.. this outrageous dessert is in honor of my dear friend Dee.. her love of Kahlua, espresso, and mmmm ice cream. My kind of friend!!! Perfectly sinful when this Espresso Brownie (or two) is mounded with whipped cream.
chocolate-kahlua "drizzle", shaved almonds.. with a cherry on top.
Espresso Kahlua Brownies
1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 tbsp. instant coffee powder (the original recipe called for instant espresso powder, which we couldn't find here; you might want to increase the amount a little if you use instant coffee rather than instant espresso)
2 tbsp. Kahlua
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
25 espresso coffee beans
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Grease and flour a 9-inch square pan, knocking out excess flour. In a small heavy saucepan or a double boiler, melt the butter and the chocolate over low heat, stirring until smooth. Cool chocolate to lukewarm.
In food processor, beat together eggs, sugar, vanilla, coffee powder, and Kahlua until the mixture is thickened and pale. Beat in chocolate mixture.
Add dry ingredients and mix just until blended evenly.
Spread batter evenly in pan, and arrange coffee beans in 5 rows of 5 beans each. Try to center the beans so that when you cut the brownies, each square will have one bean in its center.
Bake brownies in the middle of the oven, 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out free of crumbs. Cool brownies completely in pan before cutting into 25 squares.
Brownies keep, layered between sheets of wax paper in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days, or longer in the fridge or freezer!
Serves: 25 single servings
Chocolate-Kahlua Drizzle:Makes about a half cup.. prepare enough for amount of servings.
• ½ cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
• ¼ cup Heavy Cream
• 1 Tbsp Kahlúa
• ¼ tsp Cinnamon
Directions:
Slowly bring cream to a boil. Turn off heat and stir in chocolate. Let sit until chocolate has melted. Add Kahlúa and cinnamon. Stir until smooth.