Having recently been gifted treats from Bouchon Bakery as well as a copy of the book, I have been anxious to do some serious baking. I also recently received “ad hoc at home” and will likely make every recipe in the book! For some reason, I decided to start with Chef Keller’s Brownie recipe. Thanks to Amazon Prime for the quick delivery of the Silicone cake pans*, and the Chef Shop for some amazing Italian chocolate and cocoa powder, I was able to whip up a double batch this afternoon.
Ingredients
As I have mentioned before, I use organic ingredients wherever possible.
3/4 cup of flour
1 cup unsweetened alkalized cocoa powder
(I used the fabulous Pernigotti Cocoa Powder from Italy)
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature (yes – that IS 3 sticks)
3 large eggs
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste or vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups 64% chocolate chips or chopped chocolate of your choice
(I used Agostini Single Origin Peru 70%)
Garnish – Powder Sugar
Preheat oven to 350′. If not using Silicone, grease and flour a 9×9 cake pan. Set aside.
Sift together flour, cocoa powder and salt into a medium bowl.
In a small microwaveable bowl, melt 1/2 of the butter. Cut remaining butter into small chunks. Add to the melted butter and stir until mixture is very creamy and only tiny bits of non-melted butter remain.
In a stand mixer, mix eggs and sugar together for 3 minutes on low speed, until very pale and thick. Add vanilla.
With the mixer on the lowest speed, alternate adding the 1/3 of the sifted dry ingredients with 1/3 of the butter mixture, until all is combined. Add in the chopped chocolate. I also added one cup of chopped, toasted pecans at this stage.
Spread batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes. Be careful not to overcook. Completely cool brownies in pan before cutting. (If using Silicone baking pans, remove brownies to a cutting board to cut.) Dust with powdered sugar just prior to serving.
*About my decision to try the Silicone pans: I have always hated the outside edges of brownies, cakes or bar cookies that inevitably end up dry, crunchy or even burnt when baked in a glass or metal pan. When Chef Keller recommended using Silicone, I decided to give them a try. They were not expensive – just hard to find, other than on-line.
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