Monday, March 25, 2013

Dark Chocolate Brownies


Maybe I should call it death by chocolate brownies. This is definitely chocolate lover dreams. It is dark, rich, fudgy and full of chocolate flavor without overwhelmed of sweetness. Diana love brownies but I will indulge her with this once a year which is on her birthday. I bake this and sent some to her last week and share the rest with a couple of my friends. They were decadent but should only be eaten in extreme moderation so can't keep it for ourselves to indulge ;)



Ingredients:

3/4 cup flour
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
3/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder
5 oz dark chocolate bar, finely chopped
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Ganache top:

6 oz. high quality dark chocolate (I used Ghirardelli 60% cocoa)
1/2 cup half and half or cream
1 tbsp butter


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8x8-inch pan. Line with parchment paper and let it hang over two sides. Butter the parchment.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, and salt; set aside.
3. In a large saucepan, combine butter and espresso powder. Heat on low and stir until butter has melted. Add chocolate, and stir constantly until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and stir in both sugars until combined. Let cool slightly.
4. Whisk eggs and vanilla into the chocolate mixture and keep moving the batter around until combined and no longer grainy-looking. Add flour mixture to batter and stir just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan; smooth top with a greased spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a just a few moist crumbs attached (28 to 30 minutes). Please don't over bake!
6. While this is going on, make your ganache by heating the cream and butter in a microwave-safe dish for about 2 minutes. Add the chocolate chips to this and allow to sit without moving for about 30 sec. Then mix them until smooth. Once the ganache is nice and shiny, pour it evenly over the brownies and set it aside to cool down.
7. Once a brownie is cool place the brownies in the fridge for about 20 minutes before cutting.

14 comments:

Katie said...

They look georgeous! Beautifully decorated with the raspberry sand mint leaf, makes them look really ellegant

Shereen said...

They are too pretty to eat!!! So elegant looking and the cutting is so neat!!! Would try this recipe soon:)

My Little Space said...

Howdy Gert! If I can just have a slice of this....my world will definitely turn around....from blue Monday to sugar high Friday. :o)
Have a great week ahead dear.
blessings, Kristy

Unknown said...

beautiful blog:)

http://dolci5stelle.blogspot.it/

suituapui said...

Oooo...wish you could send some my way. Slurpsss!!!

PH said...

Beautiful brownies! Wish I could have some :)

Esther Lau said...

Beautiful and amazing chocolate texure. I am fan of chocolate cake, will try this next time.

missyblurkit said...

They look delightfully good. Death by chocolate indeed. Since I am in my current chocolate craze, this will be on the list to bake real soon....as soon as I recover from my nasty cough!

The Experimental Cook said...

Oh no! Now I feel like having one!

Anonymous said...

Love dark chocolate and in brownie is the best. I would add some dark roast coffee in it for more chocolate taste. Since love dark roast coffee too.

Lisa

Anonymous said...

...haha, reading your wonderful food blog is making me fat already...love ya!!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

I am just drooling over your dark chocolate fudgy brownies! I can never say no to chocolate! Yums and thumbs up to these brownies!

ICook4Fun said...

Katie, thank you.

Shereen, where go neat. Just look at all the uneven sizes :)

Kristy, I wish you live nearby so I can share these with you.

Dolci, thank you.

Arthur, cannot lah..by the time it reach you it will be all smash up and mouldy.

Phong Hong, thank.

Esther, thank you. Me too :)

Missyblurkit, thank you. Hope you are feeling much better. better lay off the chocolate until you are well :)

The Experimental Cook, :)

Lisa, I did add some espresso to it.

Anon, oooh no... :(

Bee Bee, me either :)

Unknown said...

I shouldnt read this in the middle of the night :p Love the chocolate ganache topping. This recipe is definitely a keeper