eat.this.food.

 

Outrageous Brownies July 26, 2006

Filed under: sweet treats — arti @ 9:23 pm

Outrageous BrowniesSeriously, these are outrageous. They reminded our quality control taste tester, Zack, of a candy bar.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb unsalted butter
  • 1 lb plus 12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
  • 6 oz unsweetened chocolate
  • 6 extra-large eggs
  • 3 Tbs instant coffee granules
  • 2 Tbs pure vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 cups chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  1. Butter and flour a 12 x 18 x 1 inch baking sheet.
  2. Melt butter, 1 lb of chocolate chips and unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. (Or you can place chocolate and butter in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 2 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently.) Allow to cool slightly.
  3. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar.
  4. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.
  5. In a medium bowl, sift 1 cup flour, baking powder, and salt.
  6. Add flour to chocolate mixture.
  7. Toss walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips with 1/4 cup of flour.
  8. Add nuts and chocolate chips to chocolate batter.
  9. Pour into baking sheet.
  10. Bake for 20 minutes. Then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and brownie dough.
  11. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. DO NOT OVERBAKE!
  12. Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut into 20 large squares.

These are SO rich…I usually make a 1/2 batch and cut the squares much smaller. A little goes a long way!

Recipe from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

 
 

Earl Grey Chocolate Cupcakes July 25, 2006

Filed under: sweet treats, experimental — arti @ 6:46 pm

earl_grey_cupcake

We have embarked on an new adventure with some inspiration from Cupcake Bakeshop by Chockylit and Ethel’s Earl Grey Chocolate Truffle. This is what we came up with…with variations on the theme to come!

Earl Grey Devil’s Food Chocolate Cake
makes 24 cupcakes / 350 degree oven

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1-1/2 cups milk infused with earl grey tea
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 eggs

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Heat milk and steep 2 Earl Grey tea bags in milk for 30 minutes.
  3. Cool to room temperature.
  4. Measure out everything but the eggs directly into your mixer bowl.
  5. Mix on low speed just until incorporated.
  6. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes.
  7. Add eggs, beat on high speed again for 2 minutes.
  8. Measure out into cupcake pan lined with cupcake papers. A 2″ ice cream scoop works great for this.
  9. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
  10. Let cool slightly in the pan then transfer to a rack to cool completely before frosting.

Earl Grey Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients:

  • 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate
  • 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
  • 1-1/4 cup whipping cream
  • 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup whole milk infused with earl grey tea
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

  1. Heat milk in microwave for 1 minute. Add 2 earl grey teabags and steep for 30 minutes.
  2. Chop chocolates and transfer into a heat proof bowl.
  3. Heat cream until bubbles form around the edge of the pan, pour cream over the chocolate.
  4. Let sit for 1 minute then stir until combined.
  5. Add butter to the chocolate (make sure its soft and at room temp) and stir until combined.
  6. Whisk together sugar, salt, milk, and vanilla in another bowl until combined.
  7. Pour the sugar mixture onto the chocolate mixture, then stir until combined and smooth.
  8. Let sit at room temperature until thickened.
  9. Beat with an electric mixer until fluffy.

Our end product was a success. The texture of the cake and consistency of the frosting were right on. The tea flavor was subtle. It wasn’t obvious what the unusual flavor was, but a different flavor could be detected. We were happy with our experiement…but we kept thinking and have come up with a different take on this…so stay posted!