Cake Ingredients:
3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon nescafe espresso powder
1/2 cup almond milk (or whole milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter (softened)
2 cups dark brown sugar
4 eggs
Chocolate Ganache:
2 cups heavy cream
1 bag Hershey's Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (340g)
Instructions
Cake Layers
1. Preheat oven to 350*F.
2. Butter 2 round cake pans (I used 9 inch pans)
3. Whisk together water, cocoa and espresso powder until smooth.
4. Add and whisk in the vanilla and milk/almond milk.
5. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.
6. In a large bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add in eggs and beat till smooth.
7. Slowly add in flour mixture and cocoa mixture in small amounts in this order until all is well mixed.
8 Divide the batter between the two pans, ensure the tops are as smooth as you can get them.
9. Bake in the oven for approximately 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
10. Let cool in pan for approximately 30 minutes.
11. Invert the cakes onto a plate or a rack and let cool completely to room temperature.
Chocolate Ganache*
1. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a simmer, then immediately put it on low.
2. Whisk in chocolate until smooth.
3. Remove saucepan from heat and let ganache cool, covered. Stir occasionally until thickened but spreadable (approx. 3-4 hours; a little faster if you watch carefully cooling it in the fridge).
* Ganache can be made ahead of time. If ganache is too thick to spread, let it sit at room temperature until slightly softened before spreading it on the cake.
Cake Assembly
1. Place 1 layer of the cake on a plate and spread the chocolate ganache evenly over top of it.
2. Place this first layer back in the fridge for approximately 10 minutes to allow it to solidify.
3. Remove first layer from fridge.
4. Place second layer of cake on top of the first and spread ganache even over the entire cake.
5. Chill cake until ganache is firm (at least 1 hour).
6. Serve immediately and Enjoy!
❤ ❤ Made with ingredients found in Tamarindo, Costa Rica ❤ ❤
Ingredients:
3/4 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
Inside Ingredients
1 small mango
ice cream of your choice (I used homemade red bean ice cream)
Instructions
1. If making ice cream mochi, start with scooping out ice cream into small balls.
2. Place the ice cream balls in a cupcake liner and put them back in freezer immediately until solid.
3. Once ice cream balls are frozen, you will be able to start making the mochi skins.
or if using fresh mango
1. Slice mango into small square chunks.
2. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes to let it solidify making it easier to work with the mochi later.
Mochi Skin:
1. In a microwaveable bowl, combine tapioca starch and sugar until well mixed.
2. Add in the water and mix until smooth.
3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap gently and place in microwave on high for 1 minute.
4. Remove bowl, mix the tapioca with a silicone spatula, cover gently again and microwave for 1 min.
5. Remove bowl, mix the tapioca with a silicone spatula, cover gently again and microwave for 30secs
6. Once the mochi is cooked it should be a fairly translucent color and not white.
7. Allow the mochi to cool a few minutes prior to working with it.
8. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking tray or working surface and cover with corn starch or potato starch.
9. Spread the mochi on the working surface and roll into a thin layer with a rolling pin covered with corn starch or potato starch.
10. Refrigerate the thinned out mochi in the fridge for 10 minutes or until it is set.
11. Remove mochi from the fridge and cut 8-9 circles using a cookie cutter (I used the lid of a jar).
Mochi Balls**:
12. Take the ice cream balls out of the freezer one at a time, we must work fast to prevent melting.
13. Place the ice cream ball into the center of the mochi wrapper.
14. Pinch the four corners of the mochi wrapper together to wrap the ice cream ball.
15. Quickly wrap the mochi ice cream ball in a plastic wrap, twist the top to close and place it back in the freezer in a cupcake pan to maintain it's shape.
16. Let ice cream mochi sit in freezer for a few hours before serving.
17. When ready to serve, let mochi ball sit in room temperature for a few minutes to soften.
** You can replace the ice cream balls with mango pieces if you choose to use mango instead of ice cream.
❤ ❤ Made with ingredients found in Tamarindo, Costa Rica ❤ ❤
Ingredients:
Sauce:
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons curry powder
2 cans coconut milk
2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon salt
Vegetables:
1 small camote (sweet potato)
1 medium sized carrot
1 chayote
1/2 head of broccoli
1/2 head of cauliflower
Quinoa*:
1 cup of quinoa
1.5 cups water
*or substitute this with just white rice
Instructions
Cooking Quinoa
I used a rice cooker and placed 1 cup quinoa to 1.5 cups water and cooked it this way, otherwise:
1. In a small pot, rinse the quinoa gently with water.
2. Bring 1 cup of water to boil at medium-high heat.
3. Add in 1/2 cup of quinoa and bring water to a boil, cover pot and reduce heat to medium-low.
4. Let quinoa cook covered until water is completely absorbed and quinoa is soft (approx. 15-18 mins)
Coconut Curry Sauce
1. In a medium sized pot over medium heat, saute the onions, garlic with 1 teaspoon of coconut oil.
2. Add in the coconut milk, curry powder, soy sauce, maple syrup and salt. Whisk until well combined.
3. Taste the curry to check if it is to your liking, add more curry powder as per your taste.
4. Bring the curry sauce to a simmer and add in camotes (sweet potatoes) and let simmer for 5 mins.
5. Add the remaining vegetables, ensure all vegetables are covered in sauce.
6. Place cover over the pot and let vegetables steam until they are tender.
7. Serve and Enjoy with a bowl of rice or quinoa!
❤ ❤ Made with ingredients found in Tamarindo, Costa Rica ❤ ❤
