On this 31st day of Halloween, I send true love to you.
Espresso Truffle.
Tangled Spiders.
Cinnamon Cheesecake.
Layered together, on the most wonderful holiday of the year.
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How do you feel about Halloween? By all accounts, I shouldn’t love the holiday like I do.
We grew up watching Children of the Corn, Nightmare on Elm Street, and The Exorcist. My older brothers thought it their job to freak my cousins and I out. These seem the makings for a “steer clear” of the scary life? I still surround myself in all that’s spooky.
Many years later, our dog and love Kama got sick at the beginning of October then passed twenty days later on October 26th. Three years later, our daughter followed our dog and her best friend, passing on October 26th as well. They were both seven years old. At first I wondered why we lost our girls during our favorite month then realized, it made sense. Of all twelve months, Halloween’s our very favorite, so it’s more of a challenge for Dave and I to be down.
What’s interesting is that as I write, tears have been falling on and off this day before Halloween. Today’s different though. This is our ninth year of Aviana’s Elves, something we created in our daughter’s name. Through our family and closest friends, we raise donations and in helping families during the holiday season, they help us far more.
I had a chance encounter with a girl who became lost during a summer school program. Our daughter was from Guatemala. With the same look and mannerisms, I thought this little girl must be too. To cheer her up, I pulled her onto my lap and showed her school pictures, her street and mom’s name, then where she was from. To my surprise, the same region as our daughter showed. Silent tears filled my eyes, then fell.
With the holidays upon us, my thoughts were on this single mom and her two small girls for Aviana’s Elves. Through translation, mom graciously accepted our offer. Because of a language barrier, we spoke little last year, but we asked for this sweet family again for this year.
We met for the first time with a translator today. Do you believe in coincidence? I don’t. In speaking with mom, we feel each other were placed in our paths for a reason. After talking, mom’s daughter was not only born in the same region as Aviana, but the same place in Guatemala. I saw similarities when with her daughter last summer and Christmas, but when listening to mom today, her daughter is deeply reminiscent of Aviana.
Sitting, sharing, and speaking with mom was one of the hardest most beautiful experiences of my life.
I got home at 12:45pm and hadn’t eaten all day. Ravenous, I had a bowl of oatmeal. Thoughts swirled, one overlapping the next. Their hardships weaved with ours, different yet grueling. Sweet, spicy, loving girls flashed, as oatmeal became not filling or good enough. I craved this cake/pie
I guess it’s good I made this early, as the guttural pain of missing Aviana made me push the good/Thich Nhat Hanh/buddha/breath in breath out/meditation/avoid thinking and eating/and continue onto half a Dave’s Killer Epic Everything Bagel and a hunk of dark chocolate. Eat my emotions and thoughts became, but on the last bite of chocolate, I caught myself, regrouped and once again repeated—life is for the living. It’s here and now. Life is this mom and her smart, resilient girls. Aviana’s physically gone and although bitter at times, her sweet and feisty lives through us and carries in our every encounter.
In life’s beauty, these moments are a process.
* Guttural “she’s not here.”
* Conscious in allowing the feeling to take over (eat hunk of chocolate? or breath, walk, etc. =D)
* Let it pass.
* Then take Rainey on a long walk.
Nature an animals are magic healers of all that ails ♥️
Now, isn’t this a food blog? Food and life go hand in hand, right?
Back to Halloween.
How about we make this dessert together!
There are a few layers, but they’re fun to make, come together with ease, and steal your breath in the end.
Espresso Truffle
If espresso/coffee isn’t your thing, leaving it out for a creamy dreamy all chocolate truffle layer.
Cinnamon Cheesecake
Room temperature cream cheese makes a smooth cheesecake, so if remembered (I’m shooting 50%), leave the block on counter an hour before mixing. If forgotten, there are a few options:
- Unwrap cream cheese from foil and place on a microwave safe plate. Microwave on high for 15-20 seconds.
- Keep cream cheese in foil packaging and submerge in a bowl of warm water for ten minutes.
Orange juice, cinnamon, and cream cheese are a match made in the fall season.
Spider Web Ganache
Have you made a web of ganache before?
Tips and tricks
- watch Martha and Queen Latifah on YouTube and other videos too!
- 50-60% chocolate works best when dripping ganache.
- let your ganache rest and turn from thin to thicker.
- a squeeze bottle or piping bag with a 1/4″ tip helps.
- a pastry bag or zip lock with a tiny/small cut hole works though too!
- practice your flow on another surface.
- take a breath and commit. When hesitating, I mess up big time =D
- start tighter in the middle (unlike how I did on this one!) then spiral about 1/2 apart.
- unlike me again, lighten your grip on pulling the web with a toothpick or skewer. And I thought I was being gentle too.
Spiders need love.
Here you go baby.
I swear October and Halloween are loves of my life.
Espresso Truffle Tangled with Cinnamon Cheesecake
Ingredients:
9" Cookie Crust
- 30 chocolate wafer cookies
- 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
- 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 5 Tablespoons butter, melted (sea level = 4 Tablespoons butter)
First Layer - Espresso Truffle
- 6 ounces dark or semi-sweet chocolate - chips or chopped into small uniform size pieces
- 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder
- 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
Second Layer - Cinnamon Cheesecake
- 8 ounces cream cheese, block - room temperature
- 1/3 cup cane or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon fresh orange juice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped
Tangled Web - Ganache
- 2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (50-60%) - chips or chopped into small uniform size pieces
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
Garnish - Spooky Spider
- 1 spooky spider
Instructions
Cookie Crust
- Preheat oven to 350˚F. Chill a small to small/medium (preferably glass) bowl and the beaters from your electric mixer in the freezer.
- Butter an 9" springform pan with a light coat, then set aside. Crumb chocolate wafers in a food processor. Pulse until the crumbs are fine and uniform in size.
- Combine cookie crumbs, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Mix well, then add the melted butter. Stir well with a fork, then with your hands. Coat the crumbs until the butter's evenly distributed.
- Spread the crumbs even across the bottom of the springform pan. With your hands, a tart tamper, or the back and side of a small measuring cup, press the cookie crumb mixture into the bottom and slightly up the side of the pan. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
- On the center oven rack, bake the crust between 6-8 minutes. Cool to room temperature on a wire rack.
- Espresso Truffle
- Place 6 ounces of chocolate in a heat safe bowl, then add ⅔ cup heavy cream. Microwave for 20 seconds on full power, then stir. Continue heating in 10 seconds bursts and stir. When the chocolate is close to melted—stir, stir, stir until smooth and starting to thicken. With a spatula, spread the truffle filling across the bottom of the cookie crust, then freeze for 20 minutes.
- Alternate stovetop method: Place chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate in a small heat safe bowl.In a small saucepan over medium/low heat, add the heavy cream. Once small bubbles form along the edge of the pot, remove and pour over the chocolate. Let stand for 3 minute, then stir gently until smooth. The ganache may be thin at first. If so, wait until thickened.
Cinnamon Cheesecake
- Remove the bowl and beaters from the freezer. Using an electric stand or handheld mixer, start on low speed and beat the heavy cream with increasing speed until it starts to thicken. Increase to high speed and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Avoid over beating. Place in the refrigerator.
- In a medium bowl, beat the softened cream cheese, sugar, orange juice, and cinnamon, while making sure to scrape the sides. Once the mixture is light and fluffy, turn the mixer to low and add the refrigerated whipped cream until incorporated.
- Remove the pan from the freezer and with an offset spatula, spoon, or knife, smooth the cream cheese mixture over the truffle filling and from crust edge to edge.
Tangled Web Ganache
- Place chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate in a small heat safe bowl, then add heavy cream. Microwave for 20 seconds on full power, then stir. Continue heating in 10 seconds bursts and stir. My microwave took 30 seconds total, then a decent amount of stirring. Let ganache stand to thicken.
- Once thickened, Martha and Queen Latifah make a better spider web and cracked me up while doing it too! If you don't have a squeeze bottle, I used a piping bag fit with a ¼" tip and a bbq skewer (which I broke in half).
- Cover and freeze for one hour, then slice and spook your loved ones in the best way possible.
Notes
- the only change at 6,300 altitude, is using 5 tablespoons of butter in the crust vs. 4 at sea level.
- the crust can be made ahead, cooled, and covered.
- whipped cream can be made early, covered, and refrigerated for up to a few hours.
- I guess at this point, I mean early like now or the day before next Halloween ; )
- this dessert can be made in a pie plate as well. If making, bake cookie crust for 6 minutes.
That is a spectacular cheesecake, or should I say spooktacular! I’m sure I’ve told you many times that I do not like orangez, but orange flavoring with a little dark chocolate…yes, please! I hope you and Dave are having fun tonight. 🎃
Ahhh, thank you! I had a tiny sliver and yes, the orange and chocolate drive me wild! Actually, orange and fall spices make me cuckoo. We were late in starting, but kicked off Twin Peaks for the third time! It’s amazing the things missed the first two times. I hope your holiday was good. Are you getting these messages?