Shaman

A spirited meme, and Frangelico desserts for a start

January 6th, 2007 | by zentrix |

Update: I had originally planned for just one recipe, and the chocolate coffee cake drenched in frangelico was my original choice. However, I wasn’t too happy with it, because it did not bring out the flavor of the frangelico to its fullest. So I came up with a second recipe that is simpler, and showcases the flavor of the frangelico to the maximum. I call the new recipe Chilled rice noodles drunk on Frangelico.

Ingredients

• A handful of rice noodles
• 100ml soy milk
• Vanilla extract
• Cardamom powder
• Dark chocolate bar
• Two teaspoons of sugar
• Three tablespoons of Frangelico
• One cardamom pod (for garnish)

Boil the rice noodles in water till they are fully cooked i.e completely soft. Remove from heat and allow the noodles to cool down. Drain the water and add the noodles to a small bowl. Add the soy milk, a drop of the vanilla extract, Frangelico and the sugar and mix well. Refrigerate for about twenty minutes. Invert the bowl onto the serving plate. Sprinkle some cardamom powder and grate some dark chocolate. Garnish with a cardamom pod.

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First, some background:Cynthia Closkey and I are collaborating on a unique epicurean mission. Every week, Cindy will suggest a liqueur/spirt. I will come up with a dessert that incorporates Cindy’s suggestion. The recipe and the photographs will be blogged.

Cindy suggested Frangelico, the hazelnut flavored liqueur, to get started. Frangelico is not too sweet, and has a smoky and nutty flavor. I tend to associate coffee and chocolate with this liqueur. So I came up with a recipe that incorporates Frangelico, chocolate and a hint of coffee. Why a hint of coffee? Because I did not want the coffee to overwhelm the flavor of the Frangelico. The chocolate cake with Frangelico filling must be warmed before serving. And the “filling” has a twist. You’ll discover it as you read the recipe. BTW, the name of the liqueur is based on a legend of a hermit named Fra Angelico who “created unique recipes for liqueurs”.

Ingredients for the cake

• One and a half cups thawed butter
• One and a half cups of powdered sugar
• Six eggs
• Three cups all-purpose flour
• One tablespoon unsweetened dark cocoa
• Two teaspoons of instant coffee granules
• Two teaspoons baking powder
• Half cup boiling water
• Three to four round chocolate truffles (I like to use the Lindt Lindor Truffles with liquid chocolate filling)
• Two mini bottles of Frangelico

Preheat oven to 350 Deg. F. Grease a 13×9 baking dish with non-stick spray. Incorporate the sugar into the thawed butter and beat the mixture till is is smooth. Add one egg at a time, and continue to blend and beat. Gradually add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and instant coffee powder and continue to mix the batter. Slowly add the half cup of boiling water while continuing to mix the batter. Pour the batter into the greased tray and bake for about forty minutes. Check the center of the cake to see if it is done by slowly inserting a knife. If the knife comes out clean, the cake is done. If it comes out with batter sticking to the knife, the cake needs to go back in to the oven. Oven temperatures differ, so your oven may require more or less time. Spritz one mini bottle of Frangelico over the cake once it is done and allow the cake to cool down completely.

Cut a rectangular slice of the cake, say three inches by two inches. Turn the cake slice on its side and gently cut out a half inch by half inch section, much like how you would cut out a small section of a water mellon. Be careful removing this section, because you have to put it back.

Gently pierce one of the chocolate truffles and empty out the filling. Replace the filling with Frangelico and reseal the truffle.

Slowly insert the truffle into the hollow cavity on the side of the cake slice.

Replace the cut cake section gently.

Before serving, spoon a freshly melted (use a double boiler) teaspoon of dark chocolate and Frangelico on top of the cake slice. Microwave the cake slice for 15 seconds. Plate and serve.

When the slice is cut, the warm truffle will collapse, and the frangelico liqueur will ooze out.

Feel free to use your own chocolate cake recipe (if you want to avoid eggs and/or butter). Make sure that you add the instant coffee granules to get a hint of coffee in your cake.

You can also make your own liqueur-filled chocolate. You can melt some dark chocolate in a double boiler. Prepare fresh sugar syrup (two tablespoons of hot water and two teaspoons of sugar. Mix till the sugar fully dissolves and add the liqueur to the syrup. Spoon the melted dark chocolate into ice cube trays and refrigerate (not in the freezer). After four minutes, remove the ice cube tray and gently make a hole in every chocolate cube. the insides will still be warm, and thus be in liquid form. Gently pour out the warm chocolate and replace with the sugar/liqueur syrup. Seal the hole with some of the warm chocolate and refrigerate till they become solid.

Remember, the idea is to get the flavor of the Frangelico, with the chocolate and coffee flavors following behind. We don’t want an overwhelming chocolate cake with a weak frangelico flavor.