sundae; and while I was there, I had a FANTASTIC cup of coffee. 

New Orleans is famous for the cafe au lait or “milky coffee”.  This traditionally made with 1/2 steamed milk, and 1/2 strong-brewed dark roast coffee with chicory.  The chicory adds a rich, somewhat bitter flavor to the coffee.  New Orleanians will joke that, much like the cowboys of the west, a cup of traditional New Orleans coffee should be thick enough to stand a spoon in.

(Traditional cafe au lait & beignets at a New Orleans institution.)

The taste for coffee and chicory was developed by the French during their civil war. Coffee was scarce during those times, and they found that chicory added body and flavor to the brew. The Acadians from Nova Scotia brought this taste along with so many others to Louisiana.

This cup o’jeaux I had at Green Goddess was not a “cafe au lait” in the traditional sense; while it was made with chicory coffee, it wasn’t half steamed milk.  Rather, they sweeten the strong brew with sweetened condensed milk.  And it was sooooooo delicious, that I had to replicate it at home.

Now, my good, sweet, wonderful husband (who does not drink coffee unless it doesn’t taste like coffee) caved to my pleas and bought me a single-brewer system for Christmas last year.  It’s a Mr. Coffee, but it has the Keurig system in it (therefore less pricey than the ones with the Keurig name stamped on the front).  It takes K-cups, and can also use the “My K-Cup” insert that allows you to brew a single serving of your favorite bagged coffee (meaning you don’t have to constantly shell out $$ for the pre-made singles).

So…what we need:

1. A Keurig or other single-serve brewer

2. “My K Cup” or other reusable single serve filter

3. 2 tbsp Community Coffee New Orleans Blend w/chicory (or your other favorite chicory blend.  Local New Orleans roaster PJ’s I believe has a blend, and there’s Cafe du Monde, French Market, etc.)

4. 1 tbsp Fat Free sweetened condensed milk

5. 8-10 oz filtered water

 

Directions:

Pop the regular K-cup holder out of the Keurig.

Put 2 tbsp of chicory coffee in the My K Cup filter basket, screw on lid, & insert into the Keurig.

Add 8-10 oz of filtered water to the tank.  Then press “Brew”.

About 90 seconds later, you have a nice, thick, hearty cup of coffee.

Add to that one full tablespoon of sweetened condensed milk, and stir until fully dissolved. (For me, this was the perfect amount.  Not overly sweet, but just sweet & creamy enough to still enjoy the flavor of the coffee.  If you prefer less sweet coffee, you could start with a 1/2 tbsp & then add more from there.)

Enjoy in your favorite mug.

(Yes, this was a gift.)

And there, my friends, you have one AMAZING cup of cafe au lait for a mere 55 calories per 10 oz cup (compared to the average 160-200 calories that the same amount of Starbucks would run you).

And with that, I leave you with the wisdom of the “Honorary Cajun” mug:

 

Just doin’ my part to share the “joie de vivre”. :D