Pastry Chef David Guas answers your questions about his recipe for Mini Chocolate Espresso Cakes, as featured on TODAY:

Q: Where do I find espresso powder? I would love to make this and tiramisu.

Posted by Peggy Tant on September 21 at 12:53pm

DG: You can find espresso powder at any and all cooking stores (Sur La Table, Williams-Sonoma, etc.) and most grocery stores carry it now also. It will be in either the coffee section and/or the baking supply section.

Q: What to do if you don't want to make individual cakes? What size pan - how long to bake????

Posted by arleen on September 21 at 02:20pm

DG: Yes, you can bake this espresso cake in a nine or ten inch round cake pan, an inch and half deep to two inches deep. The baking time will be approximately 25 minutes in a 350° oven. Just remember to insert a tooth pick in the center to check for doneness. Also, the center should be puffy.

• Dulce de Leche Cheesecake
• Mini Chocolate Espresso Cakes with Orange Macerated Raspberries and Chantilly Cream

September 21, 2007

Executive Pastry Chef David Guas makes his second appearance on Secret Sauce to share another easy, delicious dessert for you to enjoy! Mini Chocolate Espresso Cakes is special to Chef Guas for one simple reason: Who doesn't love these two flavors?

Catch his TODAY show appearance to see David create this dish live, and get the recipe here - with a special Orange Macerated Raspberries and Chantilly Cream topping you'll only find on Secret Sauce.

Says Chef Guas, "Who does not like to have two of the most popular flavors consumed in my household - Chocolate and Coffee. They are truly my favorite ingredients separately, and so I decided to put them together to make a "blow out" of a dessert. It is a decadent treat to give yourself every once and awhile...at least I do!"

Procedure: Espresso Cakes

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Butter and flour 6 to 8 four ounce soufflé ramekins*.
• In a small bowl, sift together flour, sugar, salt, and espresso powder. Reserve.

• Combine butter and chocolate over a double boiler and melt. Remove from heat.
• Allow to cool slightly, approximately 8-10 minutes.
• Whisk in eggs, vanilla extract, and sifted dry ingredients.
• Using a rubber spatula, fold in chocolate chips. Portion mixture into ramekins, filling each one about two thirds full.
• Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the centers are set. When done, remove from oven and allow to cool slightly in ramekin.
• To serve, invert directly onto a plate and dust with powdered sugar or cocoa powder. (See below for plating instructions.)
  
  If you have baked cakes ahead of time, you may reheat the cakes in the microwave for 30 seconds before serving.

Procedure: Orange Macerated Raspberries

• Combine sugar in saucepot with enough water to resemble wet sand, approximately ¼ cup water.
• Cover and cook on high heat until caramel begins to form medium to dark color.
• Remove from heat and slowly add orange juice.
• Once it stops bubbling, whisk smooth and add Grand Marnier (or Cointreau) and strain through a fine mesh strainer.

• Allow caramel to cool.
• In a mixing bowl, gently toss raspberries with ¼ cup of cooled orange caramel.
• Let sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes.

Procedure: Chantilly Cream

• Combine 1 pint heavy whipping cream, 3 tablespoons powdered sugar, and 1 vanilla bean (which has been split with a paring knife and, using the back of the blade, had the inside of the bean scraped) in an large shallow stainless steel mixing bowl.
• Whip with a whisk until medium peaks form.
• Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.
• Note that the whipped cream might need to be re-whipped just before plating the dessert.

A ramekin is a small glazed ceramic serving bowl.

David Guas, the original creative force behind the sweets at Washington’s Passion Food Hospitality restaurants (Acadiana, Ceiba, DC Coast, and TenPenh), has launched his own entrepreneurial career as a private consultant, boutique pastry caterer, dessert cookbook author, and, by the end of 2008, bakery owner.

Bayou Bakery in McLean, Virginia [exact location to be determined] will feature a number of his signature desserts (many of them based on his Louisiana and Cuban heritage) that gained him such a following at Washington’s Passion Food Hospitality.

In 2004, Guas was named Pastry Chef of the Year by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, and Bon Appétit called him one of the country’s eight “Dessert Stars.”

Guas makes regular appearances on NBC’s Today Show, de-mystifying everything from pastry dough to Mardi Gras king cakes for the nationwide viewing audience.

• Get the recipe for David's Dulce de Leche Cheesecake

May 17, 2007

David Guas, Executive Pastry Chef, Acadiana, Ceiba, and DC Coast Restaurants, brings you his famed recipe for Dulce de Leche Cheesecake, inspired by his own Cuban heritage:

Procedure

• Soak gelatin in ice water and allow to bloom.
• Place cream cheese in heat-proof bowl above boiling water and allow to heat and melt, stirring occasionally.
• To a mixing bowl, add heavy cream, sour cream, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt.
• Combine using electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment and whisk until soft peaks form.

• Remove the cream cheese from heat and whisk in softened gelatin.
• Add about one-fourth of the whipped mixture to the melted cream cheese and whisk until smooth.
• Fold cream cheese mixture into the whipped mixture using a rubber spatula.

• Portion 4 ounces of cheesecake mixture into a clear coffee cup or any kind of fun 6-ounce cup.
• Tap each cup gently on a soft towel placed on top of a hard surface to knock out any air and allow the filling to settle.
• Allow the cups to set in the refrigerator for about 3-4 hours prior to topping them with Dulce de Leche Topping (see below).

Procedure

• Place the jar of dulce de leche in hot water for approximately 5 minutes.
• Carefully remove jar from heat and spoon caramel into small bowl.
• Add the cold heavy cream and whisk until smooth.
• Allow the caramel to rest until just slightly warm to the touch.
  Note: If Dulce de Leche is too warm, it will melt the already set cheesecake and sink to the bottom.

• Fill a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip with caramel mixture.
• Starting in the middle, pipe a thin coil of topping (approximately 2 tablespoons) onto each cheesecake.
• Tap the cup onto a soft towel to smooth the caramel topping.

In the September 2003 issue of Bon Appétit, David Guas is featured as one of eight Dessert Stars in the country; the Vanilla-Bean Cheesecake with Guava Topping and Mango-Lime Salad he developed for Ceiba is anchoring the cover.

Of Guas’ sweets at Ceiba, Restaurant Critic Tom Sietsema of The Washington Post writes, “I have yet to find a single dessert I can say no to”, and Thomas Head, writing in The Washingtonian, states that Guas’ desserts are “worth saving room for” and goes on to rave about the warm churros, in particular.

In June, 2004, Guas was named Pastry Chef of the Year by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington.

Visit Chef David Guas on the web @ ceibarestaurant.com.