Today was one of those unexpectedly free days. My plans were cancelled, but not by me, leaving me plenty of time to whip up something delicious for bible study tonight. What kind of thing? Chocolate, absolutely. Cake? Cookie? Brownie? Mousse? Hmmm. Time to peruse the blogosphere for ideas.
I found lots of delicious looking chocolate recipes, like this
lighter, airier cupcake to this
dense, rich torte. My problem was a lack of solid chocolate, except for a handful of chocolate chips, so I settled on
the best cocoa brownies I think I've ever tasted. They almost have the texture of a torte, but the ingredients and the preparation are so simple. The only problem I had was with which pan to use. Our glass square dish is in the fridge with raw chicken in it (that's a no-go), so I decided to make the brownies in a round ceramic dish and cut them in wedges, like the flourless cake. It sounded cute. I even thought about topping it with some kind of cream cheese frosting or raspberry sauce.
But....wait! Stop right there! I have to taste the brownies before I serve them! It's like an unwritten law, right? They could turn out bitter, or raw, or dry, or any number of things and I just....have...to taste them. Without leaving the brownie pie with an unsightly wedge-shaped gaping gap, telling everyone of my lack of self control.
That's when my brilliant idea was born! I would square off the brownies! Not unlike the way I have learned to square off potatoes before slicing them into nice, beautiful little juliennes or batonnets.
Voil
à!
Yes, there were two more sides to this brownie slab...I ate them warm with slightly-thawed-frozen-raspberries and a glass of milk. Mmmm! Couldn't ask for a better lunch! And there is plenty left in the square to cut many tiny squares of brownie goodness, perfect for kids or people (like me) who think, I'll just have a little one...so I can have three more in the course of an hour and not feel guilty about it. :) Besides, I worked out intensely yesterday! I deserve it! Oh man...I am reminding myself of one of my favorite commercials...really,
this is so me!
You can see the dense, moist texture of the inside and the beautiful color and shininess (is that a word?) of the top. Good thing I've grown some self-control since a few hours ago. *wink wink*
I don't know how recipe rights go as far as posting someone else's recipe...but I'll give credit where credit is due, ok? This recipe is from Deb at Smitten Kitchen. I have been reading her blog a lot lately. She is funny and her food always looks and sounds AMAZING. I already shared the link above, so I won't repost it here. Enjoy!
On another note...last week I went to San Francisco to
the most amazing collection of gourmet food stores I have ever seen and I decided to splurge on a $2.50 square of chocolate. It was dark chocolate with cardamom and caramelized cocoa nibs. It was so intriguing! I am totally inspired to make cardamom brownies or something...as soon as I can get my hands on some cardamom...
