Coffee Liqueur Ganache Icing Recipes

COFFEE LIQUEUR

Steps:

• In a 3 quart saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in instant coffee, and allow to cool.
• When cool, stir in vanilla extract and vodka. Pour into clean bottles. Close bottles tightly, and store in a cool dark place.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE ICING

Steps:

• Melt chocolate, cream, butter or margarine, and brandy together until smooth. Allow to cool a little before spreading liberally over cake.

BISCOTTI CHOCOLATE 3 LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Cake layers:.
• Preheat oven to 300°F and grease 3 - 9 inch pans. Line greased pan bottoms with rounds of wax paper and grease paper.
• Finely chop chocolate and in a bowl combine with hot coffee and liqueur. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
• Into a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
• In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer). Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, almond extract and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well.
• Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.
• Cool layers completely in pans on racks. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove wax paper and pour liqueur over layers.
• Spread carefully preserves over all 3 layers.
• Cool completely. Cake layers may be made 1 day ahead and kept, wrapped well in plastic wrap, at room temperature.
• Frosting:.
• Finely chop chocolate. In a 1 1/2- to 2-quart saucepan bring cream, and sugar to a boil over moderately low heat, whisking until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate, whisking until chocolate is melted. Cut butter into pieces and add to frosting, whisking until smooth. Mix in the liqueur.
• Transfer frosting to a bowl and cool, stirring occasionally, until spreadable (depending on chocolate used, it may be necessary to chill frosting to spreadable consistency). I found that stirring this over a bowl of ice water did a great job of cooling it off quickly and evenly.
• Spread frosting between cake layers and over top and sides. Decorate with almond slices. Cake keeps, covered and chilled, 3 days. Bring cake to room temperature before serving.

CHOCOLATE CAKE; MOCHA CHOCOLATE CREAM; CHOCOLATE LIQUEUR ICING

Steps:

• Cake:.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Coat 3 (8 inch) round cakepans with cooking spray.
• Line bottoms of pan with wax paper; butter wax paper with butter, and set aside.
• Melt chocolate in small saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth; set aside.
• Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.
• Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy.
• Add eggs one at a time, beating until just yellow disappears after each addition.
• Stir in melted chocolate and vanilla.
• Sift together flour and next 3 ingredients; add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating at low speed until just blended, begining and ending with flour mixture.
• Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.
• Bake for 28-30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
• Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.
• Mocha Chocolate Cream Filling:.
• Whisk together first 4 ingredients in a small saucepan.
• Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, 5 minutes or until thickened.
• Spoon mixture into a small bowl; cover surface of mixture with plastic wrap, pressin wrap onto surface, and let stand 30 minutes or until cool.
• Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with electric mixer until light and fluffy.
• Gradually add cooled cocoa mixture, 1 Tablespoon at a time, beating until blended after each addition.
• Add vanilla, beating until mixture is consistency of whipped cream.
• Makes 1-1/2 cups.
• Coffee Liqueur Ganache Icing:.
• Heat cream in a small saucepan over medium heat just until cream begins to boil.
• Pour over chocolate in bowl, stirring until smooth.
• Stir in butter and liqueur.
• Let stand 45 minutes or until spreading consistency.
• Makes 2 cups.
• Prepare Icing, then Mocha-Chocolate Filling and then cake, in this order due to the different cooling times.
• Assemble the cake:.
• Place 1 cake layer on serving plate; spread top with 4 Tablespoons Coffee liqueur Ganache Icing.
• Spread half of Mocha-Chocolate Cream Filling evenly over ganache on cake layer.
• Top with second cake layer; spread top with 4 Tablespoons of Ganache Icing and remaining Cream Ganache Filling.
• Top with remaining cake layer.
• Spread remanining Coffee Liqueur Ganache Icing on top of cake and sides of cake.
• Garnish with chocolate curls, if desired.