Subscribe to thisBarcelona Brownies
i promised to write about my recent trip to barcelona but that was before i knew that in three days i would be doing 5 demos, 2 newspaper interviews, 2 t.v. shows, and a 5 hour photo session! i never saw much of barcelona but i did eat and drink wonderfully! i’ll just have to go back on vacation some day soon.
the visit officially began with a demo in a chocolate museum school, followed by a lecture to the baker’s guild of spain. the challenge presented by the demo was to offer a recipe that was chocolate, was uniquely american, didn’t take long to prepare or bake, showed off the lékué silicone bakeware—my host—and not be dependent on either flour or leavening. it has been my experience that european flour produces vastly different results from what i am accustomed.
after much deliberation, it turned out that there was only one perfect possibility: the beloved brownie, baked in individual molds. the traditional small ingot shape of the financier mold seemed like an excellent choice. and now that i’ve perfected this recipe i’ll probably never make brownies in the usual square pan again! in the silicone financier pan, the brownies pop right out—each with a perfect shape and size and fine crust all around that keeps them from staling. it’s far easier getting the batter into the molds than having to cut them afterwards! You can even use the batter to make madeleines.
this batter can be made ahead and transported as there is no leavening to dissipate.
these brownies are light in texture but get their exceptional moistness from cream cheese and fudginess from the best quality cocoa and chocolate. for extra creaminess optional little plugs of ganache are poured into holes made with a chop stick after baking. it was gratifying to see the students casually pop a brownie in their mouths expecting something ordinary and then watch their eyes widen in glad surprise. chocolate never gets better than this.
Oven Temperature: 325°F.
Baking time: 12 to 15 minutes
Makes: Fourteen 3 inch by 1 inch by 1 1/8 inch high brownies
INGREDIENTS |
MEASURE |
WEIGHT |
|
|---|---|---|---|
room temperature |
volume |
ounces |
grams |
pecans, broken or chopped medium-coarse |
2/3 cup |
2.6 ounces |
75 grams |
unsalted butter |
about 9 tablespoons |
4.6 ounces |
132 grams |
bittersweet chocolate, preferably no higher than 62% cocoa mass |
. |
2 ounces |
56 grams |
unsweetened cocoa (preferably fine quality Dutch-processed, page 00) |
6 scant tablespoons |
1.2 ounces |
33 grams |
sugar |
3/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons |
5.5 ounces |
157 grams |
2 large eggs |
3 fluid ounces |
3.5 ounces (weighed without the shells) |
100 grams |
pure vanilla extract |
1 1/2 teaspoons |
. |
. |
cream cheese. cut in pieces |
2/3 of a 3 ounce package |
2 ounces |
56 grams |
all purpose flour |
1/3 cup |
1.7 ounces |
47 grams |
salt |
a pinch |
. |
. |
Optional Ganache Plugs bittersweet chocolate (see above), coarsely chopped |
, |
2 ounces |
56 grams |
heavy cream (room temperature) |
1/3 liquid cup |
2.7 ounces |
77 grams |
Special Equipment:
Financier molds, preferably silicone, filmed with baking spray with flour or shortening and flour.
Preheat the Oven
20 minutes or longer before baking, set an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F.
Toast the Pecans
Place the pecans on a cookie sheet and toast them, stirring occasionally, for about 7 minutes or until very lightly browned. Cool completely.
Melt the Chocolate and Butter
In a double boiler over hot water or microwave-proof bowl, melt the butter and chocolate, stirring 2 or 3 times.
Mix the Batter
Beat in the cocoa, then the sugar, beating until it is incorporated. (If you are doing this by hand, use a whisk.) Beat in the eggs and vanilla. When incorporated, beat in the cream cheese until only small bits remain. Add the flour and salt and mix only until the flour is fully moistened. Stir in the nuts and scrape the batter into a piping bag or freezer-weight zipseal bag. (You can use a spoon but it’s a lot faster and easier to use a pastry bag or zipseal bag with one corner cut.)
Fill the Molds
If using a silicone mold, set it on a baking sheet and pipe the batter into the cavities, filling them about three-quarters full (1.5 ounces/45 grams in each). With a small off-set spatula or the back of a spoon, smooth the tops.
Bake the Brownies
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the batter has set. The batter will puff and rise a little above the top of the cavities but sinks slightly on cooling. An instant read thermometer should register about 194˚F. and if pressed lightly with a finger tip they will spring back.
While the Brownie are Baking, Prepare the Ganache
Melt the chocolate in a microwave, using 15 seconds bursts on high power and stirring several times, or in a double boiler over hot but not simmering water, stirring occasionally. Add the cream and stir gently until the mixture is smooth and dark. If necessary (if the cream was too cold and the mixture not entirely smooth), return it to the heat until totally fluid and uniform in color.
Fill the Brownies
As soon as the brownies are removed from the oven, grease the end of a wooden chopstick or dowel (1/4 inch diameter) and insert it into the brownie, at 3 evenly-spaced intervals, all the way to the bottom, twisting slightly as you insert and withdraw it. Fill the holes with the ganache until slightly rounded above the surface of the brownie.
Place the pan on a wire rack and cool completely. The ganache will sink in as it cools and more ganache can be added, to fill in any depressions, as long as the brownie is still warm enough to melt it. (If necessary, you can set the brownies under a lamp to heat the ganache puddles and make them smooth.) If making the optional ganache plugs, allow it to sit at room temperature until the puddles are firm to the touch. Then invert the mold of if using silicone, push each out with your finger pressed against the bottom of the mold. (If not making the ganache the brownies can be removed after 10 minutes of cooling.
Store wrapped airtight in plastic wrap and stored in an airtight container: 1 week at room temperature, 1 month refrigerated, or several months frozen. Try eating them frozen or chilled if you like a chewy brownie, room temperature for a softer creamier texture.
Cherry Version
Replace nuts with 2 ounces dried tart cherries, chopped plus 2 T Cherry Herring or half Kirsch half water.
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Comments
I'm not a fan of brownie "edges." With your recipe in your cookie book, I always cut off the edges and freeze them for later use as ice cream toppings! So, could I make this recipe in an 8 or 9 inch square pan? The inclusion of cream cheese is appealing.
Anna
Posted by: Anna | March 8, 2006 6:42 AM #
absolutely yes!
Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | March 8, 2006 7:43 AM #
I agree with Anna: the brownie recipe intrigues but what to do about the unwanted edges? Actually I crave the gooey insides of a brownie and cut away the edges. My first instinct was: bake them in a 9 inch square pan - but with only 1/3 cup flour, perhaps the pan needs to be even smaller. Could you just double the indgredients?
would it work? not interested in wasting chocolate....
Posted by: kathy harsany | March 11, 2006 5:51 PM #
when the brownies are baked in the financier pan the edges aren't dry but crisp and the insides light yet fudgy. it's a completely different experience. and the little pools of ganache make them a little goey as well. but if you'd like to turn this into a totally goey type brownie 1 1/2 times the recipe would work for an 8 inch square pan and 2 times the recipe for a 9 inch square.
my guess is that they would take about 40 min. to bake but it's important to start checking early on so that they don't dry out. when a toothpick comes out clean one inch from the sides of the pan they're done!
i wouldn't decrease the flour as they might not set--these really don't have much flour in them to begin with.
i suspect these could be the brownies of your dreams.
Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | March 18, 2006 10:09 PM #
Could I substitute matsoh meal for the flour to make a passover brownie? Or is the 1/3 cup too much (I've successfully substituted the meal for flour in brownie recipes that call for only 1/4 cup of flour) and it won't work?
Posted by: Jeanne | March 27, 2006 3:28 AM #
my educated guess is that it will work perfectly. brownies are not dependent on flour type therefore i think that the matsoh meal will be just fine. do report back! what a great idea to make brownies for passover! if you use silicone molds you can get away with just greasing and not flouring. alternatively, grease and flour with the matsoh meal!
Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | March 27, 2006 8:48 AM #
I am making a Bacardi rum cake for Thanksgiving. It is only Saturday, but I have so much to do the last few days, I wanted to do my baking now. Since this cake has rum in it and in the glaze, do you think it would be alright to bake it and keep it in the refrigerator for the 5 days til Thanksgiving? Or, should I freeze it? Thank you. Really looking forward to your expert advice.
bj10gk@hotmail.com
Posted by: bjames | November 18, 2006 4:07 PM #
i think you'll be fine baking it now!
Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | November 18, 2006 9:22 PM #
My future mother-in-law has asked me to create a tiered cake made entirely from brownies for a family special occasion. For the bottom tier I would like to double a brownie recipe and bake in a 9 x 13 pan. Do you have any hints for me on this? Should I adjust the temperature?
Posted by: Christine | January 30, 2007 2:26 PM #
A very unorthodox question--Your recipe sounds delicious and I will try it. I have been making my own brownies since I think I could hold a spoon! But recently, at the age of 63, I tasted a my first cakemix brownie that someone brought over. While the taste was totally unacceptable, there was something very appealing about the nutless yet chewy texture. Neither fudgy nor cakey, it had a kind of "pull." What is responsible for that? I wish my homemade brownies had that quality. Do you know what I mean?
Posted by: Toby | January 30, 2007 7:06 PM #
christine, don't change the temperature but it will take longer to bake in a larger pan.
toby, i think what you are describing comes from the cocoa butter. some recipes use unsweetened chocolate and add sugar in order to get more cocoa butter into the brownie. you might try a recipe like that to see if it's the quality you are looking for.
Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | January 31, 2007 8:44 PM #
Re brownies: my kids hate nuts so i am always on the prowl for nutless brownies. If I want to leave nuts out of a recipe, for example your barcelona brownies, I assume I will get a denser brownie but no other loss. IS this true, or should I be altering ingredients or adding some other filler to hold things together or apart? Suggestions? And I can't wait for them to gorw up and for their palates to mature- they are grown up! Thanks!
Posted by: Virginia Sybert | April 24, 2007 8:44 AM #
i know a lot of kids don't like nuts and brownie purists prefer to omit them. they won't be denser but less high unless you make fewer in number. you could always add nuts to just half the batter!
Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | May 5, 2007 4:26 PM #
I've been meaning to mention how much I appreciate that you've included, in your cookbooks, the pronounciations of many of your recipes. However, I've heard your name pronounced a couple of different ways, and I don't know which is correct... it is lee-vee or le-vee? (I like to be accurate about such things)
Posted by: Patrincia | May 5, 2007 5:16 PM #
lee vee
Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | May 6, 2007 7:46 AM #
Hi Rose. I have just come across your blog/recipes, and have found it very interesting reading!! I have always been on the lookout for the perfect iced brownie recipe, like the old "Sara Lee" frozen brownies that have been discontinued from their product line. The brownie was not tall, but chewy, with a nice frosting. Does this ring a bell with any of your recipes? Would the Barcelona brownie work with the ganache used as an icing? Thank you for your help! Sara in AL
Posted by: Sara Denbo | May 24, 2007 6:45 AM #
that's a great idea--to use the barcelona brownie with the ganache on top instead of inside!
Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | May 24, 2007 7:43 AM #
Been there, done that - it works very well!
Posted by: Patrincia | May 24, 2007 11:20 AM #
Where can I purchase the traditional small ingot shape financier mold?
Posted by: PJJ | July 28, 2007 8:33 AM #
i assume you mean in metal. j.b. prince in nyc
Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | July 28, 2007 10:00 AM #
I agree that the ganache worked well as a topping . when I made that some time earlier, I probably made the holes too small and much ganache was left and no more could get into the holes , so I just spread those on top. It was wonderful.
Posted by: cindy Chiu | July 29, 2007 8:00 PM #
why do some recipes call for melted butter? how is it different from creamed butter? what is its effect on the cake?
Posted by: kristine | August 9, 2007 4:00 PM #
Hi Rose,
I always bake these "barcelona brownies" but I use the recipe from your book. I just stummbled upon this recipe you have posted here and the porportions are different...Just curious if they are different recipes or if this newer one is an improved version? (not that the other recipe even needs improving- So delicious-!!
Thanks so much,
Cate
Posted by: Cate | August 18, 2007 9:48 AM #
it's the same recipe but 2/3 the amount which fits the financier mold. i LOVE baking them individually as each has a fine crust around it and of course no need to cut them after baking!
Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | August 18, 2007 11:38 AM #
aaw, just a reduced recipe, ofcourse! Thanks :)
C
Posted by: Cate | August 19, 2007 3:29 PM #
We don't have bittersweet chocolate here. Is there anything I can use as a substitute? Thanks.
Posted by: Anonymous | August 20, 2007 8:34 AM #
it's fine to use semi-sweet.
Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | August 20, 2007 9:52 AM #
re: melted butter...if you melt the butter then add the sugar while it's warm the sugar dissolves in the butter and it promotes the shiny surface that is typical of a classic American brownie.
Posted by: marylou | September 7, 2007 12:19 AM #
Rose,
Just curious if you have any notes on the Madeleine version of the recipe, such as yield, baking time, amount of batter, etc.--is it about the same for either mold type? I just got new silicon Madeleines molds and would like to christen them with this recipe.
Posted by: Matthew | November 27, 2007 1:06 PM #
it's pretty much like the brownies--just pipe the batter into the molds a little more than 3/4 full and bake til done--start checking at 10 minutes as they are more shallow than the financier mold. they're really easy to pop out even when warm but are more fragile then so take care!
Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | November 27, 2007 1:25 PM #
I am on the look out for eggless recipes since I have recently stopped eating eggs!! But I find that the eggless recipes for cakes and brownies taste dry and do not have the soft texture that cakes with eggs have. Could you let me know the right substitute for eggs (I don't get egg replacer where I live)?
Thanks
Posted by: Harini | January 12, 2008 4:55 AM #
Where can I find the silicone financier molds? The only ones I can find are only 1/2 inch deep. I've tried the usual places: Bridge, Broadway Panhandler, Prince. I hope to take these with me on a trip this weekend, so I hope you can help me find the right pans. I live just outside of New York, so if I can find them there, I'll go. Many thanks!
Posted by: Maureen | January 20, 2008 9:53 PM #
the lekueusa website lists distributors.
Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | January 21, 2008 9:49 PM #
Thank you, Rose. I found another source: Broadway Panhandler (store, not website) carries a brand called GastroFlex, made in France to your exact specifications.
Question: I'll be baking in batches of 12 or 24. Can I double your recipe? Or should I use the recipe in your book (I have four of them) and add the cream cheese and ganache plugs?
I sometimes bake in quantity, so if it's safe to double or triple this recipe, I'd love to know.
Again, thank you, Rose.
Maureen
Posted by: Maureen | January 22, 2008 4:22 PM #
I see my question has already been answered above.
I love this blog. Thank you, Rose -- and everyone who contributes.
Posted by: Maureen | January 24, 2008 12:58 PM #
Is this the product you mean for a financier mold?-
gastroflex Mini Cake Mold, 12pcs, 3in.l. x 1-1/4in.w. x 1-1/4in.hi.
Lekue's US website is down.
thanks
Posted by: Virginia Sybert | January 24, 2008 7:18 PM #
this is the standard size financier pan so other companies also make it.
Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | January 24, 2008 8:56 PM #