Mocha Meringues

Mocha Meringues

Recipe courtesy of butter sugar flour

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INGREDIENTS

• 3 large egg whites
• 180g caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornflour (I used potato starch.)
• ½ teaspoon white vinegar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (I used unsweetened.)
• 3 teaspoons ground coffee (I used instant coffee granules.)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. While continuously whisking, add the sugar one tablespoon at a time until stiff and satiny shiny. Whisk in the vanilla, cornflour, white vinegar, cocoa powder and two teaspoons of the coffee until combined.
3. Using a piping bag and a 1cm plain nozzle, pipe 60 small blobs onto the prepared trays around 2.5cm in diameter and 4cm apart. (I used a ziploc bag.)
4. Bake for 20 minutes. Turn the oven off and with the door slightly ajar, allow the meringues to cool completely.

Kahlua Fudge Brownies

Kahlua Fudge Brownies

Adapted from Cooking Light

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INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 4 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
• 2 tablespoons Kahlúa (coffee-flavored liqueur)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 large egg white
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Glaze:
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• 2 teaspoons butter
• 1 ounce semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Kahlúa (coffee-flavored liqueur)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. To prepare brownies, coat bottom of an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray (do not coat sides of pan); set aside.
3. Combine 1.5 ounces chocolate and 4 1/2 tablespoons butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover and microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until chocolate almost melts. Stir until completely melted.
4. Stir in 1 cup sugar and next 6 ingredients (1 cup sugar through egg).
5. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk.
6. Add chocolate mixture; stir just until moist. Spread into prepared pan.
7. Bake at 350° for 22 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack.
8. To prepare glaze, combine 2 tablespoons sugar, water, nectar, and 2 teaspoons butter in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH 40 seconds or until sugar dissolves, stirring once. Add 1 ounce chocolate and 1 teaspoon liqueur, stirring until chocolate melts.
9. Spread over brownies; cool 20 minutes or until glaze is set.

Hot Chocolate Fudge Cakes

Hot Chocolate Fudge Cakes

Adapted from Cooking Light

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INGREDIENTS

• 3.4 ounces white whole wheat flour (about 3/4 cup)
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 5 teaspoons instant espresso powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup fat-free organic plain yogurt
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup egg substitute
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 (2.6-ounce) bar dark (71% cocoa) chocolate (such as Valrhona Le Noir Amer), finely chopped

DIRECTIONS

1. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Sift together flour, cocoa, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt.
2. Place yogurt in a large bowl. Add granulated and brown sugars, beating until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add egg substitute and vanilla, beating until well blended. Fold flour mixture into sugar mixture; fold in chocolate. Divide batter evenly among 10 (4-ounce) ramekins; arrange ramekins on a jelly-roll pan. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or up to 2 days. (I skipped this step.)
3. Preheat oven to 350°.
4. Let ramekins stand at room temperature 10 minutes. Uncover and bake at 350° for 21 minutes or until cakes are puffy and slightly crusty on top.
5. Serve immediately.

Newman's Own Sweet Dark Espresso Review

What's better than a smooth bar of chocolate? How about if it's organic, sinfully dark, and rife with coffee intensity? Yep. And does it make you feel better that the entire purchase price goes to charities in some form or another? Me, too.

I love this bar. Can you tell?

I warn you, though: this is not a bar for the coffee-weary. This chocolate packs a Starbucks-like punch, guaranteed to keep you bouncing off the wall in endorphins-spiked euphoria. Gotta love those beans. Too bad they aren't as healthy as your average bean.

Yeah, I know. You can't really see it. It's probably for the best. Well, the calories aren't so bad: 270... 200 of which are from fat. Yeah, it has a lot of saturated fat. A lot. But that's the price of chocolate, right? And besides, don't you want to help charity? Exactly. The less fortunate are counting on you to devour that bar, saturated fat or no.

Do you ever find that chocolate requires you to make excuses? Maybe it's just me... but I doubt it.

The good news is that this bar's intensity encourages savoring, not gorging. Astonishingly, I am actually able to stretch this bar over quite a few tastes. As you can see in the pic, it is thick and dark, perfect for a little melt-in-your-mouth goodness when you are having that chocolate craving.

Bottom line: If you like dark chocolate and intense coffee flavor, you should try this. What can it hurt? It's the least you can do for charity, right? Right. Now go eat some chocolate. I know I am!