Happy Holidays from Allianz Partners

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or bittersweet chocolate chips
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1 to 2 teaspoons espresso powder, optional
• 1 teaspoon King Arthur Pure Vanilla Extract, optional
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa

Glaze

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a metal 8" round cake pan; cut a piece of parchment to fit, grease it, and lay it in the bottom of the pan. See "tips," below.
2. To make the cake: Put the chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat until the butter is melted and the chips are soft. Stir until the chips melt, reheating briefly if necessary. You can also do this over a burner set at very low heat. Transfer the melted chocolate/butter to a mixing bowl.
3. Stir in the sugar, salt, espresso powder, and vanilla. Espresso enhances chocolate's flavor much as vanilla does; using 1 teaspoon will simply enhance the flavor, while 2 teaspoons will lend a hint of mocha to the cake.
4. Add the eggs, beating briefly until smooth. Add the cocoa powder, and mix just to combine.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
6. Bake the cake for 25 minutes; the top will have formed a thin crust, and it should register at least 200°F on an instant-read thermometer inserted into its center.
7. Remove it from the oven, and cool it in the pan for 5 minutes.
8. Loosen the edges of the pan with a table knife or nylon spreader, and turn it out onto a serving plate. The top will now be on the bottom; that's fine. Also, the edges will crumble a bit, which is also fine. Allow the cake to cool completely before glazing.
9. To make the glaze: Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until it's not quite at a simmer, but showing fine bubbles around the edge. Pour the cream over the chocolate, stir very briefly to combine, and let rest for 5 minutes. Stir again — at first slowly, then more vigorously — until the chocolate is completely melted and the glaze is smooth. If any bits of chocolate remain, reheat briefly in the microwave or over a burner, then stir until smooth.
10. Spoon the glaze over the cake, spreading it to drip over the sides a bit. Allow the glaze to set for several hours before serving the cake.

Tips:

• If desired, garnish cake with 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted in a 350°F oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
• Can you line your pan with wax paper instead of parchment? Yes. While wax paper shouldn't be exposed to direct oven heat, it's fine when used between cake batter and pan.
• For cleanest slicing, use a sharp knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry. Repeat dipping knife in hot water and wiping dry for each slice.

Ingredients

• 3.5 cans full-fat coconut milk (13.5 fl oz size)
• 3.5 cans Coco Lopez cream of coconut (15 fl oz size)
• 3.5 cans evaporated milk (12 fl oz size)
• 1.5 cans sweetened condensed milk (14 fl oz size)
• 2 tbsp ground cinnamon (additional to taste)
• 2 tbsp pure vanilla extract (additional to taste)
• 1 750mL bottle white Puerto Rican rum

Preparation

1. In a very large stockpot or mixing bowl, combine all of the canned milks. Whisk well and add the ground cinnamon and vanilla extract. Taste and adjust any additional flavoring to your liking.
2. Next, whisk in the white rum. For this, you’ll be adding the rum to taste. Start with a single cup and work your way up from there. It shouldn’t be overpowering but just enough to hit you and warm you up a bit when you take a sip. Of course, it will be personal preference, but we like ours pretty boozy, so we add quite a bit of rum which normally ends up being at least a few bottles when we make our very large batches.
3. Then, when you have your coquito boozed up, pour into glass bottles or mason jars and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. When ready to drink, give the bottle or jar a good shake and garnish with a little dash of cinnamon.
4. Prior to serving, refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Tip: If you make this the day before your planned festivities, it tastes even better to begin with.