Mittwoch, 25. März 2015

3 espresso desserts for your Easter buffet!





Do you love coffee?
And chocolate?
Or do you need an idea for a delicious dessert for Easter? 

Well, then, you came exactly to the right place. 
(On the other hand: when is this not the right place? Never!) 

For I have prepared a little something. 
For your Easter buffet or for every day. 
To impress your mother-in-law or to enjoy all by yourself. 
And since, as far as I know, my mother-in-law was never particularly impressed by me as long as she lived, or probably was hardly ever actually aware of my presence, my choice is extremely simple: enjoyment! 

Coffee, espresso or cappuccino will be served alongside – each time perfectly selected to match the individual dessert’s aroma. 

How about an ice-cream sandwich consisting of caramel ice-cream accompanied by caramel cookies with fleur de sel? 
This I will serve with a Lungo Fondo containing a hint of caramel and chocolate. 




... or would you rather taste little chocolate cakes with crunchy chocolate-covered coffee beans inside? 

They harmonize wonderfully with a café latte made with a Lungo Magnifico which has a slightly spicy note. 




Or will you choose a delicately airy chocolate mousse with a hint of espresso? 
The perfect combination of bittersweet and light? 
Served with a strong espresso Ristretto with a hint of citrus? 








Whichever you decide to have – by all means choose the ice-cream sandwich, too. 

As this is so absolutely delicious that you will be instantly addicted and will have to gobble up every single one of them all by yourself in the following days. 
And, shaking your head in regret, you will negate other family members’ inquiries for more – counting the leftover sandwiches waiting for you in the freezer in your head with a slight panic. 
(I am talking about a friend of mine). 





I used the Jacobs Zauber capsules for my desserts. 
With 6 types of espresso and 4 types of coffee there is bound to be the matching aroma for every taste – so that everything harmonizes perfectly. 

It is quite easy to pick out the right variety with the Jacobs Zauber aroma wheel. 

DIY DECORATION:

If you wish to serve the desserts in a lovely way: 
Maybe you still have some of these small wooden Easter pendants, available everywhere at low prices (e.g. in the grocery stores’ seasonal aisle, such as these ones)?

My little figurines are from the flea market and, similar to my decoration idea for Christmas before last, I  sprayed them with craft spray and then removed the ribbons. 
The golden bunny rabbits had a pin sticking out their butts already, so I just stuck them into the small cakes. 
The other wooden eggs and tiny rabbits make for a pretty table decoration, napkin embellishment or name card holder. 




Espresso ice-cream sandwich

For the cookies:
1.8 oz bittersweet chocolate
1.8 oz chocolate
1.8 oz soft caramels or a scant 1/4 cup caramel sauce
1 pinch of salt
3.5 Tbsp butter, softened
½ cup cane sugar
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 egg
½ cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 heaped Tbsp cacao powder, unsweetened 
1/2 Tbsp ground espresso 
a little Fleur de Sel 

Also:
Salted caramel ice-cream (e.g. by Häagen-Dazs) or any other favorite type of ice-cream 


Roughly chop chocolate into pieces, cut caramels into small pieces and add the salt. 
Whisk butter with sugar and vanilla extract until fluffy, whisk in egg. 
Mix flour, baking powder, ground espresso and cacao powder and fold into the butter mixture.  
Finally add the chocolate and caramel pieces and stir until a soft dough forms. 
Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. 
Pre-heat oven to 350° (convection oven to  315°).
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, form balls with a ¾” diameter, flatten slightly with the palm of your hand and place on the cookie sheet. 
Leave at least 1 ½ “ between the cookies, as dough will spread during baking.   
Sprinkle with a little fleur de sel (a very small amount!) and bake for about 10 minutes. 

Spread a scoop of ice-cream onto one cookie and flatten with a second cookie, level the edges with a knife. 
Immediately place back into the freezer and prepare the rest of the ice-cream sandwiches. 

Matching: Lungo Fondo by Jacobs.





Little coffee cakes

2 cups flour
7 Tbsp butter, softened
a heaped ½ cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cacao powder, unsweetened 
2 Tbsp dried coconut flakes
1 tsp ground coffee (e.g. Lungo)
2 Tbsp chocolate-covered coffee beans
4 Tbsp yogurt
4 Tbsp milk

Whisk sugar and egg with an electric mixer until creamy, add yogurt and whisk briefly. 
Mix flour, baking powder, ground coffee and cacao powder, add to the egg/butter mixture and fold in. 
Then add the dried coconut flakes. 
Roughly chop the chocolate coffee beans and add to the mixture. 

If the dough is too stiff add milk by the Tbsp. 

Fill dough into well greased small tins and bake at 350° for about 15-20 minutes.

Sprinkle with a little cacao powder and serve with whole chocolate-covered coffee beans. 

Perfect match: Lungo Magnifico by Jacobs.




The mousse has a wonderful chocolate taste with a hint of espresso and a delicately light consistency. 
Make sure to serve it with fresh berries or a fruity sauce (e.g. mango purée)! 


Espresso chocolate mousse

½ cup freshly made espresso 
1 tsp ground espresso + 1 Tbsp cacao powder, mixed 
½ cup sugar
1 cup whipping cream
4 eggs

Let espresso cool. 
Beat egg yolks in Bain Marie until fluffy: place a casserole with water on the stovetop and bring to a boil. 
Reduce heat to lowest setting (water should not boil), place a metal boil over pot – without its bottom touching the water. 
Whisk egg yolks until slightly fluffy, slowly add sugar and keep whisking until mixture is thick and creamy. 

Place the bowl over a pot with cold water, add espresso and whisk for an additional 2-3 minutes until mixture is creamy. 

Sift ground espresso and cacao powder on top of the mixture and fold in. 
Whip cream and fold into the cooled off mixture. 
Whisk egg whites until stiff, fold into mixture. 

Fill into small moulds and place into refrigerator for at least one hour. 

Perfect match: Espresso Ristretto by Jacobs.


If you really feel like trying one of the 3 espresso desserts now – or just feel like drinking a cup of coffee, you are in luck, as today I will raffle off 

5  x  10 varieties of Jacobs Zauber
1 capsule dispenser by Koziol!

among all the Liebesbotschaft readers. 






What you need to do to participate:


1. 
Tell me which variety of Jacobs Zauber you would like to try best. 

2. If you share the link to the give-away on Facebook you have DOUBLE the chances of winning. 
If you link the drawing on your blog, you have an EXTRA chance of winning!
NEW: if you share the give-away on your Instagram account, you have an EXTRA chance of winning! 
Please use hashtag #liebesbotschaft to do so and mark me on the picture – otherwise I will not be able to see it. 

Please feel free to take the above image (with text) with you for this.  
Please leave a note in your comment to let me know, too.

Everyone can participate – with or without blog.

You have to be registered to be able to leave a comment – to avoid mistakes and multiple drawings.
You can do this quickly and simply: HERE.


Please NO mails, you will be considered ONLY by leaving a comment.

The competition is open to all readers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Participation for minors only with consent of a parent or guardian. 
Jurisdiction of a court is excluded, prizes cannot be paid out in cash. 

IMPORTANT:
Please note that I do not contact the winners in writing – I publish them on the blog at the bottom of this post.
If the winners of the draw do not get in touch within two weeks I will raffle off the prize again. 


The competition starts now and ends on March 28, 2015. 



This post was created in loving collaboration with my mom and the support from Jacobs. 
Thanks to both of them!




Love,
Joanna


p.s. I will tell you about the yard sale tomorrow!

Thank you for translating this post to Eva Ginnell.


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