hello, hello. i’m back…

with brownies!

these are a delight. the bitter chocolate shines here…there is just over 1 ounce of flour in there! this recipe comes from alice medrich’s pure dessert. i love the composition of this book into flavor categories, it makes flavors like dairy and chocolate seem so new.

i’ve only been able to have a nibble here and there. i’m trying to exercise some self control…i do have a wedding dress to squeeze into in 8 months after all! in the book, these are described as having a texture somewhere between cake and mousse…and it’s true. these came out pretty soft and tender. they are delightfully rich and definitely a bit elevated from your everyday-brownie (not that i have an everyday brownie…that would make for quite the chunky butt ;) however, they come together just as quickly as the standard brownie…just a little extra whipping for the eggs.

i served these in little fingers…which promptly fell apart out of hand. this is a fancy brownie. one that requires a fork or spoon and a plate. maybe a dollop of whipped cream or some vanilla ice cream. treat her right…she’s a classy gal.

bittersweet brownies
adapted from pure dessert

as you can see, these have some nibbly bits on top. the recipe, as it is in the book, is unadorned (and they are amazing that way too!), i just added some pecans and cacao nibs for some texture. as always, do what you want. i’m going to go out there and say use a good chocolate here. it really is the star in this recipe and i’m going to guess that it will make a difference. i’m a fan of valrhona currently, use what you like best.

8 ounces 70% bittersweet chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
1 teaspoon melted butter
pinch of salt
1/4 cup cacao nibs

in a small bowl mix butter, pecans and salt. toss with cacao nibs and set aside.

position rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 F. line your pan (8-inch square) w/ foil and grease.

place chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. stir frequently until melted and smooth. remove from heat and set aside.

in a medium bowl (or stand mixer) beat eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla with a hand mixer on high until eggs are thick and pale, about 2 minutes. whisk in the warm chocolate to combine. fold in the flour.

scrape batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with topping. bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 25-30 minutes. cool in the pan on a rack. invert onto a cutting board and peel foil. serve as you like.

*i used tart pans that i sprayed with oil. i didn’t foil them and i reduced baking time to about 20 minutes.

so, i am not a huge sports fan. not a surprise if you know me, i’d way rather watch food network or a cash cab marathon. i know, tons of fun. luckily for me sean is not a football fan (of the american variety anyway, lets not bring up the world cup just yet…) so, we had a “not superbowl party, party”. we had all the obligatory snacks and brewed beverages required, but we watched scrubs and flight of the conchords instead. that is just how we roll. in the midst of all the excitement and preparation, i didn’t really take many photos, but i did snag a few of this brownie cake that i made. de-lightful. that is all you really need to know about it. i mean, come on brownie + cake + caramel + nuts? i know, not a lot else to say.

caramel-walnut topped brownie cake
adapted from baking:from my home to yours. the original recipe calls for peanuts. i like to be crazy and use walnuts instead and some espresso too. i also did not make mine in a springform as directed, but in two 6-inch rounds…which makes for a messier topping, but whatev anyway.

for the cake:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter cut into pieces
5 ounces coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
3 large eggs
1/2 cup (packed) brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

center rakc in oven and preheat to 350 F. butter an 8-inch round springform pan, dust with flour-tapping out excess and line bottom with buttered parchement. place pan on a baking sheet line with parchment.

whisk flour, baking soda and salt together, set aside.
set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. add chocolate, butter and espresso powder. stir occasionally until ingredients are melted and remove from heat.

i a large bowl whisk eggs and sugars until well blended. add corn syrup and vanilla, whisk until combined. next whisk in chocolate-butter mixture until just blended. gently stir in dry ingredients until just combined. the batter should be thick, smooth, and shiny. pour into prepared pan.

bake for 40-45 minutes or until tester comes out almost clean. transfer to a rack and cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan. the cake may have formed a crater…that is okay, plus it is a caramel catching crater. when it is completely cool remove the bottom and parchement. wash and dry spirngform and return cake, right side up to pan and close the sides.

for the topping:
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons corn syrup
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons room temp butter
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup walnuts

put sugar, water and corn syrup into a large heavy bottomed saucepan. stir just to combine and heat over med-high. heat, without stirring, until the caramel turns a deep amber color, 5-10 minutes. as the sugar is caramelizing, wipe down any crystals with a damp pastry brush. to test the color, drop a bit on a white plate. lighter caramle will not have the same depth of flavor.

lower the heat, stand back, and add cream and butter…it will bubble a steam a lot. when the caramel has calmed stir out any lumps and add salt. stir in nuts and pour into a heatproof glass vessel. spoon the nuts on top of the cake, followed by caramel (you may have extra caramel). allow the topping to come to room temp (20 minutes) before removing from springform and serving.

sometimes gathering my thoughts is a pretty enormous task. one thought will lead me to the next (as thinking goes, i believe) and the next and i am off and running in a direction that was never intended, leaving my original thought lost and dusty from all that dirt kicked up by my running mind.

i am sure these things happen to you too. you walk into a room and forget why…or you frantically search the house for your keys that are actually on the hook (in your bag, pocket, etc…) where they belong. some might call it being absent minded…which i guess is true since the mind seems to be absent from the task at hand…but i like to think of it as moving on to the next thought before the last was accomplished…is that the same thing…whoa…check out all the ellipses.

anyway, my point is that when i was making these brownies i dumped half a cup of sugar into the mix before i realized what i was doing…i needed to add a full cup of honey. oh well. they still turned out delicious and more moist than i could have imagined. i like to think of these brownies as a union of honey-cake and brownie. they are chocolaty, but not too much (don’t get me wrong though…i don’t think too much chocolate is possible for me), with a little something from the honey…which should probably be more like a lot of something if i was paying attention to the recipe. they are cake-like but still dense and delicious even after the third day. and, if you were wondering, they only lasted that long because i stashed a few in for safe keeping. try these…but maybe follow the original recipe if you are looking for a pronounced honey flavor and not an almost-there-honey flavor.

honey nut brownies
adapted from baking:from my home to yours
this recipe does call from sugar in addition to the honey, i just accidentally added too much…so i reduced the honey to half a cup. next time i will not do this…since it was a mistake and since the point of a honey nut brownie is the dang honey. the recipe below is not my version, but the real deal yo.

1 stick unsalted butter cut into 8 pieces
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup honey (i used clover, dorie says that a stronger honey like chestnut, would pair nicely with the chocolate)
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

cocoa powder or confectioners sugar for dusting–if you want to do all that

center rack in oven and preheat to 325 F. line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil and butter well. place pan on baking sheet.

place butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. heat, stirring, just until the ingredients are melted. do not over heat, remove bowl from stove.

beat eggs and salt together in stand mixer fitted with paddle until light and foamy. add honey, sugar and vanilla and beat for 2 minutes, until well blended and smooth. reduce speed to low and add chocolate mixture. mix until just incorporated. add the flour while still on low, and mix until just incorporated. fold in nuts with a rubber spatula. scrape batter into the pan.

bake for 45-50 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. transfer to a rack and cool for about 5 minutes. turn out onto rack, peel away foil and turn out onto another rack to cool to room temp before cutting.

can be kept in an airtight container for 2-3 days or in the freezer for 2 months.