Chocolate Bites with Espresso Ganache
I love these little bites of chocolaty heaven because they aren’t too sweet, they are full of chocolate flavor, and they have a sophisticated touch from the espresso in the sauce, and a nice crunch from the peppermints. It’s definitely a dessert for adults more than kids. If I were making it for kids I’d leave out the espresso in the ganache and replace with more heavy cream and probably add more sugar to the cake batter before I bake them. I like to serve these as part of a dessert and cheese course with port or after dinner coffees. They are rich so one piece goes a long way. Perfect if you are looking for something sweet but don’t want to go crazy on the calories.
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Chocolate Bites
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon Salt 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, room temperature plus extra for greasing muffin cups 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons sugar 1 ½ teaspoons good quality (Madagascar) vanilla 2 Tablespoons orange zest 2 Eggs 1 1/4 cups half and half Espresso Ganache ½ cup (heaping) Semi sweet chocolate 2-3 Tablespoons Heavy cream 3 Tablespoons Espresso Dash of vanilla Pinch of salt |