Friday, December 28, 2012

Chocolate and Coffee...the Perfect Marriage

Missy, here. My daughter and I recently had a craving for chocolate cake. And then we decided to get creative with the icing. While she started on the cake, I started digging around the kitchen to figure out what flavor we wanted to use.

We decided on coffee. The perfect marriage! Oh, but first! I wanted to share something we love (that has absolutely nothing to do with the recipe). I wasn't too crazy about the vanilla or mocha. But this new flavor... delicious!


Now back to the recipe...


We baked a dark chocolate fudge cake mix according to package directions. (Ruthy, turn away. You don't have to lay your eyes on a mix if you can't bear it!) :)

My daughter wanted a cream cheese icing, so we mixed one package light cream cheese with a little less than 1 box powdered sugar.

Then for the flavoring. I was afraid cream cheese icing might be weird with coffee, so we made a small test batch. It was surprisingly yummy!



I mixed 1/2 packet of Starbucks Via with a little bit of water (if I had to guess, I'd say it was about 2-3 tablespoons of water) to make a very strong coffee. Then I stirred it into the icing.


Then we iced our cake.


And went a little crazy with the decorations for Christmas. :)




It was very tasty! And fun to play around and make up a recipe. A nice mother-daughter activity!

14 comments:

  1. Ohhhhh, I'm dying for some of this!!

    And trying new icings must have been in the air because I just tried to make a 'new' buttercream frosting. I'll make a post on it. Safe to say your cream cheese coffee icing turned out way better.

    Sooooo delicious looking!

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    1. No one can mess up buttercream.

      Especially not someone who owns Edna.

      I'm a little taken aback by this.

      Must contemplate.... stew.... wonder at will.

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    2. Virginia, I'm braver playing with frosting than I am messing with the cake recipe. So give it a go! :)

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  2. Missy, you dork, I use DH mixes all the time. Why improve on what Duncan Hines does best???? Their chocolate cakes are the bomb! (does anyone really say that????)

    I love this idea you guys had! Playing in the kitchen is the most fun ever. And who doesn't love a good mocha these days? I know I do.

    Missy, this looks wonderful! Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Whew! I'm relieved you don't look down on me, Ruthy. Glad to hear I'm in good company! :)

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  3. And for the gluten free among us, I found a chocolate cake made from coconut flour from one of the other LI authors! I am making this one for sure!!!!

    I really want an Edna. But I would name her Elsie.

    Peace and blessed New Year, Julie

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    1. Julie, I've never heard of coconut flour! Very cool. I wonder if it adds a coconut flavor?

      Happy new year to you as well!

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  4. You know, I only ever think of using cream cheese icing on carrot cake. Guess I need to expand my horizons! And speaking of adding coffee to cake -- that reminds me of a super mocha cake recipe I used to make but I've lost the recipe. It was the best chocolate cake ever. Anyone have a mocha cake recipe?

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    1. Kav, I've never had a mocha cake. But if you find it, please share! I love mocha flavor!

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  5. I love playing in the kitchen!

    Unless it's with my youngest son. His idea of playing always involves adding hot sauce to food.

    I'll have to try adding flavorings to the frosting the next time I make cake...caramel would be good, wouldn't it? Or maybe peppermint? But not coffee...not for me.

    I always thought I was weird until I heard that liking or not liking coffee has to do with your genetic makeup. If you have (or don't have - I forget which) a certain gene in your DNA, coffee tastes terrible to you. Some people disguise the bitterness with cream and sugar, but for other people, nothing helps. That's me.

    So I don't drink coffee, or mocha, or eat Tiramisu or (shudder) coffee flavored ice cream...but I'm all over that chocolate!

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    1. Jan, caramel would be amazing. Caramel cake is my very favorite--the ones where you cook the caramel icing.

      I had no idea about that gene! Maybe you're lucky to have/not have it! I think I have the coffee addiction gene. :)

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    2. Jan, that's really interesting! Black coffee is my worst enemy. I can NOT choke it down, I don't care how highbrow it is. Hubby makes fun of me with my half cup of milk, half-tsp of instant coffee and lots of sugar. Not really coffee, then.

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  6. I put on a kilo just looking at that cake! (or was it all the christmas cookies?) thankfully finished the sugar ones yesterday.

    I dont like coffee in any form.

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  7. don't like coffee either but I was with you up til that point! :-)
    Susanna

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