Hello poor neglected blog! I’ve been traveling, and then not cooking anything interesting, and then taking even worse photos than usual, but we’re back, with brownies! These ones are very dense and soft, and apparently adapted from a recipe of Katharine Hepburn’s! It’s a one pot recipe, and comes together quite easily. These are extra good when served a bit warm, with some vanilla ice cream!
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (doesn’t make them taste coffee-y)
- 3/4 teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup caramel bits
- 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
Line an 8×8″ baking dish with parchment – these brownies will stick on even a well-greased pan. Pro-tip from the blog I got the recipe from is to lightly spray the pan with grease below the parchment, which holds the parchment in place before you put the batter in. Helpful! Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. (I used my toaster oven, which I always set a bit cooler, in this case 300, because the heating elements are so much closer to the food than in the regular oven.)
Combined the unsweetened chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until fully melted.
Remove from the heat and beat in the sugar.
Add the eggs, then the espresso powder, salt, and vanilla.
Fold in the flour, then the caramel bits and chocolate chips.
Transfer into the prepared pan.
Bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the pan, then bake another 15-20 minutes, until the edges have darkened and the top looks cooked.
Cool in the pan at least 30 minutes, then remove from the pan (remembering now that the bottom of your parchment will be greasy so you don’t want it directly on your counters), slice, and serve.
Chocolate Caramel Brownies
Slightly adapted from The Finely Quality Network.
- 2 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
- 3/4 teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup caramel bits
- 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
Line an 8×8″ baking dish with parchment – these brownies will stick on even a well-greased pan. Pro-tip from the blog I got the recipe from is to lightly spray the pan with grease below the parchment, which holds the parchment in place before you put the batter in. Helpful! Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
Combined the unsweetened chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until fully melted. Remove from the heat and beat in the sugar, followed by the eggs, then the espresso powder, salt, and vanilla. Fold in the flour, then the caramel bits and chocolate chips. Transfer into the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the pan, then bake another 15-20 minutes, until the edges have darkened and the top looks cooked. Cool in the pan at least 30 minutes, then remove from the pan, slice, and serve.
Ingredients:
Mix in the eggs and vanilla.
Whisk in the flour and salt, then the chocolate chips.
Spread into the crust.
Cool in the pan, on a wire rack, then slice and serve. If you lined the pan with parchment, you can lift out before slicing. Store in an airtight container.
Stir in the cereal and chocolate chips.
Turn out onto the lined pan and press into an even layer – it may be helpful to spray a silicone spatula with baking spray to press with.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in the pan on a wire rack, then break into chunks and store in an airtight container.
Combine the buttermilk, honey, salt, and baking soda (perhaps in a large measuring cup, which you can also use to microwave the buttermilk to warm it), whisk together, then pour into the yeast mixture.
Add 3 cups of the flour and mix until smooth on low speed of your mixture, starting with the paddle attachment, 3-5 minutes. Add the melted butter and mix until completely combined.
Add the remaining flour 1 cup at a time, continuing to mix on low speed. I do recommend briefly stirring by hand after each addition, so that turning on the mixer doesn’t create a huge cloud of loose flour. When the dough pulls from the sides of the bowl, remove and knead until smooth. I had hoped to knead fully just with the dough hook, but it seemed like much of the dough wasn’t really getting kneaded, so I did do it by hand.
Place the kneaded dough in a greased bowl, rotate to cover all sides of the dough in the grease, and cover. Let rise somewhere warm for 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled.
Grease two bread pans. Once risen, punch down and shape into two loaves, putting each into a greased pan with seam-side down. Lightly grease the top of the bread, then cover and let rise a further 45 minutes, or until the dough has reached the top of the bread pans.
Preheat the oven to 375, put in the loaves, and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the bread from the oven and brush the tops with melted butter.
Let cool on a rack in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove from the pans and let cool completely on a wire rack.
Ingredients:
Bake until set, about 8 minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool. You’re done with the oven now and can turn it off.
Pour the warm egg mixture back into the larger pot and return to the heat, bringing to a gentle boil while stirring constantly.
Boil for two minutes, then remove from the heat. Add the peanut butter and stir until smooth.
Pour into the cooled crust, cover, and refrigerate at least two hours.
After the filling has cooled, beat the heavy cream until it begins to thicken, then add the powdered sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. If you don’t expect the custard to all get eaten that day, add the tablespoon of pudding powder, which will ensure no liquid starts seeping out of the leftover whipped cream. Spread the whipped cream over the peanut butter layer, then top with the Reese’s Pieces and chocolate sauce.
At fridge temperature, this is a dish you serve with a spoon. For nice slices, freeze maybe an hour, then slice. Once it’s fully frozen, it becomes hard (but still possible) to draw a knife through, so half-frozen would be ideal.
If you’re not already aware – it’s easier to separate egg whites from the yolks cleanly while they’re cold, but then egg whites beat up better at room temperature, so this will go better if you separate your eggs and then let the whites sit for a bit to warm.
Gradually add the sugar mixture to the egg whites and continue beating until the egg whites reach stiff peaks.
Beat in the vanilla, then fold in the crushed Ritz and mini chocolate chips by hand.
Transfer the meringue mixture to the greased pie pan.
Place the meringue in the oven and reduce the temperature to 325 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely.
Ingredients:
Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese with a mixer on high until smooth and creamy, about a minute.
Add the yogurt and beat until well combined at medium-high, another minute.
Beat in the eggs/yolk.
Beat in the sugar, lemon juice and zest, and vanilla, making sure to scrape down the insides of the bowl.
Pour the filling into the crust.
Bake 34-38 minutes, until still somewhat jiggly but not still liquid.
Cool on a wire rack at room temperature for 1 hour, then refrigerate at least 3 hours, up to overnight.
When ready to serve, use the parchment to remove the bars from the pan and cut with a sharp knife, wiping down the knife between cuts if you care about nice edges. Serve with whipped cream and/or berries as desired. Store in the fridge for several days, or freeze and then thaw overnight in the fridge to keep for longer.
Ingredients:
Press the dough into the lined dish and pierce all over with a fork.
Bake 40-45 minutes, until lightly golden brown, then set aside (still in the dish) to cool.
I beat together the dough and then realized that the cream I had was actually half-and-half, so threw the dough in the freezer for a few days until I’d gone to the store, let it thaw in the fridge for a day, and then proceeded.
Reduce the heat while you add the butter, sugar, and cream, then raise to medium-high and cook until the mixture reads 255 degrees on a candy thermometer.
Remove from the heat, stir in the salt, and then quickly pour over the shortbread, spreading with a silicone spatula if needed to get an even layer. Let cool to room temp.
When you’re ready, melt the white chocolate and oil in the microwave (the chocolate probably has instructions on the package – I was pleased how well store brand white chocolate melted), stir until smooth, and then spread in an even layer over the caramel.
Let set at room temperature or in the fridge, then remove from the pan and slice.
Ingredients:
Whisk in 1/2 cup of the cream until fully incorporated.
Place over medium heat and cook, while whisking constantly, until the mixture reaches 160 degrees.
Pour the egg/cream mixture through the sieve into the chocolate, and discard anything solid left in the sieve. Add the vanilla and espresso powder and whisk together the chocolate, then let cool to room temperature, 20-30 minutes, stirring once in a while.
When the chocolate mixture is most of the way cooled, beat the remaining 3/4 cup cream in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beating until stiff peaks form. Whisk 1/3 of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture by hand to lighten.
Use a rubber spatula to fold the remaining whipped cream in just until mixed/no white streaks remain.
Transfer to a nice bowl or small ramekins, cover, and refrigerate until set, at least 6 hours.
Serve with whipped cream, sprinkles, in chocolate bowls, or however else you like!
sparecake 