Does anyone know if there's sort of standard coffee grinder settings? I left mine at 12 last semester, and now I can't remember if that's fine or coarse.. I need to make espresso for a cake but I don't want to use coffee size grounds..

Coffee counts as food, right? :)

Teasers:



( 15 icons )

Credit is not required. Comments are welcome. Please do not hotlink.

Yes, in fact, I do have my 'nightcap' at 8 in the morning! It comes with working 3rd shift in the bakery. Anyway, as lovely as the weather has been lately, I thought a pipe and a drink would be the perfect pair before bed the other day. While one might argue the former, this espresso martini is absolutely delicious at any time of day! I would even suggest it as a coffeeholic's alternative to the brunch classics of a Mimosa or Bloody Mary.



Espresso Martini
(courtesy of diffordsguide to Cocktails)

2 oz vodka
2 oz espresso (chilled)
1/2 oz coffee liqueur (Kahlua)
1/4 oz simple syrup

Shake over ice. Strain into chilled martini glass. Garnish with a few whole coffee beans.

This is perfectly sized for my modest 7 oz martini glasses. If yours are particularly large and you like a full glass, you may want to bump your proportions up by 50% (3 oz, 3 oz, 3/4 oz, and 3/8 oz respectively). Also, I do not actually (as of yet) have an espresso machine, however I do keep a pitcher of cold brew coffee in the fridge (a la a New York Times recipe...perhaps to be posted later). The flavor of your coffee of choice really comes through (the Kahlua is just a supporting character) so be sure to pick a brew that you find tasty! I don't think Folgers can do this drink justice!

Lovely gift from friend visiting from Dublin. Wish I had taken a picture of the box. Perhaps tomorrow?



The chocolates in order from left to right, top row first:

Lemon Sorbet-- Lemon truffle center in white chocolate. Not much lemon flavor here, just lots of creamy white chocolate. Tasted half and didn't finish the rest. Just alright.

Earl Grey-- No taste of tea or Earl Grey's distinctive bergamot. Just tasted chocolatey. Again, just alright.

Creme Brulee-- Vanilla center truffle in milk chocolate. Meh. No caramelized sugar taste or crunchies, not even a pronounced vanilla bean look, taste, or smell. Again, tasted half and didn't even bother to finish it.

Salt-- Salt caramel in dark chocolate. Finally, a winner! The saltiness worked very well with the creamy caramel and rich dark chocolate. Yum.

Butter Praline-- Best of the bunch. True, full, and rich hazelnut flavor. The texture and taste all gianduja aspire to. My roommate and I agreed that it was a good thing we didn't have a box full of just these.

Double Chocolate-- Basic chocolate truffle. Faily yummy, as all of it was eaten.

Almond Cafe-- Decent coffee flavor, ending kind of peanut buttery though.

Cross-posted to candyisawesome

I graduated from high school today- whoo! My boyfriend's family and my family went to a great Italian restaurant in the West Village (NYC). The desserts were totally beautiful and I thought I would share the pictures with you! Enjoy :)

( Three medium sized pictures under here... ^_^ )

--Rachel

Pear Ginger Cake---Dig the groovy 70's saucer:



( It tastes even better than it looks...click for recipe. )

This was supposed to be layered, but wow, did that ever not happen. (Surprisingly, when you divide your cheesecake batter and mix in melted chocolate in one part, that batter is denser than the plain batter and won't stay on top. Whould'a thunk?) Still, it was yummy, so.



Recipe and more pictures over here.

Kopi Roti or Coffee Bun from Roti Mum.  A tender flaky bun with melted butter inside and a layer of crisped coffee cream over the outside.  deliciously addicting.  more details here.

What kind of icons could I possibly be posting at eight in the morning?

23 COFFEE icons, that's what!

                 Examples 
                    

Under the cut!

Chocolate Cake sandwiched between two Yellow Cake layers, Coffee
Buttercream on the top with mocha covered almonds, shaved chocolate
on the sides.

I've been searching for a reasonably priced, high quality espresso machine for my house. I'm beginning to think though that "reasonably priced" and "high quality" are in fact mutually exclusive. Currently I have your run of the mill Krups "espresso" machine. It does a fine job at brewing coffee, but it definitely falls short of what I'd consider espresso (there's a notable shortage of crema). Is it possible to make a decent professional-quality espresso in the home without the use of two thousand dollars worth of professional equipment?

I'm looking for a coffee/espresso flavored frosting to be the filling for this cake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake with Bittersweet Ganache http://food.cookinglight.com/cooking/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1559230 ...mostly because I love PBJ with a cup of black coffee, and if I can get this already amazing yummyness inside a cake?? I might as well die and go to heaven.

Thanks so much. I searched the tags with no luck.

We've got two basic little kitchens on our floor, where I work, and I've been enjoying my newest little concoction a great deal this past week. Monday, I noticed we have little packets of Neste's hot chocolate and decided to have one but it was kind of bland. Then again, I don't use a standard sized coffee cup...got mine at Starbuck's and it's pretty damn close to being a quart. I usually have 3 of my special coffees any given day I need a little extra pep.

My special coffee works kinda like this: take a glass and divide it into 11 sections. It's 1 part sugar, 2 parts coffee, and 7 parts milk; that last little bit is to prevent overflow and spillage.

So, I tried adding the dark chocolate to the mix but that had me borderline falling asleep, the bit of caffeine in there saving me from falling over into a blissful unconciousness. It's much better now that I've switched to the standard milk chocolate variety...

...these packets are sugar free by the way!

If you decide to give this a go, remember to add the packet before you put in the coffee. It needs heat to break down otherwise you're just going to have little crumbling chcolate islands that will never become one with the drink.

Though that can be fun too!

I've got a coffee grinder I use for (surprise) coffee. I would have bought a burr grinder but my expenses were limited at the time, and with careful grinding, the results are still better than preground coffee. I do intend to buy a burr grinder soon (any suggestions for not overly expensive ones? like under 100 dollars range?) but for now I'm relying on my sad little mr. coffee grinder. Now, my I know that coffee grinders are great for spices (right?) and I've been wanting to make some garam masala. I made a great spice mix once but I've forgotten the recipe completely. So I went all out today and acquired a (_/_) load of spices: coriander seeds, black and yellow mustard seeds, cardamoms ( they look like poops :/ ), cinnamon sticks, whole nutmegs, fenugreek seeds (no idea how those taste), cloves and dried chilies. I'm pretty sure I missed some. Phew. So the question is: if I use my grinder, will I never be able to use it for coffee again? Will it stink it up? What if I rinse in really hot soap and water/put it in the dishwasher? I also have a stick blender and attachments, would that work AS well as the coffee grinder or is the grinder much better? Anyone have some garam masala recipes?

Sorry for all the inquiries! I should post some pictures of my spice treasure trove, but my camera is out of batteries and I can't find the charger...

thanks!
-thaneda

I'm tired of overpriced coffee so I did some searches to make my own and found this one. It's GOOD!!! So I had to share. Enjoy ^_^

Yield: 1 serving

* 1 tablespoon canned pumpkin
* 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
* 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
* 1 cup milk
* 1/2 cup strong java or or favorite coffee

In a saucepan, heat milk and pumpkin until steaming. Stir in vanilla and cinnamon. Put mixture in a blender, and blend for 15-20 seconds until thick and foamy. Pour into tall glass, then add coffee.

Top with a sprinkling of pumpkin pie spice or ground nutmeg.

6 oz dark chocolate
1 oz unsweetened chocolate (i was trying to make bittersweet)
1 stick unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsps vanilla
1 tsp coffee liquoir
1 tsp thai coffee (for iced coffee)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 cup flour

melt chocolates and butter in microwave. cool.

whisk eggs, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, coffee, cinnamon and liquor together. add cooled chocolate. fold in flour. batter will be very thick.

bake on buttered and foil lined 8x8 pan. bake 350 for 15 minutes then 300 for about another 20. take out when toothpick comes out slightly crumbly. the outside should be crackley and crisp and inside should be dark and fudgey.

Recipe for a lovely, soothing, quiet Saturday evening:

1 quart of strawberries, verging on overripe--hulled and quartered
1 pint of blueberries
1 small butter pound cake
A few spoonfuls of American Spoon Cherry-Berry Spoon Fruit (or whatever jam's on hand)
About half a cup of Marsala
Sugar

Macerate the berries in a few spoonfuls of sugar and a splash of Marsala, then layer the berries in a glass dish with slices of pound cake drizzled with Marsala and spread thinly with the spoon fruit. Refrigerate for three hours, then serve with sweetened whipped cream. Total summer comfort food.

Eaten alongside my very first cup of homemade cappuccino, I'm over the moon with porny goodness.

I know trifle usually has some form of custard, but it's hot, and I'm lazy. :)

While not quite as cool as the Death Star cake, I recently tried out another cake from the same cookbook as the Lemon Blackberry I posted before. This week: Cafe au lait chocolate cake!

This one is DEFINITELY being used at the wedding, it is dee-liscious. Much moister than the lemon, and just a wonderful flavor. Yum. I goofed up on the icing, it was supposed to be coffee buttercream. The resulting goop tasted fabulous, but was not icing in any way shape or form. Alas. Anyway, I just used some dark chocolate fudge icing we had in the pantry, and all was well. And tasty. Picture below the cut, recipe on request.

( edited to add recipe )