Spiking the Chocolate

I add chocolate liqueurs to some of my chocolate baking. I find that it adds a very distinct flavor. Getting drunk on Kahlua infused chocolate muffins is never going to happen. The alcohol evaporates, but, in the case of Kahlua, it leaves a delicate hint of coffee essence. Of course you could always use fresh brewed coffee instead, but I find that using Kahlua or Godiva really adds much to the recipe. These are some of the liqueurs I like to use. They are:
Kahlua
Crème de Cacao
Mocha Caramel
Godiva
Vodka

I must say Godiva and Kahlua are my favorites. A chocolate and coffee mixture is rich in flavor combination. It makes the dark chocolate characteristics of Mexican chocolate even deeper in taste. And the Godiva, well, I favor it because of the varieties found in this liqueur. There are Original, Milk, White, Mocha, and Cappuccino. Imagine the possibilities. Here’s a link to a Godiva recipe page to get you started.

Godiva Chocolatier Liqueur Recipes


The Vincent Van Gogh’s Vodka is what I use for Chocolate Martinis. When making chocolate margaritas, simply add tequila as well.

With Kahlua, there’s so much that you can do. Incorporate it into your baking anytime you want the mocha flavor, just like those “magdalenas” I made a couple of days ago.

I found this one blog site that actually show you how to make your own chocolate liqueur. It’s called 18th Century Cuisine Follow the link to learn how to make your own.
And here’s one I found where you actually use Hershey’s cocoa.

HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE LIQUEUR

1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
3 cups vodka
5 tablespoons Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder
1 vanilla bean, split

Combine sugar and water in small saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture boils. Reduce heat to low; simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature.

Measure 1 cup of the mixture; combine with vodka, cocoa and vanilla bean in clean 2-quart glass container. Cover tightly; keep in cool dark place for 14 days, shaking thoroughly every 2 days.

Strain liqueur through dampened coffee filter paper into clean glass container. (Change filter paper in mid-process or, if necessary, let drip overnight as cocoa residue is very thick.) Repeat straining process if residue remains.

Remove vanilla bean. Cover tightly; let liqueur age in cool, dark place for at least 1 month.

Makes about 1 quart
Source: Hershey's Chocolate Treasury

Soon we’ll discover the wonderful world of Chocolate Tea. Oh yeah, baby. Just my cup of tea! Enjoy spiking your chocolate. Hasta luego.

Lovely Day for a Cupcake

It's been a beautiful day in El Paso today. It started out overcast, then the clouds got denser. The temperature was in the 80's and by 2 pm it started raining, lightly, but steadily. No thunder, no lightning, no flooding...just a nice light drizzle that has gone on for a couple of hours. I couldn't think of anything better to do than to bake. But what? I know...CUPCAKES.
I got a comment on my Mexican-American Border cooking blog from Adi (Inmaculada). She's from Spain and she is the loveliest person I've ever talked to online, through comments. She has a sweet personality and love's her cooking. Her blogs and photography are beautiful. Check them out.Verduras Para Todos
Pan y Varios

Anyway, she had written a post about magdalenas. All I saw were cupcakes. Duh! I looked it up and sure enough, in Spain, cupcakes are called magdalenas. How absolutely marvelous. Actually it translates into "fairy cake" or "muffin".
I was inspired. I love cookies and cupcakes. So, cupcakes won the coin toss. I used what I had on hand and came up with this simple little Mexican Chocolate Cupcake recipe just for you.

One chocolate cake mix, 1 1/4 cups of water, 1/3 cup of oil, 3 eggs, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 disk Abuelita's Mexican chocolate, chopped up. Now for the frosting. It would have to be chocolate of course. I used the Hershey's Fudge Frosting recipe with a few tweaks.

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup cocoa powder
1/2 disk Abuelita's Mexican Chocolate, chopped up
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup hot milk1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon Kahlua

Melt butter over low heat. Add cocoa and Abuelitas chocolate. stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool a bit.

In a large mixing bowl, combine powdered sugar and milk. Beat until smooth. Add cooled chocolate, vanilla and Kahlua. Beat on medium until smooth and thick, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Chill for about 1/2 hour. It'll make about 3 cups.

I hope you enjoyed your day like I did. Reading, writing, cooking, and music. Ah, what a wonderful life.

Which One Would You Chose?

Home made is always better of course. I found these tostada chips at the supermarket the other day, and well you know me. CHOCOLATE TOSTADA CHIPS? Oh yeah. But when I got home and ripped open the package, I was more than a little disappointed. Oh, they’re not bad per se, but they sure don’t taste like chocolate. They taste like dry tortilla chips that just happen to be a brown cocoa color. I certainly couldn't taste the sea salt either. So, lesson learned, just because it says chocolate or cocoa, doesn’t mean it is.




Now these tostada chips (above), I made at home before creating the recipe found in my Mexican Chocolate ecookbook. Here you can taste the chocolate and the saltiness of the tortilla chip. Exactly what I like: sweet and salty all in one. The chips on the right, well, you decide.

Here's a freebie for you from my Mexican Chocolate Dessert ecookbook. It's one that is easy to prepare and your kids will enjoy on their last hoorah right before school gets going again.

Chocolate Drizzled Dessert Nachos with Fruit Salsa
You’ve had all these ingredients before, just never in a sweet snack like this one. Beware of the jalapeños, they do pack a kick. However, if you like spice, the combination of the heat of the jalapeños and the onions, and the coolness of the fruit is a unique and wonderful taste. Of course, the Mexican Chocolate tops this dish off with flair.

1 (16 ounce) bag tostada chips, or better yet, homemade
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 disk Mexican chocolate, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons vegetable shortening

1 cup diced fresh strawberries
1 cup chopped pineapple
1 banana, thinly sliced
Juice of one medium size lime
1 large jalapeno, stemmed, seeded, finely diced
1 long green onion, thinly sliced
Salt (optional)


Salsa:

Combine all fruit, jalapeno, and onion in a medium bowl. Add lime juice to fruit mix and carefully stir to combine. Add salt to taste (optional). Cover bowl and chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Chips:

Spread tostada chips on parchment covered cookie sheets. Set Aside.

Place chocolates in heat proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Add the vegetable shortening. Allow the melting process to begin and then start stirring to completely melt the chocolates and incorporate the shortening. Once the mixture is smooth, remove from heat and allow to cool for a couple of minutes.

Drizzle melted chocolate over the tostada chips and allow to set. Put chips in the fridge to speed the process.
Serve with chilled fruit salsa.(c) 2008

Martha and Hershey's Like Mexican Chocolate

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Even Hershey’s and Martha Stewart are joining the Mexican Chocolate bandwagon. In the August issue of Martha Stewart Living, there is finally a recipe that incorporates real Mexican Chocolate into a simple fruit dessert. It’s called “Baked Apples with Mexican Chocolate”. Most of the Mexican chocolate desserts found on marthastewart.com are made with regular bittersweet chocolate with some added cinnamon for flavor. This is fine. It will be quite tasty too. But if you want authenticity, use real Mexican Chocolate. I did find one recipe on Martha’s site that used Ibarra chocolate, that was the traditional Mexican Hot Chocolate drink recipe. But that was about it. The baked apples dessert was: cut the apples in half, scoop out the center seeds, top with a quarter marshmallow, some chopped Mexican chocolate and dot with some unsalted butter. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 to 30 minutes.

Now, in the Chile Pepper Magazine (July issue), there’s an article about Chef Ken Gladysz. He’s the Chef at the Circular Dining Room at the Hershey Hotel. He has created some signature dishes with a Mexican Chocolate “flavor” to them. He will still use Hershey’s cocoa or bittersweet chocolate, but he adds the cinnamon and/or chile to it in order to give it the right taste.
So much chocolate so little time. Talk to you again soon with some more news and recipes.

Martha and Hershey's Like Mexican Chocolate

******************************************
Even Hershey’s and Martha Stewart are joining the Mexican Chocolate bandwagon. In the August issue of Martha Stewart Living, there is finally a recipe that incorporates real Mexican Chocolate into a simple fruit dessert. It’s called “Baked Apples with Mexican Chocolate”. Most of the Mexican chocolate desserts found on marthastewart.com are made with regular bittersweet chocolate with some added cinnamon for flavor. This is fine. It will be quite tasty too. But if you want authenticity, use real Mexican Chocolate. I did find one recipe on Martha’s site that used Ibarra chocolate, that was the traditional Mexican Hot Chocolate drink recipe. But that was about it. The baked apples dessert was: cut the apples in half, scoop out the center seeds, top with a quarter marshmallow, some chopped Mexican chocolate and dot with some unsalted butter. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 to 30 minutes.

Now, in the Chile Pepper Magazine (July issue), there’s an article about Chef Ken Gladysz. He’s the Chef at the Circular Dining Room at the Hershey Hotel. He has created some signature dishes with a Mexican Chocolate “flavor” to them. He will still use Hershey’s cocoa or bittersweet chocolate, but he adds the cinnamon and/or chile to it in order to give it the right taste.
So much chocolate so little time. Talk to you again soon with some more news and recipes.

Chocolate + Chile = MOLE

Chocolate chicken or turkey. Some people think they are going to taste a drumstick smothered in Hershey's chocolate sauce. They couldn't be more wrong.

Mole, a sauce originated in Mexico, is made with chile peppers such as ancho or pasilla. It has ground nuts ( almonds or peanuts), spices, and Mexican chocolate. Dried seasonings such as ground oregano are also used. To thicken the sauce, bread crumbs or ground crackers are added.

A popular dish made in Mexico is made with mole and guajolote - turkey. Actually, it is regarded as one of Mexico's most popular dishes.

The time to create a true mole sauce is time consuming to many people. But as with everything else, there are alternatives. You can always use a prepared sauce "paste" to save you a little time and trouble. I've tried Doña Maria's and I like it just fine.

So if you would like to tempt your taste buds with this most exotic and historic (to Mexico) flavor combinations, try this dish of Chicken and Mole. Test for yourself and see why this dish is so popular. The chocolate taste is not overbearing, but rather it gives the sauce it's underlying flavor. Aprovecho.


Chicken in Mole
3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
4 1/2 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 ounces Mexican Chocolate, chopped

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium low heat. Add onion, garlic, oregano, cumin and cinnamon. Cover and cook until onion is almost tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Mix in chili powder and flour, stir for 3 minutes. Gradually whisk in chicken broth. Increase heat to medium high. Boil until reduced, about 35 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Whisk in chocolate; season with salt and pepper, if desired.

If you are using the prepared mole paste, after boiling your chicken, save the broth and shred the chicken. Combine mole paste (as per instructions on the bottle) with the saved broth. Add your shredded poultry and enjoy your delicious "chocolate chicken". Hasta luego.

Kahlua and Chocolate

For anyone who has ever had a cup of mocha java at Starbucks, this combination of flavors, chocolate and Kahlua, is a thrilling combination.
Kahula is a liqueur made of premium Arabica coffee beans grown in Veracruz, Mexico.
In researching Kahlua, there was a bit of very interesting history reported with the creation of this beverage as well as the name given to it. I will quote here:

"As the original producer Domecq tried to preserve a Veracruzan identity to its product, the name Kahlúa was chosen as a feature of its originality. Kahlúa means "House of the Acolhua people" in the Veracruz Nahuatl language spoken before the Spanish Conquest; then it was Hispanicized as Ulúa, forming the name of modern San Juan de Ulúa fortress."

Although this is an alcoholic beverage with an incredible taste, especially when combined with chocolate, this does not mean you have to use Kahlua in order to savor its' flavor.

Here is a substitution you can use: 1/2 - 1 tsp chocolate extract + 1/2 - 1 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 2 tbsp water = 2 tbsp Kahlua .
So you see, you can still appreciate the fine coffee + chocolate flavor without the buzz! Here is a great recipe to get you going with this magnificent taste combination. Enjoy.

Kahlua Cake

1 box German chocolate cake mix
1 small box instant chocolate pudding
4 eggs
2/3 cup oil
2 cups ( 16 ounces) sour cream
½ cup Kahlua
1 (3 oz disk) Mexican chocolate, chopped
Powdered sugar

Mix first six ingredients then add chocolate chips and blend in well. Grease and flour bundt pan. Pour in batter and bake in 350º F. oven for 1 hour. After cake is cooled, sift powdered sugar on top.

True History of Chocolate

The True History of Chocolate, Second Edition

This book was written by a husband and wife team of anthropologists, Michael and Sophie Coe. Sophie was also a food historian, so getting the facts straight were of the utmost importance to her and her reputation. She chronicles the entire history of chocolate starting with the Mayan culture up to the present manufacturing of chocolate in Mexico, Spain, Europe, and the U.S.
Bless her heart, Sophie passed away after nearly completing her manuscript. Her loving husband Michael vowed to her that he would complete her work and make sure that she was published. He succeeded in keeping his vow to her. A beautiful love story in itself.
If you are interested in reaching into an excitingly detailed timeline of the "Theobroma Cacao" (food of the Gods), this book is a must read. Not only for the sake of learning how chocolate (our number one priority) reached its' heights to this day, but for the magnificent history of the Mayan and Aztec cultures and their reverence of chocolate.

Mexican Chocolate, What's That?

That’s what I was asked when I first started spouting off about the wonderful recipes you could make using Mexican chocolate. “Is it as good as Hershey’s?” OMG. Don’t get me wrong; I love a good Hershey chocolate bar every once in a while. I just had one – you know, just to get me in the mood. And, I have an excellent Hershey’s Fudge Frosting recipe that we’ve been using for years now. But, it has its limits. Abuelita, Ibarra, El Popular: These are the three best-known Mexican Chocolate manufacturers around. Mexican Chocolate is flavored with cinnamon, sugar, and cacao nibs. It’s gritty but melts just like the smooth American and European chocolate you’re used to. The flavor is intense. It can be used for baking breads and desserts, for sauces, and in beverages. I will be sharing some wonderful recipes with you as I blog along here.

How much do I love Mexican Chocolate? Well, I love it enough to have written an ecookbook about it. I named it after my grandmother, Mi Chita, since she was the first one to introduce me to this wonderfully delicious confection. I hope you will allow me to introduce you to the numerous ways you can use Mexican Chocolate in your cooking and baking.
I was going to give you an all out timeline of how chocolate came to be, but in my research, I found a plethora of websites that have detailed time lines already online for you to review. Here are a couple of links you can go to and get a true timeline of how chocolate originated. There’s Beryl’s Chocolate Encyclopedia and Gourmet Chocolate of the Month Club.
As for this blog, I just want to make it fun. Share some recipes, some songs, some games, and anything I can find about chocolate. My purpose here is for your visit to this blog to be an enjoyable one. So let’s start off with our first couple of recipes and this cool You Tube video about a chocolate song that will have you dancing along. Thanks for coming by and I hope you will come back.

Let me know what you think of this blog and what kind of information about chocolate I can supply for you. Please keep coming back as I add more recipes and some really great chocolate stuff I have found through my research for your enjoyment. Thanks everyone.
Visit my Mexican-American Border Cooking Blog too. You'll get some great ideas about cooking border style.