brownie sundaes for saturday

cookie or brownie sundaes are my ultimate comfort food. i can't seem to eat a cookie or brownie without heating it up and serving it with ice cream and fantastic dessert sauces. these brownies are the culmination of a lifetime of recipe tests. to my palate they are the absolute best. they are super chocolaty and decadent and very fudgey so if you like a lighter cakier brownie these might not be for you. i'm serving these tonight for friends. we are out of homemade ice cream so i'm using my standard favorite, haagen daaz vanilla. i did however make up a new dessert sauce to go with them, white chocolate caramel!!!!! yum!!!! and i'm also doing my standard fave homemade hot fudge too. i call these million dollar brownie cause they aren't cheap to make if you use the good stuff i recommend. i'd say at least $20 a sheet pan but sooooooooo worth it.
here are pics and all the recipes. i'm taking these with me to a friends house but fox was happy to let me make one up for him for a lunch dessert so i could take pics.


for those of you that can eat brownies naked.


sundae style with both sauces



dessert after lunch? um . . .yes!







million dollar fudge brownies

4 sticks unsalted butter
1 pound semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

12 ounces mixed semi sweet, milk and white chocolate chips or chunks (use any mix of semi sweet and any chips you like, peanut butter is really good too)

6 ounces scharfen berger or valhrona unsweetened chocolate (at gourmet stores or whole foods in baking aisle, usually sold in a block) chopped
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (1 cup for batter and 1/4 cup in the chips and nuts)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups diced toasted pecan or walnut pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound semi sweet chocolate, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.

Stir together 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips with 1/4 cup flour to coat. Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for about 30-45 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Do not over-bake! Cool thoroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.

white chocolate caramel

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup water
1 1/4 cups heavy cream warmed in microwave
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

6- 8 ounces good quality chopped white chocolate

Mix the water and sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. Do not stir. Increase the heat to medium and boil uncovered until the sugar turns a warm chestnut brown (about 350 degrees F on a candy thermometer), about 5 to 7 minutes, gently swirling the pan to stir the mixture. Be careful – the mixture is extremely hot! Watch the mixture very carefully at the end, as it will go from caramel to burnt very quickly. Turn off the heat. Stand back to avoid splattering and slowly add the cream and vanilla. Don't worry - the cream will bubble violently and the caramel will solidify.

Simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until the caramel dissolves and the sauce is smooth, about 2 minutes. Add chopped white chocolate and continue stirring till melted and combined. Allow to cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours. It will thicken as it sits.

hot fudge

1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup light corn syrup
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 tsp vanilla

Bring cream and corn syrup to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add all chocolate and stir until melted and smooth.

cupcake heaven redux

hmmm . . . i think stephanie liked them but those cupcakes were not my best :( sigh . . . not perfection.

i think that particular recipe really only lends itself to peanut butter chips and chocolate/peanut butter buttercream. the cupcakes are so dark they need something really sweet for frosting. i love ganache but something about the way its then whipped was a turn off for me. so i highly suggest this frosting with the dark chocolate cupcakes. remember to swap out the milk chips for peanut butter ones or better yet, drop a mini peanut butter cup in the middle of each.

i like my cupcakes heavy on the frosting, so i always double the recipe. i also like them kind of messy and gooey looking. my method is to scoop the frosting on with an ice cream scoop, just throw a big old mound on there, then smooth with a cake spatula or butter name. see cupcake pic below. its so much easier than piping and makes the frosting as high as the cupcake itself, yum!

Chocolate/Peanut Butter Buttercream

This can be made ahead and refrigerated; if refrigerated, however, they must stand at room temperature to soften before use. If using a hand-held mixer, increase mixing times significantly (at least 50 percent). I always double this cause i love frosting!

Make 1 1/2 cups, enough for 12 cupcakes

8	tablespoons unsalted butter , softened
1/2	cup smooth peanut butter (don't use old-fashioned or natural brand)
1	cup confectioners' sugar
	Pinch table salt 2 tbsp sifted cocoa powder
1/2	teaspoon vanilla extract
1	tablespoon heavy cream

In standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat butter and peanut butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add confectioners' sugar, sifted cocoa and salt; beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds. Scrape down bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined, about 15 seconds; scrape bowl, add vanilla and heavy cream, and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice.

stephanie's cupcake heaven

my good friend stephanie is coming over for dinner tonight. we are having steak with chimichurri, parmesan corn and arugula salad, pics later. i had to treat her with her fave dessert, chocolate cupcakes. as a wedding photographer, i see cupcakes way too often and am honestly sick of the LA cupcake obsession. but i'm always happy to indulge someone else's favorites selflessly and i have to say i'm actually pretty excited to eat these. they are dark chocolate cupcakes adapted from a cooks illustrated recipe with the addition of milkchocolate/caramel chips with dark and white chocolate ganache frostings. they are very rich. enjoy.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

This recipe does not double very well. Cupcakes made from a doubled batch and baked side by side in the oven yield a slightly compromised rise. It's best to make two separate batches and bake each separately. Store leftover cupcakes (frosted or unfrosted) in the refirgerator, but let them come to room temperature before serving.

Makes 12 cupcakes

8	tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 4 pieces
2	ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped
1/2	cup Dutch-processed cocoa (1 1/2 ounces)
3/4	cup unbleached all-purpose flour (3 3/4 ounces)
1/2	teaspoon baking soda
3/4	teaspoon baking powder
2	large eggs
3/4	cup sugar (5 1/4 ounces)
1	teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2	teaspoon table salt
1/2	cup sour cream (4 ounces) add chocolate chips as desired, i like toll house caramel/milk chocolate swirl in these

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard-sized muffin pan (cups have 1/2-cup capacity) with baking-cup liners.

2. Combine butter, chocolate, and cocoa in medium heatproof bowl. Set bowl over saucepan containing barely simmering water; heat mixture until butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and combined. Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.

3. Whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder in small bowl to combine.

4. Whisk eggs in second medium bowl to combine; add sugar, vanilla, and salt and whisk until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in sour cream until combined, then sift remaining flour mixture over and whisk until batter is homogenous and thick. add chocolate chips if desired.

5. Divide batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.

6. Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from muffin pan and set on wire rack. Cool to room temperature before icing, about 30 minutes. (To frost: Mound about 2 tablespoons icing on center of each cupcake. Using small icing spatula or butter knife, spread icing to edge of cupcake, leaving slight mound in center.)


Dark Chocolate Ganache Frosting
10 oz. chopped good quality dark chocolate
10 oz. heavy cream

microwave in heat proof bowl at 50% in 1 minute intervals till melted and smooth. stir to blend. let sit and room temp till set which takes a few hours to overnight. bring to room temp then whip in standing mixer till fluffy, 2 minutes.

White Chocolate Ganache Frosting
10 oz. white chocolate
6 oz. heavy cream

microwave in heat proof bowl at 50% in 1 minute intervals till melted and smooth. stir to blend. let sit and room temp till set which takes a few hours to overnight. bring to room temp then whip in standing mixer till fluffy, 2 minutes.

*you can speed up the ganache setting but setting the bowl in a bath of cold water but if you refrigerate then whip it will break down

when i gotta have chocolate cake, now! . . .

crazy as i am, there are times when i just can't bake and there is one of my faves that is easily attained and from the most corporate of all corporate restaurants i might add. its the chocolate blackout cake at the cheesecake factory. its so rich and decadent and of course i get it with ice cream and hot fudge. half is plenty for me and i'm sure more than most people could muster. did i mention i have a special ability to put away more dessert than just about anyone? for my husband its fries or pizza, i could skip dinner to have seconds of dessert.
sadly that chocolate cake is one thing that i prefer to buy. if anyone has any recipes that can beat it, let me know.