Truffle Brownies

Guess what?! I’m off to college! Ok I probably sound a little more excited than I actually am. Sure I’m excited, but I’m also scared. I’m going to be in a new town, I’m going to be completely surrounded by strangers, and just, everything is changing. I’m trying not to sound like a cliché, but I think I am.

I just hope I can handle it. I was used to elementary school; I was used to middle school (a.k.a. the worst three years of my life!); I was used to high school, but for some reason I can’t wrap my mind around getting used to college. I’m worried that during the summer my drive to succeed decreased or maybe I’m just not as smart as I thought I was; plus the new professors have me worried. I’ve asked round and it seems like I’ve got a pretty good lot of professors, except one. It turns out I’ve got the meanest, most harsh, most unforgiving wretch of a teacher for my advanced English class – a class I’ve always excelled in.

Gah, so anyways, this will probably be my last post for a couple days/weeks.

In other news: I made brownies! Ok, maybe brownies are really all that special so some people, but these are special brownies, and no not that kind of special.

These brownies come from the lovely Martha Stewart! Sure she can come off a little harsh on camera, but I don’t care, that’s what makes her so loveable. Plus she can craft like no other. I wish I had the gift of craft like she does, but I digress.

Instead of pouring the batter into a square or rectangular pan, the batter gets poured into a simple round cake tin and baked. Then, once the brownie has cooled completely, a layer of rich ganache is poured on top, which puts this brownie over the top! (Hardy-har-har)

Martha has come up with a soft, but not cake-like (which is a sin in the Brownieopolas) brownie that’s dark and dense, but not too rich. This really is one of the better brownies that I’ve had. Also, for the first time ever, I correctly made ganache! I’ve tried making ganache before, but it’s always too liquidy and the chocolate never melts completely. Then I’m left with liquidly-flaky chocolate soup. Boo. The ganache that goes on top is silky smooth and sets up just right. It never hardens all the way, so you’re not fighting it with your fork. It’s not good to fight desserts with your utensils.

Truffle Brownies
Slightly adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cookies
Makes one 9” round

Ingredients
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
½ cup (60 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¾ cup (144 g) sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
¼ cup milk
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease a 9 inch round springform pan with cooking spray (make sure you really get the bottom). Set pan aside.

Put butter and semi-sweet chocolate into a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Stir until the butter and chocolate have melted together. Set aside to cool slightly.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl; set aside. Whisk together the sugar and eggs in a large bowl until pale and fluffy. Add chocolate mixture and stir until combined. Stir in the milk and vanilla. Add flour mixture and mix until well incorporated.

Pour batter into the prepared tin. Set on the middle rack and bake for 25-27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean except for a few crumbs. Let the brownie cool on the counter while you make the ganache.

Place chocolate in a small bowl. Heat the cream in a saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Pour over chocolate and let sit for about 5 minutes. Gently stir until smooth. Allow ganache to cool, stirring every 10 minutes, until thickened.

Pour ganache over cooled brownies (still in the pan). Refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes. Once chilled, run a paring knife around the edge of the cake tin. Remove the bottom of the cake tin and cut brownies into wedges.