Mocha Cake with Coffee Frosting

For MDS's birthday cake this year, the theme was coffee--mocha cake with coffee frosting. Both were excellent. When I first met MDS he did not drink coffee. I converted him to a coffee lover, and he now drinks more coffee than I do.

The mocha cake has the right balance of coffee and chocolate flavor. I used a 13x9 pan instead of  three round pans and adjusted the baking time. The coffee frosting is delicious and tastes like caramel macchiato, but it was more of a sauce than a frosting. I am not sure if I did something wrong when making it, but it never firmed up the way a frosting should and instead soaked into the cake a bit. So I might make it again as a dipping sauce, but it did not work for me as a traditional frosting.

Delightful Mocha Cake 

• 1 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 2 Tbsp. cocoa
• 3 Tbsp. instant Coffee Powder
• 1/4 cup boiling water
• 3 cups flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup chocolate milk

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. In a small bowl, blend cocoa, coffee powder, and boiling water together to make a smooth paste; add to creamed mixture. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add alternating with chocolate milk to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Pour batter into greased baking pans and bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until done. Cool in pans for ten minutes before removing cake from the pan. Once completely cool, frost. Enjoy!

Coffee Frosting

• 3 cups sugar
• 2/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1 cup light cream
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 2 tsp. instant coffee powder
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Put first three ingredients in a deep sauce pan, bring to a boil and boil until a small amount of mixture forms a soft ball when dropped into very cold water. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm. Add remaining ingredients and beat at medium speed for five minutes or until creamy. Store, covered, in the refrigerator for at least six hours. When ready to use, put desired amount in a saucepan and heat to spreading consistency. Frost cake. Enjoy!

Cuban Fritas

Earlier this year, MDS and I had a wonderful trip to Miami where we ate Cuban food just about every day. I especially liked the Las Fritas burger that is a Cuban take on the American burger, a specialty of El Rey de Las Fritas in Little Havana. We have plenty of great Cuban restaurants in Chicago, but I had never seen Las Fritas on the menu before. So this recipe is my attempt to recreate Las Fritas.

You could make your own shoestring potatoes, but you can also just get them at a grocery store in the potato chip aisle. I think shoestring potatoes were more popular when I was a kid, but they can still be easily found. There are many other toppings that you could add to these burgers, such as onion, lettuce, tomato, fried egg, or any other topping. What makes these burgers unique is the seasoning and the shoestring potatoes. Next time I make these burgers, I'll have to make a guava milkshake to truly replicate the Little Havana experience.

Cuban Fritas 

• 1/4 cup ketchup 
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise 
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin, divided 
• 1 tablespoon paprika, divided 
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic, divided 
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar 
• 1 teaspoon sugar 
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 8 ounces ground beef 
• 8 ounces ground pork 
• Sliced cheese, optional 
• 4 hamburger buns
• Shoestring potatoes

In a small bowl, combine ketchup, mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 clove of garlic, vinegar, and sugar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Combine beef, pork, remaining cumin, remaining garlic, and remaining paprika in a large bowl and mix by hand just until combined. Form into 4 large burger patties and season burger patties with salt and pepper. Cook burgers to desired doneness in a skillet on the stovetop, topping with cheese for the last minute of cooking. Transfer to a plate and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Place burgers on buns, cover with fried shoestring potatoes, spread top bun with sauce and close burgers, pressing down gently until they just hold together. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Yankee Pot Roast

A Yankee Pot Roast is a traditional recipe. A pot roast involves first searing the meat, then cooking it slowly in liquid for some time. For a Yankee Pot Roast, vegetables are usually added into the pot towards the end of cooking. When I was a kid, Mom often made roasts on Sundays. Sometimes the roasts were made in the oven and sometimes in a Dutch oven. However Mom prepared them, Sunday roast dinners were always delicious.

In the summertime, making a pot roast is better than an oven roast. Making a pot roast is quite easy, but it does take several hours. This recipe calls for using pearl onions, but I did not have any so I just substituted regular onions chopped in large pieces. Mom's recipe calls for 1 cup water, but you should use enough to mostly cover the meat while it cooks.

Yankee Pot Roast 

• 3-4 pound beef roast
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• water
• 1 bay leaf
• 8-10 small whole onions
• 8 small carrots, cut in half
• 15 oz. can tomato sauce with tomato bits

Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper. Brown in hot oil in Dutch oven. Add water and bay leaf. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until meat is tender. Remove excess fat. Return meat to pot. Add vegetables. Pour tomato sauce over meat. Simmer, covered, for 1 hour. Allow meat to stand a few minutes. Enjoy!