Mexican Chocolate Cakes with Tequila Caramel Sauce

I have a cookbook collection that may rival some professional chefs'. I have cookbooks on Indian food, picnic food, French food, food for dinner parties, finger food…the list goes on. In fact, there is an entire shelf in my spare room, by which I mean shelving unit with three full shelves, dedicated to cookbooks. And I recently acquired a new one from a friend in celebration of the almost unspeakable birthday. It is my new favorite, and it is titled Booze Cakes. You’ll be seeing recipes from this invaluable resource frequently, I’m sure.

The recipe below is pretty simple, but does go a LOT faster if you have a stand mixer. I can beat egg whites to stiff peaks without, but it takes awhile and requires a reasonable amount of endurance. Nevertheless, it’s doable. I made two batches, one by greasing and flouring the tins, one with liners. I know the liners are less cute…use them anyway, I could not get the first batch out (and was therefore forced to eat them straight from the pan). I would also keep a close eye on them after about 10 minutes…they are better underdone than overdone.

The ultimate keeper of this recipe, if you use nothing else, is the creative and amazing idea of combining tequila and caramel. Do this. Like, now. The recipe calls for cajeta, a Mexican caramel, but I didn’t have that on hand. Trader Joe’s Fleur de Sel caramel worked just fine. I put it on the cakes when they were warm, which meant that they absorbed the sauce (it does turn out thin) and then tasted like a strong, sweet margarita (this is better than it sounds, I swear). They keep fine for several days in the fridge, but microwave them for 15 seconds before inhaling them.

Salud!

Mexican Chocolate Cakes with Tequila Caramel Sauce
from Booze Cakes, by Krystina Castella and Terry Lee Stone

Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter
½ cup sugar, divided
9 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. Kahlua
2 eggs, separated

¼ cup tequila
¼ cup cajeta or caramel sauce


Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.

In a saucepan over low heat, melt ¼ cup of the sugar with the stick of butter, trying very hard not to let it boil. Stir in chocolate chips until they have melted, then remove from heat and add vanilla.


In a medium mixing bowl, beat the 2 egg yolks and the remaining ¼ cup of sugar until they are sunshine-colored. Ruin this by beating in the Kahlua (worth it in the long run). SLOWLY, drizzle a spoonful of the chocolate mixture into the eggs, whisking constantly. Repeat until one third of the chocolate mixture has been incorporated, then slowly add the remainder until the chocolate and egg mixtures have been fully incorporated.


In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the 2 egg whites until stiff peaks form (or do it by hand and forego your push-ups that day). Fold the egg whites not the chocolate mixture, using a rubber spatula and circular motion…DO NOT overmix. Try not to smash the foaminess too much, either.


Divide batter among 12 cupcake cups and bake 12-15 minutes. It’s good raw, so you really can’t go wrong.


Combine tequila and caramel sauce in a pyrex measuring cup and microwave 1-2 minutes or until melted, then stir to combine. Spoon over warm cakes.


Let them cool for one hour in the pan, so that they solidify a bit, then finish cooling on a wire rack. Serve with spoons, as they are super moist, full of tequila, and unlikely to stand up to liner-peeling.

Drink remaining caramel sauce, if there is any. :)