m. asked for brownies for his birthday. he got cream cheese swirls. triple chocolate. walnut with a caramel drizzle. and vegan brownies with raspberries.
cream cheese brownies
(from martha stewart)
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for pan
1 cup plus two tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
4 ounces room-temperature bar cream cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
preheat oven to 350f. grease a 9inch pan and line with parchment. grease parchment. whisk 1 cup flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
place 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter and chocolate in a double boiler. heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes; remove bowl from pan. add 1 1/4 cups sugar; mix to combine. add 3 eggs. stir in flour and cocoa mixture.
whisk bar cream cheese with 2 tablespoons room-temperature butter. whisk in 1/4 cup sugar, 1 egg, and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour. alternately spoon chocolate batter and cream-cheese mixture into pan; with the tip of a paring knife, swirl to marble. bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 50 to 60 minutes. cool in pan for 30 minutes.
triple chocolate brownies
(epicurious)
6 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
preheat oven to 350f.
in a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water melt the bittersweet chocolate and the unsweetened chocolate with the butter, stirring until the mixture is smooth, remove the bowl from the heat, and let the mixture cool until it is lukewarm. Stir in the sugar and the vanilla and add the eggs, 1 at a time, stirring well after each addition. stir in the salt and the flour, stirring until the mixture is just combined, and stir in the chocolate chips. pour the batter into a well-buttered and floured 13- by 9-inch baking pan, smooth the top, and bake the mixture in the middle of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a tester comes out with crumbs adhering to it. let the mixture cool completely in the pan on a rack.
brownies (with walnuts and caramel drizzle)
(from the baked cookbook)
1 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
11 ounces quality dark chocolate (60-72%), chopped coarsely
8 ounces butter (2 sticks), cut into 1 inch cubes
1 tsp instant espresso powder
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
5 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
preheat oven to 350f.
grease the sides and bottom of a glass or light colored metal pan 9x13x2 pan.
in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, the salt, and cocoa powder.
place the chocolate, the butter, and the instant espresso powder in the bowl of a double boiler and stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and combined. turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water of the double boiler and add both sugars. whisk the sugars until completely combined and remove the bowl from the pan.
add three eggs to the chocolate/butter mixture and whisk until just combined. add the remaining eggs and whisk until just combined. add the vanilla and stir until combined. do not over beat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.
sprinkle the flour/cocoa/salt mix over the chocolate. fold the dry into the wet until there is just a trace amount of the flour/cocoa mix visible.
pour the mixture into the pan and smooth the top with your spatula. bake the brownies for 30 minutes (rotate the pan half-way through baking) and check to make sure the brownies are completely done by sticking a toothpick into the center of the pan. the brownies are done when the toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
cool the brownies completely before cutting and serving.
vegan brownies
(from post punk kitchen)
1/3 cup flour
2/3 cup cold water
12 oz extra firm silken tofu
1 cup semi-sweet chocloate chips
1 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
in a blender puree the tofu, flour and water until smooth. pour it into a sauce pan, and whisk constantly over low heat until it thickens (it should not boil, if it starts to turn the heat down). remove from heat and stir in the chocolate chips, salt, vanilla and sugar. stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted. set the mixture aside to cool completely.
preheat the oven to 350f.
sift the 1 1/2 cups of flour, the cocoa and the baking powder together. fold in the tofu mixture until well combined and smooth.
spread evenly in a greased baking pan for 35-40 minutes, or until a knife comes out
(i would consider substituting apple sauce for half of the oil)
