Quintuple Chocolate Brownies (TWD extra!)

I needed to make some brownies last week, so I propped open my Dorie book and had fun reading all the recipes (does anyone else read cookbooks like novels now? I'm not sure when I started doing that...) There are SO many that I had a hard time choosing. I ended up making the Quintuple Chocolate Brownies because they looked so decadent and delish (which was a funny coincidence because it was one of the alternate recipes for this week). They were! Picture this- semisweet chocolate, unsweetened chocolate, milk chocolate, cocoa powder, and white chocolate to top it off.

Here's the birthday treat, ready to go. I like how it looked like a box of chocolates, but was huge! I made a double batch and baked them in an 11 x 13 pan- they were thick and delicious, though the large portions I cut were way too much to handle. Next time I think I'll make them a little thinner and cut them into little bites so it's just as tasty and less overwhelming.

I ended up making the Cashew Cream again for the glaze and it worked well. I bet it would taste awesome doing that and using Cashews for the nuts (I used walnuts). I enjoyed this recipe and had fun making this easy and tasty batter. Even with the nuts in the brownies I thought the texture was perfect and so good. Another winner from Dorie!


Quintuple Chocolate Brownies
From “Baking: From My Home to Yours” by Dorie Greenspan

For the Brownies:
1/2 C. Flour
1/4 C. Unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 t. salt
1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 T. strong coffee (I omitted this)
1 C. sugar
3 large eggs
1 t. pure vanilla
6 ounces premium-quality milk chocolate, chopped into chips, or 1 cup store-bought milk chocolate chips
1 C. chopped nuts

For the Glaze:
6 ounces premium-quality white chocolate, finely chopped, or 1 cup store-bought white chocolate chips
1/3 C. heavy cream (I used 1/2 C. Cold Water and 1/2 C. Raw Cashews, blended)

Getting Ready:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil and place the pan on a baking sheet. (Yes, that's a postage scale sitting there measuring my chocolate... although I want a fancy one from Williams Sonoma, this one works great!)

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. (I'd never done this before but it worked great... I just used Pam with Flour after lining my pan with foil)

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 about 20 minutes to dry the glaze.

Cut into 16 squares, each roughly 2-1/4 inches on a side.