May 31, 2016–I received a few emails complaining that I did not send a dessert picture last week, umm I was in Bogota. After you see the pictures below I’m sure I will receive emails complaining that I sent the picture. I can’t win for loosing. That being said, I think I over did it this time!!! You will see what I mean–sorry for the long description.
The first night I was in Colombia (it’s not Columbia) I had a chocolate mousse cake for dessert…but something was missing. It bothered me the next five days until it hit me on the plane home. Four things came to mind: caffeine, texture, tropical and kick. Since I was leaving Colombia I decided to pay homage to this amazing country.
I knew I could use coffee and cocoa–some of the best come from Colombia. Caffeine 
Like the ruggedness of the Colombian Andes mountains I decided to satisfy texture with crushed Oreos and pecans. Texture
Tropical came to mind because Colombia is bordered by two bodies of water–the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the north. Oranges are tropical and few things go better with chocolate than oranges so I will use orange zest and candied oranges which due to the sugar will also add some texture. Two for one. Tropical and Texture
Now I know the coffee provides some kick but I needed something more. Oooh, how about some Grand Mariner? Tropical due to the orange flavor and kick due to the alcohol content. Another two for one. Texture and Kick
Now how should I incorporate all of these items into a chocolate mousse cake? I dubbed my version Escalera al Cielo de Chocolate (Stairway to Chocolate Heaven) but some will call it La Muerte por el Chocolate (Chocolate Death).
I added some brewed Colombian coffee and pecans to a Devil’s Food cake. I made this type of cake because ‘Devils Breath’ is the most dangerous drug in the world which happens to come from Colombia. It was thicker than I thought so I cut it in half. Stair 1 complete. Get it…Stairway to Chocolate Heaven 🙂
For Stair 2, I made an Oreo level with finely ground Colombian coffee grounds. I then brushed it with a mixture of fresh squeezed OJ and Grand Mariner.
I next made a chocolate mousse with Colombian chocolate, heavy whipped cream, orange zest and some fresh squeezed OJ, from the oranges I zested, mixed with Grand Mariner. Plus a little more Grand Mariner. You’ve just stepped up to Stair 3.
Now what should I do with this other orange that I bought? Hmmm? I know, to add a little more texture I put some candied Orange peel on top of the mousse. Can anyone say Stair 4?
I still had some fresh squeezed OJ and Grand Mariner remaining so I soaked the top half of the cake in it. I know, right, but as the saying goes, “Waste not, want not.” Stair 5, done. We’re almost there!
Now, that doesn’t look very pretty so I guess I should add another stair. What do I have? Chocolate, orange zest, Grand Mariner. I know, I will make a chocolate icing with these ingredients and cover the entire cake! Stair 6 is done and so am I. At least I thought so.
As I’m cleaning up and by that I mean licking the chocolate off of all of the utensils and bowls, I realized that this dessert has a lot of chocolate in it. Sure the Grand Mariner and oranges will give the taste buds a little break from the chocolate but it still may be too much. I know some of you are saying, “You can never have too much chocolate!”
While I agree, seven is a lucky number so one more stair here we go. Everything is gone so what can I do. Hmm, I was planning to use the remainder of the heavy cream in my coffee but decided instead to make a Grand Mariner whipped cream with it instead. It’s like the color of another Colombian export 
and should add some non-chocolate flavor to the experience.
With that, Stair 7 is complete! Caffeine, tropical, kick and texture…check, check, check, and check.
I never eat my desserts but my office mates say it is pretty tasty
