TRIPLE CHOCOLATE LOVE

Posted in Cake, Cookies, Desserts by sallybr

Today I share three delicious recipes that center on that dreamy ingredient that almost every human being loves: chocolate. I have known a few members of our species who claim to “hate” chocolate, and my hope is that they get their genomes sequenced to solve the mystery. Anyway, I digress. The first recipe comes from my favorite baker-instructor-guru, Helen Fletcher. These are beyond amazing and not for the faint of heart. Rich. Decadent. Luscious. Special. They are Double Chocolate Truffled Muffins!

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE TRUFFLED MUFFINS
(from Helen Fletcher’s Pastries Like a Pro)

For the truffle component:
½ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (30 grams)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar (25 grams)
5 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (140 grams)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the muffin component:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (210 grams)
1 cup Dutch cocoa (85 grams)
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt (I use table salt)
1 ⅓ cups brown sugar, either dark or light (265 grams)
½ cup whole milk
¾ cup canola or vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream (225 grams)
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso powder
1 cup chocolate chunks (114 grams)

Start by making the truffle filling: Heat the cream, butter and sugar together in a small saucepan just until steamy. Do not let it come to a boil. Submerge the chocolate under the cream mixture and let it sit for 3 or 4 minutes. Whisk until smooth, making sure to get into the corners. Using a rubber spatula, go around the edges of the pan and bottom to make sure all of the chocolate is incorporated. Add the vanilla. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and set aside to cool.

Make the muffins: Line 9 jumbo muffin holes with paper liners. Set aside. Heat the oven to 425°F.

Sift the flour into a large bowl. Sift the cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt on top of the flour. Whisk together to mix well. In a very small bowl stir together the coffee or espresso and vanilla until the coffee or espresso is dissolved.

In a third smaller bowl, whisk together the milk, canola oil, eggs, sour cream, and coffee mixture. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon or fold together with a rubber spatula just until everything is mixed well. Do not over mix.

With a #8 disher/scooper or a ½ cup measure, drop the batter into the paper lined muffin cups for the jumbo muffins. Top generously with the chocolate chunks. Bake at 425°F for exactly 6 minutes for the jumbo and lower the temperature to 350°F. Continue to bake for about 20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool the muffins.

Starting about ½” from the edge of a muffin, insert a paring knife slanted towards the middle of the muffin and go all the way around the muffin. Remove the wedge shaped cake and set aside intact. To enlarge the hole for more filling, use a small spoon and scoop out additional cake.

Fit a piping bag with a ½” tip, fill with the truffle filling and pipe into the hole almost up to the top. Alternately, spoon the filling in. Replace the wedge shape piece pushing it into the filling.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Please make sure to read Helen’s blog post about them, as she gives detailed explanation of their origin and how she adapted the recipe to make it more user-friendly without any loss of deliciousness (I can testify to that, they are spectacular). The pictures do not make it justice, as so often is the case with brown food. Their texture is superb, and that filling is unreal! Thank you thank you thank you, Helen!

Moving on to the second recipe, credit goes to my beloved husband, who suggested that instead of coating Oreos with chocolate, I could do small pieces of brownies. I used a very small pan from Wilton to bake them. Without further ado…

CHOCOLATE-COVERED BROWNIE BITES

CHOCOLATE-COVERED BROWNIE BITES
(from Wilton website)

1 cup all-purpose flour (130g)
1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
1/3 cup cocoa powder (35g)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

to coat: compound chocolate like Candy Melts or Almond Bark
to decorate: sprinkles (optional)

Heat the oven to 350°F. Prepare the pan with baking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Add vegetable oil, egg, milk and vanilla extract; stir well until smooth. Divide batter evenly between cavities, smoothing into an even layer (about 1 tablespoon per cavity).
Bake for 13-16 minutes, or until edges are set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Cool in pan on a cooling rack 5-10 minutes, loosen edges if necessary, and remove. Let cool completely on the rack.

Melt the compound chocolate until smooth using gentle power in the microwave. If too thick, add a small amount of coconut oil (refined). Coat the bites and decorate right away, or after setting, if going with drizzles of melted compound chocolate.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I got this pan at a sale in Jo-Ann store in town, and of course, could not resist it (info here). You can use silicone pans, or any other type of pan that makes mini-cakes. To coat, you can use two different methods. First, just melt the chocolate in a bowl and dip the cake to coat. That will give a rustic appearance, and you can add sprinkles right away. Second method will require you to clean the pan, then add melted chocolate in each cavity and quickly place the cake inside, pressing a bit so that the chocolate moves up along the sides. You can coat the bottom or not. Let it harden, remove from the pan, and if desired, make decorations with swirls of melted chocolate, I used white for that. Below you can see the different outcome.

And now for the last recipe, what might seem like your regular chocolate chip cookie, but it is truly special, due to the inclusion of an unexpected ingredient: buttermilk. You must give this recipe a try!

BUTTERMILK CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

BUTTERMILK CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
(slightly modified from Yesterfood blog)

2 cups flour (260g)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, unsalted, melted
3/4 cup cocoa powder (75g)
1 + 1/2 cups sugar (300g)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 (12 oz.) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (about 2 cups)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk the cocoa powder and melted butter until very smooth. Stir in the sugar, vanilla, and buttermilk until well combined.

Add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture in thirds, stirring each time just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Scoop cookie dough onto prepared cookie sheets by heaping tablespoonfuls about 2″ apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until cookies are puffed, edges are set, and center is still moist. Place cookie sheets on wire racks for 5 minutes, then remove cookies onto wire racks to cool completely. Store tightly covered.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: These cookies will definitely please any chocolate lover out there. It almost feels as if you are having a brownie. Excellent texture, I reduced the sugar from the published version and I think it was a good move. I do hope you give it a try…

So, that’s all for now, three real nice recipes celebrating chocolate!

ONE YEAR AGO: It’s Sourdough, Witches!

TWO YEARS AGO: Raw Zucchini and Chickpea Salad with Tahini Yogurt

THREE YEARS AGO: Black Tahini Shortbread Cookies

FOUR YEARS AGO: A Fruitful Trio (of Macarons)

FIVE YEARS AGO: Halloween Entremet Cake

SIX YEARS AGO: Pork with Prunes, Olives and Capers

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Kansas Corn Chowder

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Impossibly Cute Bacon and Egg Cups

NINE YEARS AGO: Pulling Under Pressure

TEN YEARS AGO: Cooking Sous-vide: Two takes on Chicken Thighs

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Miso Soup: A Japanese Classic

TWELVE YEARS AGO: On my desk

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: A must-make veggie puree

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Vegetarian Lasagna

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Brazilian Pão de Queijo

22Feb2020

BROWNIES, THREE WAYS

Posted in Cake, Desserts, Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

I share with you three takes on a very simple bake, the deliciously humble brownie. What makes a brownie a brownie? Tough to define precisely because lots of different recipes will take you to that territory. In general, it is a simple cake with just a few ingredients: butter, flour, chocolate, sugar and eggs. But a leavening agent might finds its way there also, in case the baker prefers a more cake-like version. Marriages have been damaged due to brownie divergencies. I advise you to date people who share your passion for fudgy or cakey. Back to what matters. My three versions are right here for you.

BROWNIE, TRADITIONAL

I like it to be dense, creamy, not cakey. I like a brownie with substance, but that melts in the mouth and brings with each bite a moment of introspection because words seem like such a waste.

This recipe, straight from the blog of Helen, my tent-baker friend, checks all the boxes.For the recipe, visit Bakers Anonymous with a click here.

BROWNIE, DRESSED UP

BROWNIE PIE
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

for the pastry shell:
(makes more than you need, save the rest in the freezer)
310g all purpose flour
30g powdered sugar
pinch of salt
170g butter (chilled and cut in small cubes)
3 egg yolks mixed with very cold water to make a volume of 6 tablespoons

for the chocolate brownie filling:
100 g coarsely chopped 70% chocolate
10 g Dutch-process cocoa powder
120 g unsalted butter
180 g whole eggs
130 g granulated sugar
50 g all-purpose flour, sifted
powdered sugar for decoration (optional)

Heat the oven to 375F.

Put the flour, sugar and salt in food processor then add the butter and process until the butter is in small pieces. With the motor running add the mixture of egg yolks and cold water. Stop the mixer before the pastry forms a ball, remove it from the processor and gently bring it all together with your hands over plastic wrap. Shape into a flat disc and leave it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Roll out the pastry to a thickness of about 3mm. I like to do it in between two plastic sheets (I cut the four sides of a large ziplock bag leaving just the bottom part attached, open it and roll the pastry inside it). Roll the dough as a circle large enough to cover the pan and leave a little extra around the sides. Place it in an 8-inch tart pan with removable bottom.

Line the surface with plastic wrap and fill with beans. Wrap the plastic over the beans so that it does not touch the metal sides of the pan. Blind bake for 15 minutes with the beans on, then carefully remove them and place the shell back in the oven for 20 more minutes. Remove and allow it to cool slightly.

Lower the temperature of the oven to 350 F.

Make the brownie filling. Gently melt the chocolate, cocoa powder and butter together in the microwave. In a bowl, lightly whisk the eggs and sugar by hand. Fold in the dark chocolate mixture, followed by the sifted flour. Continue gently folding using a spatula until well combined. Place the finished mixture into the blind-baked tart shell and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until it is set in the center.

Allow it to cool and decorate with powdered sugar using a stencil, if you like. Refrigerate until serving time.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

This was decadent. We offered pieces to some bricklayers working in a little project in our home and they were very VERY happy. This recipe has just enough flour to hold it together, so it is almost like enjoying a piece of ready to melt chocolate on top of a sweet tart shell. Bliss.

Am I the only one who sees a cute alien?

Now finally, my third version for you…

BROWNIE BITES, FOR FUN

BROWNIE BITES
(adapted from The Cookery Wife)

95 g all-purpose flour
200 g granulated sugar
75 g cocoa powder (I used natural)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, (1 stick, 113 g), room temperature
2 eggs
1 teaspoons vanilla paste
2 Tablespoons full-fat milk (optional)

Heat oven to 350F.

Spray your mini-cake pan with baking spray containing flour.

In the bowl of a stand mixer add dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa, salt. Stir to combine. Next, add eggs, vanilla, butter. Mix on low for 30 seconds, add the milk and mix on medium-high for 2 full minutes. Batter will be very thick. Place it in a piping bag (no need for piping tip). Cut an opening and fill the mini-cakes between 1/2 and 3/4 full.

Using the tip of your finger coated with a bit of butter, press the batter to smooth it out. Bake for 15 minutes until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes before removing from pan.

A toothpick can help loosen the sides, but be gentle. Cool completely over a rack before decorating with powdered sugar.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

First of all, don’t let the lack of a mini-cute-Bundt pan stop you from making these bites. A mini-muffin alternative will work just as well. But, you know I cannot resist a baking gadget. I was a bit afraid of them sticking to the pan, but most came out just with a gentle flip of the pan (see photo, bottom left). Just a few stayed in, but were also released with a gentle tap, no harm done. I think filling them just a little over half capacity is the ticket. If some of them dome a bit, you can gently shave the bump with a small serrated knife, so they will sit leveled.

They have great flavor and the texture is not dense, even though the batter started so thick. You can decorate them with powdered sugar, a drizzle of caramel, melted chocolate. I happened to have some leftover white chocolate ganache from a macaron adventure, so I added a touch of that to most of them. They are perfect to bring to parties or share with co-workers. I will bake them regularly, my next project will involve a lemon cake. The idea is to avoid cake batters that are too light, you need more substance to get them to unmold nicely and keep the overall design.