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.

i love a quick bread. what baker hates on a quick bread? i like quick breads because like the morning friendly muffin, you can quite reasonably eat a slice for breakfast…yeah! also, surprise! they come together quickly and often with a single bowl. amazing.

banana bread is one of those quick breads that we’ve all encountered and it seems to be one of those things that is best made by someone’s mother/aunt/grandmother. my mother is not a baker, the woman considers no-bake cookies a dreadful task. no. bake… so she sure was not pulling golden loaves of banana-goodness from the oven on the weekends. my mom is more apt to devour a steak dinner in the AM, rather than a dainty slice or muffin. that said, i have no favorite banana bread like so many of you probably do. so, i devised my own with a few delightful additions.

i did a quick search for banana breads and was led to simply recipes, which is a pretty amazing source for recipes. i added bourbon (like i saw on the ever wonderful smitten kitchen), chopped chocolate and pecans, and a few grates of nutmeg. i used organic cane sugar this time (you don’t have to i just have a massive bag) and also reduced the amount to 3/4 cup.

sean really enjoyed the bread, he said it was, “um, so awesome. i liked the bits of chocolate and tasty nuts.”

tasty nuts…haha.

sorry. he actually used those words, i can’t help myself ;)

banana bread with chocolate chunks and pecans
adapted from simply recipes. i used 3 paper loaf forms, which i reduced the baking time to 40 minutes. if you use a single loaf pan the baking time is 1 hour.

3-4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon bourbon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg of the freshly grated variety
pinch salt
1/3 cup chopped chocolate, i used valrhona
1/2 cup chopped pecans

preheat oven to 350 F.

in a large bowl mix butter into banana with a wooden spoon. mix in sugar, egg, vanilla and bourbon, incorporate well. sprinkle baking soda over the top of the mixture along with salt, mix. fold in flour. fold in nuts and chocolate. pour into buttered pan (4 x 8 in loaf) and bake for 1 hour. cool on a wire rack. remove from pan to slice.