Friday, February 5, 2010

The BAKED Brownie


Hey! Guess what! This brownie is so popular, the BAKED boys have the recipe up at amazon.com. Don't ask me. I don't generally look there for recipes. But there it is, so here you go. Lucky you!

Here's the thing: we do brownies in my family. And when I say we "do" them, I mean, they are a traditional part of pretty much every gathering we have. It's not a party until somebody shows up with a pan full of uncooked brownie batter and throws it in the oven so they're hot and ready when it's time for dessert.


When I was a teenager, I would make brownies using boxed mixes and The Pie Queen always told me to follow the "cakelike" instructions. Once I was out on my own, I discovered that I prefer fudgy/gooey to "cakelike", and I've been making them that way since. All this is to say, a gooey brownie is not new to me. But this. This. Goes beyond gooey goodness to deep chocolate-y, buttery, delicious perfection.

The BAKED boys say it best: "The brownie--the perfectly fudgy, intensely chocolaty brownie--is an endangered species. Terrible variations on the classic brownie are popping up and taking over like weeds. There are cakey versions, dry versions, versions with gloppy, sweet icing and versions that lack any chocolate taste. This recipe is an attempt to set things right and bring back the elegance to the humble brownie."



Yep, you brought it back. Of course, the deliciousness may have something to do with the fact that there are two different kinds of dark chocolate in it. And that I finally bought good cocoa. I really can taste the difference. I'll never go back.


No, the color balance isn't off in any of these photos, apparently good cocoa is red. Who knew?! Not to mention the wee little bit of espresso powder that makes the chocolate taste that much more intense. I found another blogger who wrote about this recipe and she complained that it was too buttery. WHAT?! "Too" and "buttery" are two words I never expect to see next to one another. Speaking of which, I think the combination of butter, dark chocolate, and espresso powder all melted together may be the most tasty substance on earth. Could I eat it and bathe in a vat of it at the same time? Happily.


TGIP Rating--The BAKED Brownie--KEEPER. Family, be prepared, I'm showing up with them next time we gather.

Next up: It's been almost 6 months since the last time I baked bread. I blame going back to work. Bread isn't something you can whip up between getting home from work and wrestling the children into bed. So, I'll set aside time on a weekend day to try a different recipe for rye bread. I wasn't completely thrilled with the last (and first) rye bread recipe I tried. I'm going to give smitten kitchen's a try.

2 comments:

gaypet said...

Butter, chocolate and coffee are three of the four food groups. Alcohol being the 4th.

I am going to try these browies. I know it sounds lame but I have had trouble finding a homemade brownie recipe that I thought was worth the effort.

My trick for bread baking with little time is to make the poolish one night. Dough the next night. And then bake it on night 3. I do the final rise in the fridge so I have 12 to 24 hours before baking. Breaks up how much time you need in one day but makes for great flavor.

Thanks for the recipes and tips. You rock. :)

You probably know this site and I may even have sent it to you before but this is my bread baking be-all-end-all:

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/

gaypet said...

The fresh loaf

Forgot how to link in blogger for a sec. Sorry. :)