Quintuple Chocolate Brownies

Okay, so the ladies from the knot have all bought the book Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. We are going to take turns choosing a recipe. I think we decided we will be baking on a biweekly basis. The first selection was page 99, the Quintuple Chocolate Brownies.

I am not that crazy about them. I think it's too rich and dare I say too much chocolate. This will be the first and last time I make them. My husband is going to take them to work tomorrow, so that will be the true test I guess.

the recipe:

FOR THE BROWNIES:

½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp salt
1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 Tbs strong coffee (I left this out because I was not going to buy coffee for the recipe)
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

6 ounces premium- quality milk chocolate, chopped into chips, or 1 cup store-bought milk choc. chips
1 cup chopped nuts (optional) - I used Cashews, Dorie suggested at some point to try it this way.



FOR THE GLAZE:

6 ounces premium- quality white chocolate, finely chopped, or 1 cup store- bought white chocolate chips
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream


Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven, and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a 9-inch baking pan with foil, butter the foil and place the pan on a baking sheet.

Sift together the flour, cocoa and salt.

To Make the Brownies: Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and add, in the following order, the butter, the two chocolates and the coffee. Keeping the pan over low heat, warm just until the butter and chocolates are melted- you don't want the ingredients to get so hot they separate, so keep an eye on the bowl. Stir gently, and when the mixture is smooth, set it aside for 5 minutes.

Using a whisk or a rubber spatula, beat the sugar into the chocolate mixture. Don't beat too vigorously- you don't want to add air to the batter- and don't be concerned about any graininess. Next, stir in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla. You should have a smooth, glossy batter. If you're not already using a rubber spatula, switch to one now and gently stir in the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. Finally, stir in the milk chocolate chips and the nuts. Scrape the batter into the pan.

Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out streaked but not thickly coated. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the brownies rest undisturbed for at least 30 minutes. (You can wait longer, if you'd like.)

Turn the brownies out onto a rack, peel away the foil and place it under another rack- it will be the drip catcher for the glaze. Invert the brownies onto the rack and let cool completely.

To Make the Glaze: Put the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring the heavy cream to a boil and pour it over the chocolate. Wait 30 seconds, then, using a rubber spatula, gently stir until the chocolate is melted and the glaze is smooth.

Hold a long metal icing spatula in one hand and the bowl of glaze in the other. Pour the glaze onto the center of the brownies and use the spatula to nudge it evenly over the surface. Don't worry if it dribbles over the edges, you can trim the sides later (or not). Refrigerate the brownies for at least 30 minutes, or until the glaze is firm.

Cut into 16 squares, roughly 2¼ inches on a side.

Mine did not turn out pretty either. Hopefully when I take my cake decorating class I will get better with this type of stuff:)