by Cleo Coyle
Step 3—Create the Black Forest topping. Prepare Clare’s Whipped Cream and Marscapone Frosting (see the recipe below). Now use the infused and drained cherries that you created in Step 1. Set aside a small amount for a garnish and fold the rest into the frosting. Ice the top of the cooled pan of brownies. Garnish with chocolate curls* and cut into squares.
*Chocolate curls: Start with a block of room temperature dark, milk, or white chocolate. Using a vegetable peeler, scrape the block and you’ll see curls of chocolate peel away.
Clare’s Whipped Cream and Mascarpone Frosting
3⁄4 cup heavy cream, well chilled
1⁄2 cup Italian mascarpone (or cream cheese)
11⁄4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (for a whiter look, use clear vanilla)
2 tablespoons kirsch, white rum, or cream
Using an electric mixer, whip the very cold heavy cream until it forms stiff peaks. Set aside in the refrigerator. Meanwhile, in another bowl, beat the mascarpone (or cream cheese), powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and kirsch (or rum or cream) until combined. Take out your whipped cream and fold it gently into the bowl of mascarpone, sugar, and vanilla.
Chocolate Cream “Inside-Out” Coffee Cake
After falling down a six-story rabbit hole, Clare Cosi discovered an underground club full of temptations worthy of the “Hansel and Gretel” gingerbread cottage. Clare couldn’t pass up a slice of this cake, which she recognized as one of her favorites from the legendary Babka’s dessert menu. A heavenly cloud of mocha whipped cream is tucked between layers of devil’s food and topped by a fudgy layer of chocolate ganache infused with espresso. It’s outrageously good and sinfully delicious—but is it worth risking a run-in with Baba Yaga? Clare will get back to you on that one.
For the Cake*
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1⁄2 cup vegetable, canola, or extra-virgin coconut oil
11⁄2 cups white granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs, lightly beaten with fork
1 cup + 2 tablespoons whole milk
21⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
3⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄4 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄4 teaspoon table salt
1⁄2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
For the Mocha Cream Filling
2 cups cold heavy cream
12 ounces cream cheese
1⁄2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder dissolved into
1⁄4 cup Kahlúa or brewed coffee or espresso
For the Glaze
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1⁄3 cup brewed coffee (or espresso)
1⁄2 teaspoon instant espresso powder†
5 ounces semisweet block chocolate, chopped into uniform pieces
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
*A note on using a cake mix: To save time, you can certainly use a devil’s food cake mix, but follow the directions in Step 1 regarding (a) pan size and (b) preparing the pan to prevent the cake from sticking.
†A note on espresso powder: Espresso powder is made from freeze-dried espresso. It dissolves in water to create instant espresso. While Clare would never recommend drinking espresso made from freeze-dried powder, she highly recommends using good-quality espresso powder (rather than freeze-dried instant coffee) to add coffee flavor to your baking and cooking. Look for espresso powder in the instant coffee section of your grocery store or search online.
Step 1—Make the cake batter. First preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a rimmed baking sheet measuring around 18 by 12 (to 13) inches and line the bottom with parchment paper. Butter the paper and dust with unsweetened cocoa powder, tapping out any excess. Use a devil’s food cake mix or these directions to create the batter: Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the oil, vanilla, eggs, and milk. Blend until smooth. In a separate bowl, sift together the remaining dry ingredients. Add this dry mixture, a little at a time, to the mixing bowl, beating between additions until a smooth batter forms. Do not overmix. Spread the batter evenly on the prepared baking sheet.
Step 2—Bake and chill the cake. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the cake has risen, is slightly springy, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with no batter clinging to it. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool. Gently invert the cooled cake and peel away the parchment paper. Slice the cake down the middle, crosswise, to form two even rectangles. Slip these into the fridge to chill while you prepare the filling.
Step 3—Make the mocha cream filling. Using an electric mixer on low speed, blend the heavy cream, cream cheese, sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, vanilla, and espresso powder dissolved into the Kahlúa (or brewed coffee or espresso). Once blended, switch to high speed and whip vigorously until the cream forms firm peaks.
Step 4—Assemble the cake. Invert one of your cake rectangles so the flat bottom is facing up. Spread the cream filling evenly. Now cover it with the second cake rectangle (again with the flat bottom facing up). Lightly press down on the top layer. Run an offset spatula (or wide flat knife) around all of the edges to smooth them. Chill the cake for at least 1 hour. Then prepare the topping.
Step 5—Make the chocolate-coffee ganache topping. In a small saucepan, over medium heat, bring the butter, granulated sugar, instant espresso powder, and brewed coffee (or espresso) to a simmer (do not boil). Take the pan off the head and stir in the chocolate. When the chocolate is melted, stir in the vanilla. Let the glaze cool for about 30 minutes. It should become slightly thick. Pour the glaze onto the center of the cake and gently spread it—ideally with an offset spatula (or in a pinch, the back of a spoon)—until it evenly covers the top of the cake and drizzles over the sides. Chill the cake for several hours (or overnight). Slice into squares and eat with joy!
The Village Blend’s Silver Dollar Chocolate Chip Cookies
The crispy edges and chewy center of these thin cookies combined with their little silver dollar size and rich flavor notes of buttery caramel with sea salt make for a light yet blissfully satisfying snack, perfect when sharing afternoon coffee breaks or late-night secrets. The latter is why Clare Cosi chose to serve these to her new friend Wilson, the man with the mysterious business card and shocking story of a cold case Cold War murder.
Makes about 75 mini cookies
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1⁄2 cup white granulated sugar
3⁄4 cup light brown sugar, packed
3 tablespoons brewed coffee or espresso (or milk)
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
1⁄2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips (or standard chips chopped small)
Step 1—Mix the dough. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Do not brown or burn. Allow to cool a bit and transfer to a mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, blend in the white and brown sugars, coffee, egg, vanilla, salt, and baking soda. Add the flour and blend again, but do not overmix. The dough will be loose and sticky. Gently fold in the mini chips. (For the small cookie size to work, be sure to use mini chips or chop standard chips into bits.)
Step 2—Bake. Preheat the oven well to 375°F. Drop dough by half-teaspoons onto an ungreased or lined cookie sheet. Be sure to allow room between cookies for spreading. For these small cookies, only bake 6 to 6 1⁄2 minutes. The cookies should come out of the oven a little unbaked. Allow the cookies to continue cooking and cooling on the hot baking sheet for 10 minutes before handling. The cooler they get, the crisper the
edges become!
Clare Cosi’s Insanely Easy Peanut Butter Chews
These cookies are out of this world. As Matt Allegro can attest (and he would know), they are “dangerously addictive.” Thin and crispy yet chewy and full of mouthwatering flavor, they take the typical peanut butter cookie to a whole new level of sophistication, yet they’re easy to make, using just one bowl and a single fork. Clare Cosi developed the recipe during her years raising her daughter, Joy, in New Jersey, when she wrote the “In the Kitchen with Clare” column for a local paper. Now her Greenwich Village coffeehouse customers love them, and Clare hopes you will, too.
Makes about 2 dozen large cookies
1 large egg
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1⁄8 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄2 cup peanut butter
3⁄4 cup white granulated sugar
Break the egg into a bowl and whisk well with a fork. Whisk in the maple syrup, vanilla, and baking soda. Measure in the peanut butter and sugar, and whisk well with a fork until completely blended and smooth. The mixture will be very loose. For big coffeehouse-style cookies, drop by large spoonfuls into mounds on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Allow plenty of room for spreading. Bake in a well-preheated 350°F oven for 10 to 14 minutes (the time will depend on your oven). The cookies will spread and puff up, but sink down as they cool into chewy, delightful treats. Be careful not to scorch the bottoms of these babies or they will taste terrible. To test for doneness, take a spatula and remove one cookie from the oven. Gently flip it onto a paper towel and check the bottom. If it is golden brown, the cookies are done! Otherwise, continue to cook for another few minutes and check again.
Clare’s Coffeehouse Caramel-Dipped Hazelnut Meltaways
It’s no wonder Detective Mike Quinn flipped for these. The cookies marry the joy of tender, meltaway shortbread with the buttery sweetness of caramel and the crunchy earthiness of hazelnuts. Caramel and hazelnut are two of the most popular flavors for coffeehouse lattes, which is how Clare came to develop this recipe. Alas, her cupboard was bare the night Mike pined for these, but she came up with ingredients for another dessert that evening. If you’d like to sample the dessert Mike and Clare made, turn to the next recipe.
Makes 3 to 4 dozen cookies, depending on thickness
1 cup (2 sticks) unsweetened butter, softened to room temperature
1⁄2 cup powdered sugar
1⁄4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 large egg (separated)
1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon table salt
21⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
For Dipping
25 soft caramels or 1 cup Caramel Bits
1 tablespoon hazelnut milk or half-and-half
1⁄2 cup finely chopped hazelnuts
Step 1—Make the dough. Using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter, powdered sugar, and brown sugar. Add the egg yolk (save the white for the next step) and blend until smooth. Add the baking powder and salt and beat again until incorporated. Finally, add the flour and mix on low speed until blended. Use your hands to squeeze together dough pieces. Knead a little, working with the dough until it is smooth and form it into a ball. Turn the dough onto a parchment paper–covered surface and shape it into a thick, long log about 2 inches in diameter. Wrap the log in the parchment paper, using the paper to finish shaping and smoothing the log. Chill the wrapped log in the fridge for at least 1 hour. If you are going to chill it longer (overnight or up to 2 days), wrap the log tightly in plastic to keep it from drying out.
Step 2—Bake. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice the chilled dough log into thin cookies. Brush the tops lightly with the egg white you saved. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. The centers should still be creamy and the edges golden brown. The cookies are tender when warm. Allow to cool before handling or dipping.
Step 3—Dip the cookies in caramel and nuts. Place the finely chopped hazelnuts into a shallow bowl and set aside. Place the unwrapped caramel candies (or Caramel Bits) and hazelnut milk (or half-and-half) in a nonstick saucepan. Continually stir over low heat until the candies melt. If the melted caramels are still too thick for dipping, add in a bit more milk or half-and-half. When the consistency is right, turn heat to low. Gently dip half of each cooled cookie into the saucepan of melted caramels, allowing excess caramel to drain off. Now dip each cookie into your bowl of chopped hazelnuts. Gently rest on a wax-paper-lined pan until set and eat with joy!
Clare’s Easy Almond Milk Custard (With or Without Roasted Blueberries)
“The proof really is in the pudding,” Detective Mike Quinn told Clare after flipping for this amazing custard. The long night they spent together was fraught with dangers and difficulties. Even on the foodie front, Mike was distraught to find cupboards in Clare’s duplex as bare as Mother Hubbard’s. Good thing Clare is a kitchen witch. After pointing out a few meager ingredients, she guided Mike through the incredibly easy process of making this delicious homemade custard. Now she’ll guide you.
Sweet, smooth, and silky, this custard can be served warm on a cold night—or chilled for a refreshingly cold summer dessert. Roasted blueberries make an elegant addition to both warm and cold versions, and Clare’s instructions for adding them can be found at the end of this recipe.
Makes 4 servings
1⁄4 cup white granulated sugar (or equivalent of sugar substitute)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1⁄8 teaspoon kosher salt (or generous pinch of table salt)
2 cups unsweetened almond milk (or any nut milk or low-fat cow’s milk)
3 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
(See roasted blueberries option at the end of this recipe.)
Step 1—Mix the custard liquid. First note that you are not cooking in this step. At the bottom of a nonstick saucepan (off the heat!), stir together these dry ingredients: sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, and salt. Now slowly add the milk, whisking to prevent any lumps from forming. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks to the milk in your saucepan. (Do not add the vanilla yet!)
Step 2—Cook the custard. Place your saucepan over medium heat; do not boil. Bring the mixture to a simmer and begin to stir and cook for about 10 minutes. You are watching for the mixture to thicken. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Allow this hot mixture to cool off for 10 minutes, until lukewarm (to prevent breaking glassware). Divide the mixture up into 4 serving containers. Clare suggests stemless wineglasses. Serve warm or chilled. To chill, cover tops with plastic wrap to prevent skin from forming. Chill until set, about 2 hours, and serve with or without whipped cream.
How to add roasted blueberries: Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly coat with nonstick spray. Spread 1 cup of blueberries (fresh or frozen) and roast for 15 minutes. You’re watching for the blueberries to swell—and for some to burst (that’s okay). Remove from oven and divide among the 4 serving containers. Ideally, if you’d like roasted blueberries with your custard, start with this step, divide the blueberries among the containers, and then pour in the warm custard. Serve warm, as is, or chill and serve cold. Both versions are absolutely delicious—may you eat with joy!
The Village Blend’s Corn Muffins with Caramelized Bacon
The day Matt surprised Clare by opening the shop for her—and letting her enjoy a rare few hours of extra sleep—he brought her this muffin for breakfast. The shop routinely sells out of these by midmorning, and it’s no wonder. They make a fast, tasty breakfast for workers on the go. They’re great with coffee, and the muffin batter can be stirred together quickly in one bowl. The only issue you may have is whether or not to include sugar.
&
nbsp; In the not-too-distant past, throngs of New York office workers ordered corn muffins for breakfast at corner delis. The muffins were split, buttered, and lightly toasted on a short-order grill. As a morning pastry, enjoyed with a fresh cup of coffee, they were baked on the sweet side. On the other hand, you may prefer your corn muffins with little or no sugar. If so, simply reduce or omit the sugar in this recipe. Either way, these muffins are a wicked good breakfast treat.
Makes 12 muffins
For the Caramelized Bacon
6 slices maple or smoked bacon (if using thick sliced bacon, reduce to 4 slices)
6 teaspoons light brown sugar
For the Corn Muffins
2 large eggs
3⁄4 cup milk (whole, or 2%)
1⁄2 cup sour cream (regular, not low fat)
1⁄2 to 3⁄4 cup white granulated sugar (or to your taste)
1 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1⁄2 teaspoon table salt)
5 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil (see my note below*)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
11⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
3⁄4 cup yellow cornmeal
* If you like, use bacon grease in place of all or some of the oil
Step 1—Make the caramelized bacon bits. First preheat the oven to 350°F. Using kitchen shears, cut 6 slices of bacon into small pieces. Sauté until half-cooked—still soft and flexible with the fat just beginning to change color. Drain the fat. Add the light brown sugar (1 teaspoon for each slice of bacon). Continue stirring and cooking until the bacon bits are cooked through. Transfer to a flat surface to cool and break up any clumps into a single layer.
Step 2—Mix the batter using the one-bowl method. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, sour cream, sugar, salt, and oil. Next whisk in the baking soda and baking powder. Now measure in the flour and cornmeal. Switching to a spoon or spatula, stir well to create a lumpy batter. All visible flour should be incorporated, but do not overmix or you will develop the gluten in the flour and your muffins may bake up tough instead of tender. Finally, fold in the caramelized bacon bits you made in Step 1.