The second I read the name of this recipe, I just knew I had to make it. First of all, I love any recipe with either “mystery” or “surprise” in the title. Second, I love any recipe with “mocha” in the title. It means good things will happen.

So “Mystery Mocha?” Count me in!

I thought it was funny that halfway through the printable recipe, the submitter (thanks, Larry!) warns us that “this will look TERRIBLE”. You’ve got to love the honesty!

But no matter what it looks like halfway through, the end result is all that I wanted it to be…and more. It turns out a little bit like a lava cake or baked fudge, but with a lovely coffee undertone. I served mine with freshly whipped cream and absolutely loved every bite. This is a treasure!

Here’s how you make it.

Melt butter and unsweetened chocolate in the microwave for about 45 seconds.

Stir it until the mixture is totally melted and smooth.

Sift together sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate container, mix together the milk and vanilla. Set aside.

Mix together the sifted mixture, the chocolate mixture, and the milk/vanilla mixture.

Stir it together until all combined, then spread in a thoroughly greased square pan. Mine was about 6 1/2 x 6 1/2, but 8 x 8 would work fine.

Now, this is where it starts getting weird. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, brown sugar, and cocoa powder.

Stir it to combine…

Then sprinkle the mixture evenly over the top of the cake batter.

Interesting! What does it all mean?

After that mixture is evenly sprinkled and distributed, pour cold coffee all over the top. I didn’t have any coffee made, so I mixed instant coffee crystals in a cup of water. And I made it very strong: two heaping tablespoons of coffee! We’ll see how it turns out.

This would definitely be the part in the recipe where Larry warns “it will look terrible!” I don’t think it looks terrible at all, though…just curious!

Bake for 40 minutes on 350 degrees, then remove from the oven.

And this…THIS is what it looks like!

Oh my word. Oh my.

It’s funny—until I scooped into it, I didn’t realize this would be a lava-type cake. It was a nice surprise!

Gorgeous! And it smells so, so good.

I whipped some cream and plopped it on top.

And this turned out to be a very good move.

The Verdict: This was absolutely delicious. If you use very strong coffee, the flavor will really come through and result in a very rich mocha flavor. This would be perfect for company—so easy to make!

Thank you, Larry, for sharing such a yummy recipe.

Printable Recipe

Mystery Mocha

by larry on August 12, 2009 in Desserts, Fancy August 12, 2009 DessertsFancy

4.78 Mitt(s) 32 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 40 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 8

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Description

My mother’s secret recipe, no longer secret! Decadent chocolate cake with mocha pudding inside. For chocolate lovers, this is a ten.

Ingredients

• ¾ cups Granulated Sugar
• 1 cup Sifted All-Purpose Flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• ⅛ teaspoons Salt
• 1 piece Unsweetend Chocolate (1 Square)
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• ½ cups Whole Milk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• ½ cups Brown Sugar
• ½ cups Granulated Sugar (additional)
• 4 Tablespoons Powdered Cocoa (Not Drink Mix)
• 1 cup Cold Strong Coffee

Preparation Instructions

Sift together 3/4 cup sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Melt square of unsweetened chocolate and butter in the microwave. Add to dry ingredients alternately with the milk and vanilla. Blend. Pour into a greased 8×8 pan.

Combine brown sugar, the 1/2 cup additional granulated sugar and cocoa powder. Sprinkle over the cake batter. Pour the one cup COLD coffee on top. This will look TERRIBLE. Bake 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Serve warm with ice cream or sweetened whip cream or whipped topping. This will serve 8. In a 9×9 square pan, you can cut 9 pieces. Best served warm.

 
 
 
 

And these ginger sugar cookies from Heather Christo are precious, and sound absolutely yummy. (Love Heather’s blog!)

 
 
 
 

I love the look of these pieknits. Colorful!

 
 
 
 

This is a great, simple recipe for a cute topping for cheesecakes, etc. Thanks, ButterYum!

 
 
 
 

For those of you with a grody sense of humor, try serving up these Spooky Bloody Brains (again, from Lauren) just before going trick-or-treating. Ha!

 
 
 
 

And finally, these classic Mummy Dogs, submitted by Mommy’s Kitchen.

Very cute stuff, guys! Thanks for sharing. My kids are now making their own grocery list.

Love,
Ree

 
As soon as I saw this recipe on Tasty Kitchen this morning, I was completely smitten. How gorgeous does this look?

Here’s the recipe: Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, submitted by Kay (The Church Cook).

Not only do I think this buttercream frosting looks delicious, I also think it’s such a lovely food photo. It does what food photos should do: make us want to reach through our computer monitors and grab whatever’s in the shot. That’s one of the things I love about Tasty Kitchen; so many beautiful food photos come in every day. They can’t help but inspire!

Check out Kay’s own food blog here: The Church Cook.

I can’t thank you all enough for your great feedback; I’ve been reading and taking notes!

Winner #1: Shawn “Tasty Kitchen has been a wonderful resource for finding good recipes to make for our family and for special occasions. It’s very helpful having photos of the recipes for reference. I’m always looking for quick and healthy family meals that everyone in the family will eat.”

Winner #2 Kara: “I heart TK and rely on it more than my cookbooks. If possible, it would be cool if we could have an online recipe box or some way to bookmark. I love the unique names of recipes, but unless you have a better memory than me, they are hard to find again unless you print them right then. An ingredient match would be cool too. Say you enter (chicken, mushrooms, heavy cream) and it matches your ingredients with a recipe that includes those. Hey you said bells and whistles, a girl can dream! Ha, it is already an awesome site!”

Winner #3 Elly: “I am not sure this will help you, but I LOVE the replies from people that have used the recipe and tips given for alternate ways to adjust the recipe. Participation is a great part of this site.”

Congrats, winners! Contact prizes@tastykitchen.com to claim your loot.

Here’s a redux of a pancake recipe from last spring. Perfect for Saturday morning!

***********

 
 
 

Here’s what you’ll need. Nothin’ difficult here!

 
 
 

First combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl.

 
 
 

Then whisk it together until totally combined.

 
 
 

Next, combine the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl…

 
 
 

And whisk them together to combine.

 
 
 

Next, combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients.

 
 
 

Stir gently to combine.

 
 
 

Heat a skillet over medium-low heat, then smear butter over the surface.

 
 
 

Use a 1/4 cup measure to drop batter onto the skillet.

 
 
 

Cook until you start to see bubbles. Then flip ‘em over and cook on the other side!

 
 
 

Now, we’ll serve this first batch with butter and maple syrup, of course. Of course.

 
 
 

And when I say butter…I mean butter.

 
 
 

And when I say syrup…

 
 
 

I mean syrup, baby.

 
 
 

Okay, that’s the traditional route. You could stop here and be happy forever and ever.

 
But “happy forever and ever” isn’t enough for me.

 
In her recipe, sapeylissy suggests serving these pancakes with icing, recreating the true “cinnamon bun” effect. So I decided to whip up a little bit of a butter/syrup icing.

 
 
 

Throw some butter into a bowl…

 
 
 

Melt it for about 30 seconds…

 
 
 

Then dump in some powdered sugar.

 
 
 

Now throw in some maple syrup. Maple extract would be okay, too.

 
 
 

And some milk.

 
 
 

Then just whisk it together until it’s perfectly smooth and combined. You could also warm this up a little bit before serving.

 
 
 

So ideally, one would place the pancakes on a plate and gingerly drizzle this buttery/mapley icing lightly over the top. But I sorta got carried away and poured a whole tankload on there.

 
 
 

Sorry.

 
 
 

Oops! Sorry again.

I don’t know what came over me.

I really loved both approaches—the maple syrup/butter approach AND the icing approach. I think there wouldn’t be anything wrong with serving both.

Thank you to sapeylissy for the yummy recipe!

Here’s the printable for the pancakes:

Cinnamon Bun Pancakes

Here’s the simple icing recipe:

Maple-Butter Icing for Pancakes

And in case you missed it, here’s Erika’s post on Pancakes, which includes links to many different pancake recipes here on Tasty Kitchen.

The Theme is…Pancakes!

Enjoy!

From the TK Blog archives – March 2010

I’ve been intrigued with this frosting recipe for months, not just because of its alluring title, but also because if its ingredients. Five tablespoons of flour? In frosting? Let’s just say my interest was piqued.

I finally got around to making it yesterday evening; Marlboro Man’s grandmother has some old friends staying at The Lodge and I wanted to take them a treat. So I whipped up this frosting, slapped it on some chocolate cupcakes…and wound up considering not sharing them with the guests because it was so delicious.

You owe it to yourself to make this frosting sometime in your life.

You’ll just have to trust me on this.

Thank you, MissyDew, for submitting!

Here’s how you make it:

First things first: I made chocolate sheet cake cupcakes. They’re the best cupcakes around.

Here’s the recipe:

The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake (or Cupcakes!) Ever

Let your cupcakes (or cake) cool completely.

Begin by pouring 5 tablespoons of flour into 1 cup of milk. I used whole milk because I can if I want.

After adding the flour, whisk it together until combined, then place the saucepan over medium heat. Whisk it as it heats up and thickens, and stop when the mixture is very thick.

Cool the mixture completely.

The mixture will be very, very thick.

Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla to the cooled flour/milk mixture.

Stir it around to combine.

Pour one cup of sugar into a bowl with one cup of butter.

Whip it around until it’s light and fluffy, scraping the bowl once or twice to make sure it’s all mixed well.

Add the cooled flour/milk/vanilla mixture. Make sure it’s not the least bit warm!

 
I’m bossy. Sorry.

Next, just whip it on medium-high until the mixture resembled whipped cream.

This was slightly tricky for me, as I was afraid of overbeating the mixture and causing everything to start breaking down and falling apart. I’d say this is about 45 seconds of pretty hard beating.

And then it was time for the rubber to meet the road.

This was spread with a big spatula…

This was spread with a dinner knife. The frosting definitely has a whipped cream consistency; it’s not thick like a decorator icing.

Before I allowed myself to taste it, I made some sprinkled ones for my punks.

This makes for a crunchy cupcake!

And now…for the moment of truth.

THE VERDICT: Okay. Let me just explain something to you. After I took this bite, I looked around for the hidden camera. I was certain someone was playing a trick on me. This frosting is so UNBELIEVABLY divine, I almost couldn’t believe what was happening to me. The consistency is light, the flavor indescribably delicious, and a perfect complement to the rich chocolate cake. And don’t just take my word for it—after my daughter took her first bite, she looked at me and said “WHAT is this FROSTING?”

Even she knew she was in the presence of greatness.

Here’s the frosting recipe:

That’s the Best Frosting I’ve Ever Had

Note: I would probably recommend making the frosting on the same day you intend to serve it.

Thank you to MissyDew for sharing such a great recipe!

 
This recipe, submitted by Tasty Kitchen member HowSweetEats, caught my eye for many reasons. The roasted cinnamon pears. The mascarpone. The word “bruschetta,” which only evokes lovely thoughts for me. This would be such a winning appetizer for a holiday party!

Thank you, Jessica!

Check out Jessica’s food blog, How Sweet It Is. So lovely!

 
TK members and food bloggers A Cozy Kitchen did it again with this scrumptious recipe for Zucchini Parmesan. I love the twist on the old eggplant classic, and it’s the perfect time of year to offer up ways for folks to use all the zucchini in their lives!

I’m trying it later this week and will leave a review!

 
I can’t stop thinking about this recipe from Tasty Kitchen Member Apricosa (Erica). The light filling of cottage cheese, feta cheese, and tomato sounds delicious at this time of year, but it’s the beautiful light green crust—the result of the addition of basil—that really caught my eye. I’ll be trying this over the weekend, as I have tomatoes and basil I need to use. I just love the way it looks, and I can only imagine how delicious it is.

Thank you, Erica, for the gorgeous recipe!

(Check out Erica’s blog Apricosa to peek at her gorgeous cooking.)

Happy weekend, everyone!
P-Dub

 
We’re going to start singling out submitted Tasty Kitchen recipes and featuring them here, as Erika did yesterday with the Linguine with Seafood recipe (which I’m still drooling over.) Watch for new highlighted recipes each week!

This recipe, Fried Green Tomatoes on Polenta Rounds with Peppers, Onions, and Bacon, comes from Natalie (Perrys’ Plate), whose recipe box never fails to knock me over with deliciousness. (Don’t even look at her Itty Bitty Burgers today. Yikes.)

To make the recipe, which would make an impressive cocktail party appetizer or dinner party first course, you also need these Fried Green Tomatoes.

Polenta … fried green tomatoes, red bell pepper, bacon, onion …

I love the look of this recipe! It’s a little fancy for a weeknight meal, but with friends on a Friday night?

Yes.

Yes, please.

Thank you, Natalie, for sharing!

Be sure check out Natalie’s blog, Perry’s Plate. Yummy stuff!

Mmm…funnel cakes. There’s nothing like them in the world. And when I found this funnel cake recipe (submitted by HeatherD) on Tasty Kitchen not long ago, I immediately printed it out and put it on the top of the stack of Tasty Kitchen recipes to try before I croak.

It’s becoming a rather large stack.

Funnel Cakes, for those of you who aren’t familiar, are a standard carnival treat. A thin batter is poured through—get ready—a FUNNEL directly into hot oil and fried until golden, then topped with plenty of powdered sugar…

And then the world becomes a sweeter place.

 

Here’s what you need: flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, eggs, vanilla, and milk. I use whole milk whenever I can in desserts and baked (and fried) goods, but any milk you have should be fine.

Start by throwing the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda, salt) into a bowl.

Whisk them together to combine.

Add eggs, milk, and vanilla.

Whisk it together until everything’s all combined.

Check the consistency…

And splash in more milk if you need it. NOTE: The recipe called for 2 1/4 cups of milk, but I probably wound up adding an additional 1/2 cup of milk to get the thinness I thought it might need.

That’s better. And watch…

You can drizzle it around in the bowl a little…

And practice your funnel cake making skills.

When you’re ready (and the oil is hot), throw some of the batter into a…

Are you ready?…

FUNNEL.

Now, first I’m going to show you the wrong way to make a funnel cake.

If you hold the funnel to far away from the surface of the oil…

The batter can scatter in little pieces and not form into a cohesive, neat funnel cake.

But if you hold the funnel close to the oil (though obviously not IN the oil), you can make sure it stays together.

Just move the funnel around in a circle until it gets to the size you want. Let it brown on one side, then carefully flip it over to the other.

When it’s finished cooking, remove it and set it on a stack of paper towels.

Break out the powdered sugar and the sifter, and sprinkle it on thick.

I love funnel cakes!

Then just pull it apart and chow down! Eat it while it’s warm and crispy. Delicious.

These are really easy to make, and so delicious. The only thing that’s a little tricky is just getting the hang of drizzling the batter into the oil, and making sure the oil is hot enough to cook and crisp the funnel cakes, but not so hot that the cake will immediately burn.

Also, HOT OIL: Keep the pan on one of the back burners if you have little kids.

Enjoy! THANK YOU to HeatherD for sharing this great recipe. I loved it.