Salted Caramel Brownies

What a nice surprise to find my blog NoSetMenu with 36,000++ hits. Say what??  In absentia in blogging for two (2) years, I found my blog with thousands of hits. The thousands is an icing on the cake really. I know 36,000 is a pathetic number, as other bloggers would have millions but hey it is still something to reckon with and be proud of. Somewhere across the universe, there are kindred spirits who share my interest. Lol. My intention of opening a blog is to share with you my love for food. Or creating them for that matter. If randomly you found the recipes and you are able to re-create them then Im a happy camper. I have some pushover friends and friends of my little boy who encouraged me - to open a blog that is; a treasure chest where I could keep memories of my tiny kitchen, an avenue to hone my interest and a  place where my creative juices overflow.

To cut the chase off, here is a recipe that will knock your socks off;

*Recipe snagged from Ed Kimber/TheBoyWhoBakes

** Photos are all mine. All raw.

Salted Caramel Brownies – Makes 12

Salted Caramel Filling
175g caster sugar
150ml double cream
10g unsalted butter
large pinch of flaked sea salt

Fudge Brownies
180g plain flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder (my preferred brand is Green and Blacks)
1/4 tsp salt
300g dark chocolate, around 65-75% cocoa solids
150g unsalted butter
220g light brown sugar
150g caster sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

To make the caramel place the sugar into a medium saucepan, set over medium heat and cook until the sugar melts and caramelises – make sure to cook it far enough – it should look like the colour of an old penny. Pour in half the cream and all the salt, be careful the mixture will bubbly up violently. Once the mixture has calmed down pour in the remaining cream followed by the butter, if there are any lumps place the pan back on the heat and stir until smooth. Take off the heat and allow to cool and then pour into a squeeze bottle (this makes it easier to spread the caramel later).

For the brownies preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Grease a 9×13 light coloured pan and line with a strip of parchment leaving about a 2-inch overhang along the long edges to make removing the brownies easier. Sieve the flour, cocoa powder and salt together into a medium bowl and set aside. Place the chocolate and butter into a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water, and stir occasionally until the mixture is fully melted. Take the bowl of the heat and add the eggs and sugars and beat until the mixture is smooth. Sieve over the flour mixture and gently fold together.

Divide the mixture equally in half and spread out the first half into the prepared tin. Using the squeeze bottle pour the caramel over the batter leaving a 1 1/2 cm border around the outside. You now need to spread the remaining batter over the caramel and this bit can be a little tricky. You can gently drape it over the caramel but it can be hard to get an even layer so my preferred method is to use a piping bag using a wide flat piping tip(with the flat side facing up).

Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 until the a skewer inserted into the middle comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, you dont want raw batter. Allow to cool completely before using a sharp knife to cut into squares.

Peanut Butter Crunch Brownie Bars

I am back to where I belong - my kitchen and baking; I have found my place under the sun; I haven't lost my mojo...I hope! :)

And while work occupies my 8 to 5, and continuously poses a challenge to my otherwise mundane life (mundane is good after all. I have realised the beauty of it when I started working again. Oooh to go back to being a plain housewife again, is all but a dream now. Lol! ), "I am a home maker".  Therefore I am. :))

Snagged from http://www.browneyedbaker.com/

Yield: 24 brownies

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Bake Time: 25 minutes

1 batch of your favourite brownie recipe for a 9×13-inch pan (Chewy brownies recipe below)

½ cup salted peanuts

8 Reese’s peanut butter cups, chopped (I used Reese's 1/2 cup peanut butter chips instead)

1½ cups milk chocolate chips

1½ cups creamy peanut butter

½ tablespoon unsalted butter

1½ cups Rice Krispies cereal (I used Kellog's corn cereal instead)

1. Prepare the brownies according to the directions and bake for about 5 minutes less than the recipe states. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the top with the peanuts and chopped peanut butter cups. Return to the oven and bake for 5 additional minutes.

2. While they are finishing baking, melt the chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in the cereal to evenly coat. Remove the brownies from the oven and evenly pour the chocolate and peanut butter mixture over top. Spread to cover evenly. Refrigerate for 2 hours before cutting and serving. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Chewy Brownies

Yield: 24 brownies

1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa

1½ teaspoons instant espresso (optional)

½ cup plus 2 Tablespoons boiling water

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted

½ cup plus 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2½ cups (17½ ounces) sugar

1¾ cups (8¾ ounces) all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon salt

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into ½-inch pieces

1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving about a one-inch overhang on all sides. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Whisk cocoa, espresso powder, and boiling water together in large bowl until smooth. Add unsweetened chocolate and whisk until chocolate is melted. Whisk in melted butter and oil. (Mixture may look curdled.) Add eggs, yolks, and vanilla and continue to whisk until smooth and homogeneous. Whisk in sugar until fully incorporated. Add flour and salt and mix with rubber spatula until combined. Fold in bittersweet chocolate pieces.

3. Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick inserted halfway between edge and center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack and cool 1½ hours.

4. Using foil overhang, lift brownies from pan. Return brownies to wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour. Cut into 2-inch squares and serve. Brownies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Dolce and Gabbana Brownies

"Life is not measured by the breaths we take; But by the moments that take our breath away"

I was saving to make these brownies for a special occasion, but I reckon spending a lazy Sunday with my little boy is a special occasion in itself, so bake out loud I did. 

We buy random things hoping to use them during special occasions; things we don't inherently need but because they are on sale, perhaps they will come handy...someday. We postpone realising our dream, thinking that the right time will come...someday. We are afraid to take risk because the universe out there is virtually unknown, too afraid to lose ourselves if we take the chance. We are too scared to take a leap of faith because extrapolation in normal distribution means a skew in the graph. :)) We have special things for special occasions, obviously we seldom use them because special occasion by virtue of its essential definition means rare or rarity. I am no exception, Im part of the normal distribution. But one thing is for sure, in my scheme of things, I try to level up my playing field a little bit and count my loose coins, ergo, upping my ante. 

These brownies are upping my ante...without trying to lose myself in effect. Lol! The swirl of chocolates and the spread of hazelnut are luxury and a pretence that these are too hard to make. Make no mistake, the core is still brownies, amidst the swirls and the spreads. We are not trying to change the core of what this is, we are just spreading our wings and well, you know now, upping the ante. 

Cafe Fernando made these brownies for Dolce and Gabbana's digital magazine, hence the name. But if you take away the name "Dolce and Gabbana then it is simply 32 inches of gooey-ful goodness of brownies with hazelnut spread and chocolate lace. And hey, they are ridiculously delicious!

Adapted from www.cafefernando.com

Ingredients

For Brownies:

10.5 ounces (300 grams) bittersweet (%70 cacao) chocolate, chopped

2/3 cup (10 tablespoons/150 grams) unsalted butter, plus more for pan

3/4 cup (105 grams) all-purpose flour

1/2 cup (35 grams) Dutch-process cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1+1/2 cup (300 grams) granulated sugar

5 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For Hazelnut Butter Frosting:

1 14-ounce (400 grams) jar smooth hazelnut butter

For Chocolate Lace Decoration:

4.5 ounces (150 grams) bittersweet (%70 cacao) chocolate, chopped

Method

To make the brownies, adjust the oven rack to the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Butter a 9-by-13-inch rectangular cake pan, line bottom and sides with parchment paper and set aside.

Place the chopped chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler set over hot water and allow to melt slowly, stirring often. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cooled chocolate followed by the vanilla extract, and whisk until combined. Fold in the flour and cocoa mixture with a spatula. Pour the mixture into the baking pan, smooth the top with a spatula and bake for 30 minutes.

Allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes, then turn out and leave to cool completely on a wire rack. Trim the top crust and half-an-inch from each side and place in the refrigerator until chilled, for about 30 minutes.

To make the hazelnut butter frosting, place the hazelnut butter in a small pot over low heat and stir until it is runny. Pour over cooled brownie, smooth the top with a spatula, place the frosted brownies in the refrigerator and chill completely, for about an hour.

To make the chocolate lace decoration, place the chopped chocolate in the top of a double boiler set over hot water and allow to melt slowly, stirring often. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

Place a 16-inch-long parchment paper on your work surface. Draw an 8-by-12 inch rectangular with a pencil, turn the other side and place it on a baking tray. Pour the melted chocolate into a piping bag fitted with the smallest (about 1 milimeter) plain tip and pipe the lace decoration the size of your brownie. Place the baking tray together with a large offset spatula in the refrigerator and wait until the chocolate is set, for about an hour.

Transfer the brownie on your serving plate. Remove the chocolate decoration from the refrigerator and with the help of a large chilled offset spatula go underneath the decoration, pick it up and place it on the brownie. Heat the blade of a large knife with a heat gun or stick it in a cup of hot water for a few minutes and then wipe off the water (heating the blade helps with cutting through the chocolate decoration without breaking it into pieces), cut the brownie into 12 identical squares and serve.

My favorite Brownies

I dont know about you, but this is my favourite brownies recipe, thus far. I have made these brownies countless times for countless friends and loved ones and they have nothing but oohs and aaahs about  them. In fact the photos posted here are from my latest bake. 

I have tried and tested more than three (3) different recipes but this one always takes the cake, eerm, brownies! :)) I keep coming back to it. At the end of the day, I'd rather be with the best.

I know some of you have recipes bequeathed by your mothers and grandmothers but it wouldn't hurt to include this recipe into your repertoire of sweets recipes. 

*Inspired by http://cafefernando.com/hazelnut-brownies/

Ingredients

10 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter

1 cup sugar

1+1/2 cups (8 oz) hazelnuts, blanched & toasted (divided)

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

6 ounces (170 grams) milk (%40 cacao) chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup pistachios, slivered

Method

Center a rack in the oven and preheat your oven to 350F.

Line bottom and sides of a 9-inch square pan with parchment paper and set aside.

Place one cup of the toasted hazelnuts into a food processor and process until finely ground.

Chop the rest of the hazelnuts roughly.

Melt butter and chocolate in a bowl over simmering water and let cool for 5 minutes.

Add sugar and whisk until combined.

Add the eggs, one at a time, and whisk until combined.

Stir in the vanilla extract.

Fold in flour, ground hazelnuts (1 cup) and salt into the batter.

Fold in roughly chopped hazelnuts (1/2 cup) into the batter.

Pour the mixture into the baking pan, smooth the top with a spatula and bake for 35 minutes.

Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into squares

Melt the milk chocolate in a bowl over simmering water. Let cool for 5 minutes and pour over cooled brownie.
Smooth the top with a spatula and sprinkle with pistachios.
Place in the refrigerator and let the milk chocolate set. Serve it cold.