Vanilla Chocolate And Kahlua Chiffon Cake With Port Wine And Raspberry Sauce Recipes

CHOCOLATE KAHLUA® CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a fluted tube pan (such as Bundt®) with cooking spray; dust with flour.
• Combine cake mix, sour cream, eggs, coffee-flavored liqueur, oil, pudding mix, orange zest, and cinnamon in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until very smooth, about 4 minutes. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour batter into the prepared tube pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto a plate; let cool completely, about 30 minutes. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

VANILLA, CHOCOLATE AND KAHLUA CHIFFON CAKE WITH PORT WINE AND RASPBERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Into a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, 1 cups of the sugar, the cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center and add the oil, Kahlua and vanilla. Do not mix. In another bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until white and foamy. Slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Do not overbeat. Mix 1/4 of the egg whites until well incorporated into the flour mixture. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites using a rubber spatula. Spray a 9-inch tube pan with nonstick cooking spray, or brush the inside with oil. Dust with flour and tap out the excess. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bang the mold on the counter to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 55 minutes, or until the top feels springy, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake upright on a wire rack for 1 hour. Loosen the sides with a small, thin knife. Remove the cake from the pan and allow it to cool. Wrap airtight, or serve immediately with a light sifting of confectioners sugar accompanied by the Port Wine and Raspberry Sauce.
• In a food processor, blend all the ingredients until very smooth. Strain, if necessary.

MOCHA CHOCOLATE ICEBOX CAKE

Steps:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the heavy cream, mascarpone, sugar, Kahlua, cocoa powder, espresso powder and vanilla. Mix on low speed to combine and then slowly raise the speed until it forms firm peaks.
• To assemble the cake, arrange chocolate chip cookies flat in an 8-inch springform pan, covering the bottom as much as possible. (I break some cookies to fill in the spaces.) Spread a fifth of the mocha whipped cream evenly over the cookies. Place another layer of cookies on top, lying flat and touching, followed by another fifth of the cream. Continue layering cookies and cream until there are five layers of each, ending with a layer of cream. Smooth the top, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
• Run a small sharp knife around the outside of the cake and remove the sides of the pan. Sprinkle the top with the chocolate, cut in wedges and serve cold.

STANDING OVATION: SWEET CHOCOLATE PORT CUPCAKES, PORT WINE REDUCTION SYRUP, RASPBERRY CREME FRAICHE FILLING, FRENCH CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line cupcake tins with 24 cupcake liners.
• Whisk together the buttermilk, oil, vanilla and eggs. Combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt and add into the wet mixture. Whisk the batter together until almost all the lumps are gone. Scrape the bowl, then mix again briefly. Add in a small amount of the port wine to help thin the batter. Once it is incorporated, slowly add in the remaining wine, whisking continuously. Scrape the bottom of the bowl and make sure that there are no lumps. Scoop into the prepared cupcake liners using a number 16 scoop. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
• To assemble: Allow the cupcakes to fully cool. Using an apple corer, remove a piece of the cupcake from the center. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon Port Wine Reduction Syrup. Fill the cupcake with 1 teaspoon Raspberry Creme Fraiche Filling. Using a large star tip, pipe the chilled French Chocolate Mousse onto the cupcake. Garnish with the gold leaf flake.
• Combine the wine, sugar and salt in a saucepan over a low flame. Simmer until reduced to 3 1/2 ounces liquid.;
• Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan containing barely simmering water (or use a double boiler). Melt the chocolate and butter together and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. Add the egg yolks to the chocolate, 1 by 1, beating with a whisk until incorporated. Set aside.
• In another bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat. Gradually whisk in 1/4 cup sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
• Beat the heavy cream in a chilled bowl until it begins to foam and thicken up. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and the vanilla. Continue to whip the cream until it holds soft peaks.
• Gradually and gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Then, delicately fold in the whipped cream. Take care not over work the mousse.
• Whisk the creme fraiche with the raspberry preserves to combine.

SPARKLING BERRY CHIFFON

Steps:

• Put a strainer over a glass bowl. Put the lemon zest and juice and the granulated sugar in a heavy bottom, non-reactive saucepan over high heat and stir until the sugar dissolves, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn the heat to low, making sure the mixture is below a simmer, and whisk in the butter and eggs. Cook, stirring regularly and taking care to keep it below a simmer, until thickened, 9 to 10 minutes. Strain into the glass bowl, press some plastic wrap on the surface and cool.
• Meanwhile, combine the berries, 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar and the sparkling wine in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate while the curd cools.
• Whisk the cream and the remaining 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar together in a large bowl until thick and creamy and just under soft peaks. Fold the cream into the cooled lemon mixture. Transfer the chiffon to a pastry bag; snip off the tip of the bag.
• Pipe some of the lemon chiffon into the bottoms of the wine glasses, then spoon in some berries with their juices; repeat, finishing with just a few berries on the tops. Serve immediately.