Tiramisu

There are a few desserts that my husband and I typically like to always order whenever we dine out at restaurants. There's the sinfully gooey pizookie (giant cookie cooked in a mini pizza pan), a warm slice of apple pie (ala mode is a must for me), or the creamy and indulgent cheesecake (because making a regular size one at home would require fat buffet pants for the rest of the month). My personal favorite is the ever so decadent tiramisu, an Italian classic dessert that is a coffee lover's dream come true. However, Eric isn't a fan of chocolate desserts, so it's a rare occasion if I can indulge in tiramisu.

I had a sudden craving to make it myself when I saw that my food bloggy girlfriend, Eva, had Tiramisu on her baking bucket list. I don't have a cooking or baking bucket list written down but just a running backlog of recipes in my head that I always want to cook or bake up. It's the desire to complete food challenges to feel a sense of accomplishment and mainly to figure out if homemade desserts taste better at home versus the restaurants, too. And it's always fun to collaborate with my food bloggy community whenever I can especially before my hands will be busy with a newborn. (We have less than a month left until my due date!)

Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins

I can't believe it's December?

Where did the last couple of weeks of November go? Oh I remember now, I was enjoying all that wonderful bacon-wrapped turkey (my aunt's recipe), yummy sides and truly enjoying those couple days off. I also took a couple days off in the kitchen from all the leftovers piled up in the fridge. I made some shephard's pie using leftover turkey and made a big batch of turkey stock. This week's menu was pretty inexpensive and I had planned meals that focused on pantry items and whatever was in the freezer. Easy menu items like pizza using my new Artisan Pizza & Flatbread cookbook and pasta.

There wasn't anything that I wanted to highlight and take photographs from this week except for these tasty breakfast treats that I baked up. Whenever I get a down week in cleaning the fridge and freezer, I'm usually baking up something with bananas. It's because I have an influx of bananas stored in the freezer and ready to use whenever I'm feeling the need to bake something sweet and simple. These banana espresso chocolate chip muffins are perfect for breakfast or a snack. For some odd reason due to my pregnancy food aversions, I'm not really into anything with chocolate but these are super tasty and moist. I forgot that there was chocolate in there, so it has to be good if it disappeared from my plate.

Simple and sweet.

Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins
Adapted from Cate's World Kitchen
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
4 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup whole milk
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pans with paper liners.

In the bowl of the stand mixer, combine the bananas, sugars, butter, milk and egg. Mix until combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, espresso powder, baking soda and salt.

Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet, until slightly lumpy. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin pans.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool the muffins in the pans for about 10 minutes, then let cool completely on a wire rack.

Yield: 14 to 16 muffins

Review: Fantastic way to use up ripe bananas, and a sweet way to start your day. Update to my little cookie in the oven, we hit the milestone 17 weeks! I can't believe I'm almost at my halfway mark of my pregnancy. 2nd trimester has given me back my energy and love for cooking. I still have food aversions and I'm on a cereal kick in the mornings. Here's a recent picture of my husband and I (can you see a bump yet?) from a surprise birthday party that ended up being a surprise wedding party for the guests! (Congrats Lynn & Martika!)

Spicy Godiva Mocha Shake

Hey, did you know that my milkshake brings all the boys to the yard and their like - it's better than yours! (snap snap) Damn right… it's better than yours! I can teach you, but I have to charge….(snap snap)

La la-la la la. (shake shake)

I absolutely love that song from Kelis “Milkshake,” and I think it’s the perfect way to start this awesome weekend. My weekend rituals consist of: blaring my car stereo to the max, windows rolled down, singing songs that are too darn catchy, and making delicious milkshakes for no reason at all. That’s what Fridays are for - singing, having fun and drinking milkshakes.

I had to make one more Godiva coffee inspired post because this was one of my favorite coffee concoctions that I used to make all the time at my old stomping grounds, Diedrich Coffee. Whenever a customer would order this sweet drink, I would always make sure to make a little extra for myself. A drink for the customer, and a little teaser for myself. This is a spin on my Spicy Godiva Iced Mocha paired with coffee ice cream - you can easily substitute vanilla ice cream if you don’t have homemade coffee ice cream like myself.

Cool yourself away with this sweet and spicy mocha milkshake.
Spicy Godiva Mocha Shake
Printable Recipe
Inspired by Diedrich Coffee
Ingredients:
Spicy Mocha Mix:
1 tablespoon Vietnamese Cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
½ teaspoon Chipotle pepper
Shake:
1-2 ounces Godiva Chocolate Truffle coffee, brewed as espresso
4 ounces Milk
2 scoops of Coffee Ice Cream, a little more than 1 cup
Toppings: Whipped cream, chocolate shavings, cinnamon/nutmeg/chipotle powder, chocolate covered espresso beans or cocoa nibs

Preparation:

Add the ingredients in a blender, 1 heaping tablespoon of the spicy mocha mix, espresso, milk and coffee ice cream and blend until smooth, about 1 minute.

Pour into a large glass and add desired toppings. Top with desired toppings - whipped cream, grated chocolate, cocoa nibs and a dash of the spices.

Serve immediately with a pretty straw and sip away to your milkshake’s delight and fight away the boys in yard.

Yield: 1 serving drink (16 ounces), plus a little extra to share

Disclosure: As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program I received two bags of Godiva premium coffee.

Review: Go ahead and make it. Creamy, sweet and spicy – it hits the spot everytime.

Spicy Godiva Iced Mocha

Being a part of Foodbuzz’s Tastemaker Program presents itself some sweet opportunities to indulge in some of my favorite things…this being coffee – you know my best friend. Foodbuzz partnered up with Godiva Coffee and had sent me two packages of their premium flavored coffees- Chocolate Truffle and French Vanilla. Yum and yum indeed. My cooking agenda was to sample and create an iced cold blended coffee recipe. YIPEE. This was definitely up my cooking repertoire being an ex-barista.

Typically, Eric and I drink regularly brewed coffee and sometimes on the weekends we will indulge on the occasional lattes or mochas. We sometimes fancy it up and enjoy “Cuban cafecitos” using our stovetop espresso coffee maker.  I can’t imagine a day without coffee because it’s my needed pick-me up and it’s the only way to start my day. However, it would be nice to have other coffee options when the weather is still unbearably hot and I knew that an iced coffee drink would hit the spot.

This drink was inspired from my many days of working at Diedrich Coffee, and sadly they went out of business, too. Whenever Eric used to visit me at work, he would request a hot Mayan mocha. It was his favorite coffee concoction because he loved how it was similar to hot chocolate but kicked up a spicy notch. My version is made with a sweet chocolate powder and spices combined with Godiva Chocolate Truffle coffee and milk. I knew that this would be a nice throwback to my golden barista days, and bring sweet college memories to my husband.   

The ultimate chocolate mocha with a little bit of kick.

Spicy Godiva Iced Mocha
Printable Recipe
Inspired by Diedrich Coffee
Ingredients:
Spicy Mocha Mix:
1 tablespoon Vietnamese Cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
½ teaspoon Chipotle pepper
Drink:
8 ounces Godiva Chocolate Truffle Coffee, prepared from your coffeemaker
8 ounces Milk
½ glass of ice cubes
Toppings: Whipped cream, chocolate shavings, cinnamon/nutmeg/chipotle powder

Preparation:

Combine the coffee and 1 heaping tablespoon of spicy mocha mix in a small pitcher, and stir to blend until the chocolate mix dissolves. Add the milk and ice cubes, and stir gently.

Pour into a large glass and add desired toppings. Top with whipped cream, grated chocolate and a dash of the spices.

Serve immediately and sip away to your coffee lover’s delight.

Yield: 1 serving drink
Spicy Mocha Powder: 4+ serving

Disclosure: As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program I received two bags of Godiva premium coffee.

Review: Spicy and a wonderfully sweet mocha creation and we will enjoy many of these whenever the mood strikes or to relive my barista days.

Coffee Ice Cream

During my awesome college years, I worked as a barista in a coffee shop. Nope, it was not that coffee shop that ends in ****bucks. It was a decent paying job, I worked the early crack of dawn morning shift, and best of all I had all the free coffee perks. Cafe lattes, cappuccinos, mochas, Americanos, espressos and numerous other crazy concoctions that allowed me to have enough caffeine to help study/cram/party many nights away. You can say that coffee and I became best friends.

I think my college coffee-filled days might have taken a slight affect on me because I crave/love/need coffee everyday. Naturally, I look forward to my morning cup of coffee because it is the perfect and only way to start my day. If I don’t have my morning cup of coffee, I sometimes get headaches. It’s probably from the lack of caffeine. Coffee and I can never break up, it would be a disaster.

If I were ever to take a small break away from coffee, it would be for this dessert – coffee ice cream. Coffee ice cream can be my secret best friend. I loved making my own homemade batch for whenever I had the coffee craving or just because I love ice cream. This coffee ice cream has a rich and indulgent flavor and it’s absolutely sublime. Plus, I used a batch of the Godiva Chocolate truffle coffee beans that I received from Foodbuzz to add an extra sweet chocolate kick.

Coffee and ice cream, totally perfect for each other.

Coffee Ice Cream
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
1½ cups whole milk
¾ cup sugar
1½ cups whole coffee beans
Pinch of salt
1½ cups heavy cream, divided
5 large egg yolks
½ teaspoon coffee liquor or (vanilla extract)
¼ teaspoon finely ground coffee

Preparation:

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the milk, sugar, coffee beans, salt and ½ cup of the heavy cream. Once the mixture starts to bubble, cover and remove from heat. Let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

Bring the saucepan back to medium high heat. Pour the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream into a large bowl and place a large mesh strainer on the top. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth and once the coffee mixture has become warm again - temper the egg mixture with a cup of the coffee mixture.

Whisking constantly so that the eggs don’t curdle, and then add the mixed egg mixture into the saucepan.
Cook the mixture, making sure to stir constantly and scrape the bottom until the mixture has thickened like custard. Test it by placing a spatula (it should coat it evenly). Pour the custard through the strainer and mix to combine. With a wooden spoon, press the coffee beans in the strainer to extract as much of the coffee flavor you can get. Discard the beans. Mix in the coffee extract or vanilla extract and stir in the finely ground coffee.

Cover the bowl with saran wrap and chill the mixture in the refrigerator until completely cool, about 1 hour. When ready to prepare ice cream, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Place in a freezable container.

Yield: 1 quart

Note: As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received Godiva Coffee. However, all views and opinions expressed here are my own.

Review: Rich and creamy, and perfect for coffee lovers. I bought Café Britt coffee liquor in Costa Rica and can be easily bought online, or you can substitute it for vanilla extract or use other coffee liquors, too. Be on the lookout for a fun spin using this recipe and Godiva coffee, but if you are clever enough you can probably already guess what it is.