Cinco de Mayo Fiesta!

Happy Cinco de Mayo! I haven't planned much for this Mexican celebration, we had tacos the other night and I wish I could virtually take you to a taco shop here in San Diego, but it's not in the plans tonight. So instead I'll link you to some fiesta recipes I've made here.

-Bacon wrapped jalapenos
-Easy chicken enchiladas
-Tacos & Pico de gallo
-Easy taco salad
-Mexican wedding cookies

I also decided to bake some Mexican inspired brownie cups with my favorite recipe. As luck should have it, I had some specific chocolate arrive today, just in time for the mixing bowl! I made in in muffin tins, and baked them a few minutes longer so I knew they'd hold up, that's why they aren't as gooey as my original photos. I only used a pinch of heat, and you couldn't even really taste it. The kids ate them fine, they had no idea there was hot stuff in them.



My Fiesta Brownie Cups
3/4 Cup Unsweetened cocoa (I used Askinosie's Single Origin Natural Cocoa Powder)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2/3 Cup canola oil, divided
1/2 Cup boiling water
1 3/4 Cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/3 Cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch cayenne pepper (or to taste)

Mix cocoa, and baking soda in a mixer on low speed. Add half of the oil, mix. Add boiling water and mix on low until it becomes thick. Add in sugar, eggs, vanilla and the last of the oil, Mix until smooth. Sift the flour, salt, cinnamon and cayenne pepper together, add to the wet ingredients. Mix well. Evenly scoop batter into greased muffin tins and bake at 325' for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. This gave me 15 brownie cups.

Fiesta Ganache
3 oz chocolate, chopped (I used an Askinosie 52% dark milk chocolate bar)
1/ C heavy whipping cream
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of cayenne
1 tsp vanilla

Heat cream until it comes just to a boil. Combine chocolate, cinnamon and cayenne in a small bowl. Pour over chocolate, whisk until chocolate melts. Stir in vanilla. Allow to cool and set a little before using as a glaze.



This nice man made a sombreo from clay, for us. Old Town, San Diego


So what is this Askinosie Chocolate?
The wonderful folks at Askinosie Chocolate https://www.askinosie.com/ were so kind and generous to send me some of their chocolate to bake with and to tell you about it! Since they knew I liked to bake, I left it up to them what to send out. Take a look at what I received:

-Askinosie's Single Origin Natural Cocoa Powder an unsweetened and non-alkalized cocoa.

-Soconusco Dark Milk Chocolate + Fleur de Sel bar is 52% cocoa content and is made of goat's milk powder, organic sugar, cocoa butter and a touch of Fleur de Sel sea salt.

-77% Davao, Philippines Dark Chocolate Bar "The beans used to make this tantalizing bar are very exclusive, making the Davao, Philippines chocolate bar uniquely exotic."

-San Jose Del Tambo 70% dark chocolate bar made with Cocoa Beans from San Jose Del Tambo, Ecuador.

They are the first small batch chocolate maker in the U.S. to press their own cocoa butter and the only makers of natural cocoa powder. Their Natural Cocoa Powder is made right in their factory using the same beans they use to make their dark chocolate.

To get some of this yourself, you could visit them in Springfield, MO., call 417.862.9900 or even shop online askinosie.com. They are serious about their chocolate and care enough to be certain it arrives to you in best condition. They ship certain days and keep the climate in mind before your order is sent out! My box arrived in 2 days via Fed Ex, in an insulated packing form, papers and then each item is wrapped for protection!

I also just wanted to mention what creative packaging they have, and their website as well! Their online customer service form is really cool too. You can read all about it and more here. Something else really neat about them, is you can track down the history of your chocolate with the choc-o-lot #! Take a look at the 52 % dark milk chocolate bar I received:



enjoy,