Candace in the Kitchen

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I haven’t posted anything lately and it isn’t because I haven’t been cooking, it just seems that there is hardly enough time in the day anymore.

I promise that I’ll be back and posting regularly soon.

XOXO,

Candace

Pretend that there is  a picture of  a spice rubbed burger with gooey cheddar cheese instead of this text. Because there would be,  if the hub hadn’t said “Can we just eat without taking a picture!?!?!”

We’ve used this on burgers and grilled chicken. It is delicious.

Adapted from Country Living

Ingerdients:

3 heaping T brown sugar

1 t smoked paprika

1/2 t garlic powder

1/2 t cumin

1/2 t chipotle powder

1/4 t kosher salt

1/4 t freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl.

Place burgers or chicken in the rub and gently turn to coat.

Don’t be shy with it- if you cook on an outdoor grill a lot of the rub/glaze will melt and burn off. Cooking on an indoor grill pan really keeps everything in place but can smoke up the kitchen.

Note- for the burgers- I usually put 1-2 T of the spice rub inside the burger along with 2 cloves minced garlic and a few dashes of Worcestershire.

I made this cake for a friends birthday. With the amount of ingredients and time that it took I was expecting it to be a little bigger. Turns out that was the perfect size. It’s so rich you only need a small piece.

I got the coffee and the espresso from Starbucks so there was one less thing I had to do.

Cake adapted from Bobby Flay

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 1/4 cups cake flour (I didn’t have any cake flour so I just took out 2 T of flour after I measured out the 1 1/4 cups)

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Ghirardelli)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature

1/2 cup hot coffee

Ganache:

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 pound bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used Ghirardelli)

1/2 pound semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used Ghirardelli)

Espresso Buttercream:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 .5 t instant coffee granules

1.5 t freshly brewed hot espresso

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350°

Lightly grease 2 (9-inch) cake pans and line the bottoms with disks of parchment paper.

Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper. Sift again.

Place butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat at high speed until smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Continue beating, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary, until light and fluffy, about 5 more minutes. With the mixer on low speed, beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture. Beat in the vanilla, half of the buttermilk and half of the coffee, then another 1/3 of the flour mixture. Beat in the remaining buttermilk and coffee, then the remaining flour mixture.

Spread the batter evenly in prepared pans. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the centers spring back when lightly pressed. Cool the cakes in the pan on a wire rack.

For the ganache: (while cake is baking)

Bring heavy cream to a simmer in a small saucepan. Place chocolate in a large bowl, pour heavy cream over and let sit for 1 minute. Gently whisk until combined.

Place the ganache over a bowl filled with ice water to chill slightly, whisking occasionally. Remove ganache from the ice and whip with a whisk until light and fluffy.

For the buttercream:

In the bowl of a stand mixer whip butter and confectioners’ sugar until fluffy.

Mix instant coffee and espresso in a small bowl until dissolved.

Pour espresso mixture into butter mixture and mix until combined.

Assembly:

Slice each cake in half horizontally to make 4 layers total. Place the first layer down and spread with a thin layer of the Ganache. Repeat with the remaining cake layers and ganache, ending with a cake layer.

Put a thin layer (crumb coat) of butter cream on the cake. Let sit for a few minutes then use the rest of the buttercream to do a full coat.

Slice and enjoy!