Thursday, May 28, 2009

The Brownies They Serve In Heaven

I don't know what else to say about this month's Barefoot Blogger recipe except that these brownies are so very very good, that someone should write a poem about them. Someone should declare a national holiday. A marching band should announce their arrival. A crowd of groupies should form outside my kitchen, just hoping for a sniff. And said brownies should be packaged up and sent to anyone feeling a bit morose as evidence that life can be infinitely improved with a small slab of gooey brownies. Yes, they are that good.

Having just returned home mid-renovation, and still swamped by dust and chaos, I shopped for this recipe without really contemplating how much brownie I was about to make. Yes, I can be vague but 1 1/4 cups of flour sounds quite reasonable for a normal sized tin, but gosh, nearly a kilo of chocolate, 1/2 a kilo of sugar, and so on did seem a little extreme. It was only when I pulled out the tape measure to see which tin I should use, I realised that the only tin of the required dimension that I had was the bottom half of the griller rack for my oven. So I did the only thing possible - lined it completely with baking paper and created a brownie that had the same sized footprint as my oven. Oh my. Which then created a minor disaster when the tin was way too big to get in the fridge, and I was trying to shuffle the world's biggest brownie into pieces and onto smaller trays....Luckily, it was so good, that I have had no trouble palming brownies off onto everyone I have seen this week, plus I have two tupperwares of them in the freezer. Unless you want a similarly huge pan of brownies, feel free to chop this recipe in half. Only in Ina's world, does this recipe make 20 brownies. And don't skip the coffee - you don't taste it but somehow it makes the chocolate more intense.

Thanks to Eva of I'm Boring for her fantastic choice. And if you feel like making some really amazing food courtesy of the Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten a couple of times a month, join us at the Barefoot Bloggers.

Outrageous Brownies
from "The Barefoot Contessa" By Ina Garten

500g unsalted butter
500g plus 350g semisweet chocolate chips, divided
180g unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
2 tablespoons instant coffee powder
1 1/2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (1 cup for batter and 1/4 cup in the chips and nuts)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups diced walnut pieces (I used a mixture of walnuts and pecans because that is what I had)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 18 by 5cm sheet pan.
Melt together the butter, 500g chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.

Stir together 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips with 1/4 cup flour to coat. Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. (I didn't do this as I had completely lined the baking tin with baking paper). Do not over-bake! Cool thoroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.

13 comments:

Deb in Hawaii said...

These were excellent brownies! I made a half batch and still had tons--plus I think if one were to eat one of Ina's 20 brownies, they would overdose on chocolate and butter! ;-)

chocolatechic said...

Brilliant!

These were just so fabulous.

h2babe said...

I can't believe how much this recipe makes! My husband and I are making an effort to hit the gym more thanks to Ina!

spike. said...

Your brownies look fantastic! loved these too

Anonymous said...

The title is perfect.

Cathy said...

You are absolutely right - these are the brownies that I expect to see in heaven. I almost couldn't believe what went into them. But wow, they sure lived up to all that butter and chocolate promise! Yours look incredible!

Penny said...

Your brownie looks beautiful. Funny post. Finding the right pan was even hard when I halved the recipe. Mine turned out gooeyer because the pan wasn't big enough. But still the best brownie ever.

Heather S-G said...

Oh my gosh, this makes me laugh...LOL! I can't believe you used your broiler/oven pan!! I have to say, they were quite delicious, though :)

jenny said...

haha thanks for the comment on my post. you were FAR more daring than i in making the whole recipe. i'd like to eat one of ina's 20-count brownies.

i think what this reveals is that you need to buy a bigger oven =)!

Jennifer said...

Your brownies look wonderful! I'm SO jealous!

Peggy said...

You are right - these were made in Heaven for sure! They were so good I couldn't wait to get home from work last night to gobble down another one! Mine didn't cut well though, but sure tasted good. Yours look perfect.

kelly said...

Thanks for your comment! These were so decadent!

Eva said...

I have the most hilarious image trying to get the brownies into the fridge! I made 2 9x13 pans so that I could handle them and pack them up. Glad you liked the recipe!