Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (37 page)

Transfer the cake to a cutting board. With a long, thin, sharp knife cut into squares or oblongs. (If the cake doesn’t cut neatly, transfer it to the freezer or refrigerator until firm and then cut it. I always chill it before cutting.)

Wrap the Brownies individually in cellophane or wax paper (not plastic wrap—it is too hard to handle), or arrange them on a tray and cover with plastic wrap. Either way, do not let them dry out.

They may be frozen, and may be served either at room temperature or frozen, directly from the freezer (delicious).

Black Pepper Brownies

12
S
MALL OR 24
L
ARGE
B
ROWNIES, OR 16
D
ESSERT
-S
IZE
P
ORTIONS

These are old-fashioned Brownies pepped up with black pepper (this amount is not too much—it will just give the Brownies a little zing). The Mexicans have been using pepper and chocolate together in hot chocolate drinks and in entrees for hundreds of years. After tasting these you might decide to add a dash of pepper to all dark, rich, sweet chocolate recipes. Or, if you do not want to use the pepper, just leave it out and you will have yummy Brownies—rich, dark, and moist. These are thicker, more chocolaty, and less sweet than the recipe for All-American Brownies.

4 ounces (4 squares) unsweetened chocolate

6 ounces (1½ sticks) sweet butter

⅛ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dry instant espresso or any other powdered (not granular) instant coffee

1 teaspoon black pepper, finely ground

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1¼ cups dark or light brown sugar, firmly packed

3 eggs (graded large or extra-large)

¾ cup sifted all-purpose flour

4 ounces (generous 1 cup) walnuts or pecans, broken into large pieces

Adjust the oven rack one-third up from the bottom and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a 9-inch square cake pan as follows: Turn the pan upside down. Cut a 12-inch square of aluminum foil, center it over the inverted pan, and fold the sides and corners down. Remove the foil, turn the pan upright, and place the foil in the pan. In order not to tear the foil use a folded towel or a pot holder to press the foil firmly into place in the pan. Brush with very soft or melted butter. Set the prepared pan aside.

Place the chocolate in the top of a small double boiler over hot water on moderate heat. Cover until partially melted, then uncover and stir until completely melted. Remove the top of the double boiler and set it aside, uncovered, to cool slightly.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter. Add the salt, instant coffee, black pepper, vanilla, and then the sugar and beat until blended. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and beating only until incorporated after each addition. On low speed add the chocolate and then the flour, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and again beating only until incorporated.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the nuts.

Turn into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes; a flat toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake should come out barely moist—not wet but not completely dry. Begin to test before the time is up and do not overbake.

Cool the cake in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes. Then cover with a rack and invert the pan and the rack. Remove the pan and peel off the aluminum foil. Cover with another rack and invert again, leaving the cake right side up to cool.

It is best to chill the cake before cutting it. Place it in the freezer or the refrigerator until it is firm. Then transfer it to a cutting board. With a finely serrated knife or a long, thin, sharp knife, cut it into bars or squares, wiping the blade with a damp cloth whenever some of the cake sticks to it. If you are serving these as cookies, cut the cake in half, then cut each half into thirds, and cut each piece into four bars. To serve it as a cake dessert, cut it into 16 squares and serve with vanilla and/or coffee ice cream and chocolate sauce. To serve as small petit
fours, cut it into quarters, cut each quarter in half, and then cut each piece into four bars.

Spice Brownies

Follow the above recipe for Black Pepper Brownies (see page 152) with the following additions. Sift the flour together with 1½ teaspoons cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ginger, ½ teaspoon cloves, and ½ teaspoon allspice. And add ½ cup raisins along with the nuts.

Date-Nut Brownies

Chocolate and dates are a delicious combination. This recipe is another variation of the previous Black Pepper Brownies. Make the following changes.

Omit the black pepper. Where the recipe calls for brown sugar, use brown or white (granulated) sugar. Before stirring in the nuts, stir in 8 ounces (1 cup) coarsely cut pitted dates.

Ginger Brownies

Follow the recipe for Black Pepper Brownies (see page 152) with the following changes: In place of the pepper use ¾ teaspoon ground ginger. Add ¾ cup diced crystallized (candied) ginger; it should be in pieces about ¼ inch square or a bit larger—it is nice to bite into a chunk. Add the ginger with the nuts.

The nuts may be left out of this recipe—it is good either way.

Palm Beach Brownies

16
H
UGE OR 24 OR
M
ORE
E
XTRA
-L
ARGE
B
ROWNIES

These are the biggest, thickest, gooiest, chewiest, darkest, sweetest, mostest-of-the-most chocolate bars with an almost wet middle and a crisp-crunchy top. It is best to bake these a day before—they can not be cut into bars when they are too fresh.

8 ounces (8 squares) unsweetened chocolate

8 ounces (2 sticks) sweet butter

5 eggs (graded large or extra-large)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

¼ teaspoon salt

2½ tablespoons dry instant espresso or other powdered (not granular) instant coffee

3¾ cups granulated sugar

1⅔ cups sifted all-purpose flour

8 ounces (2 generous cups) walnut halves or large pieces

Adjust rack one-third up from the bottom of the oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a 9 × 13 × 2-inch pan as follows: Invert the pan, cover it with a long piece of aluminum foil, and with your hands press down on the foil around the sides and the corners to shape it like the pan. Remove the foil. Turn the pan right side up, and place the foil in the pan. Very carefully (without tearing it) press the foil into place in the pan.

Now butter the foil with soft or melted butter. The easiest way is to place a piece of butter in the pan, place the pan in the oven while it is warming up, and when the butter is melted use a pastry brush
to spread it all over the sides and bottom of the foil. Set the prepared pan aside.

Place the chocolate and the butter in the top of a large double boiler over hot water on moderate heat, or in a 4- to 6-cup heavy saucepan over very low heat. Stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are melted. Stir to mix. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs with the vanilla, almond extract, salt, dry instant coffee, and sugar at high speed for 10 minutes. On low speed add the chocolate mixture and beat only until mixed. Then add the flour and again beat only until mixed. Remove from the mixer and stir in the nuts.

Turn into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake for 35 minutes, reversing the pan front to back as necessary during baking to insure even baking. Cover loosely with foil for about the last half of the baking time to prevent overbrowning. At the end of 35 minutes the cake will have a thick, crisp crust on the top, but if you insert a toothpick into the middle it will come out wet and covered with chocolate. Nevertheless it is done. Do not bake it anymore.

Remove the cake from the oven and let stand at room temperature until cool. Then cover with a rack or a cookie sheet and invert. Remove the pan and the foil lining. Cover with a cookie sheet and invert again, leaving the cake right side up.

It is best to refrigerate the cake overnight before cutting (at room temperature it is too sticky to cut). Use a serrated French bread knife. It will be necessary to wash and dry the blade several times while cutting. First cut the cake in half, cutting through the long sides. If the cake was baked correctly the edges will be too dark and dry; trim about ¼ inch or so as necessary from the edges.

The cake will be 1¼ inches thick. Cut into 24 huge Brownies, or 32 large ones. (See Note.)

Either wrap the Brownies individually in clear cellophane, aluminum foil, or wax paper, or package them in an airtight container.

Refrigerate and serve cold.

NOTE
:
I cut the Brownies into 24 bars, and then often, just before serving, I cut each bar in half the long way.

Chocolate Oatmeal Brownies

24
C
OOKIES

These taste like soft, moist macaroons. They are chewy, nutty, not-too-sweet chocolate oatmeal bar cookies, made without flour. They are easily mixed in a saucepan (children can make them), they keep well and mail well, and are extremely popular.

3 ounces (3 squares) unsweetened chocolate

¼ pound (1 stick) sweet butter

½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup dark or light brown sugar, firmly packed

⅓ cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg, lightly beaten

2⅔ cups quick-cooking (not “instant”) rolled oats

4 ounces (generous 1 cup) walnut halves or large pieces

Adjust rack to the center of the oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a 9-inch square cake pan as follows: Turn the pan upside down, cut a 12-inch square of aluminum foil and center it over the inverted pan. Fold down the sides and the corners and then remove the foil and turn the pan right side up. Place the foil in the pan. In order not to tear the foil, use a pot holder or a folded towel and, pressing gently against the pot holder or towel, smooth the foil into place. Butter the bottom and the sides, using soft or melted butter and a pastry brush or crumpled wax paper. (I put a piece of butter in the lined pan and place it in the warming oven first to melt. Then I spread it with a pastry brush.) Set the prepared pan aside.

Place the chocolate and butter in a heavy 2- to 3-quart saucepan over the lowest heat. Stir occasionally until completely melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining ingredients in the order listed.

The mixture will be thick. Pack it firmly and smoothly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Cool in the pan on a rack for 15 to 20 minutes. Then cover with a rack and invert carefully, remove the pan and the foil, cover with another rack and invert again, leaving the cake right side up to cool completely.

The cake may be cut into finger-shaped bars when it is cool, or it may be chilled a bit first in the freezer or refrigerator to make the cutting easier and neater.

With a long, thin, sharp knife cut the cake into halves. Cut each half crossways into thirds. Then cut each piece the short way into four strips.

These may be placed on a serving tray and covered with plastic wrap, or they may be packed in a box with wax paper between the layers, or they may be wrapped individually in clear cellophane or wax paper.

Whole-Wheat Brownies

16
B
ROWNIES

I baked these and served them to my husband without saying what they were. He said, “I know these are Brownies, but they have a whole different taste. They have more oomph.” (I had used whole-wheat flour and brown sugar. And some spices.)