Chocolate Orgasms and Award Winning Brownies
Rosies Most Famous Product (Gee, Wonder Why…)
Even eaten knowingly by members of the clergy who would point to it and giggle before requesting to buy one. Award Winning Fudgy Chocolate Brownies topped with a lustrous dark chocolate frosting… of course, if you don’t want frosting, just go for the brownies!!!
As a child I had a very special relationship to brownies. They were one thing that my Mother, a very busy professional, would throw together from scratch from time to time, as it was such an easy recipe with very few ingredients. I do remember on occasion, using a brownie mix to make things easier when having a friend over for movie night or a sleepover, but in that case, I ALWAYS added extra butter and melted chocolate because I understood the value of richness. Here is what I consider my perfect brownie, winner of many Boston magazine awards and voted Best Brownie in America at one point in my career. Magically with frosting they become Chocolate Orgasms!!
The Recipe For My Award-Winning Brownie
Makes 16 brownies (you can make more or less simply by how you cut them)
BROWNIES:
5 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 sticks (8ounces) unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons dark chocolate cocoa
½ cup all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon of baking powder
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnut (optional)
Place a rack in the center of the oven, preheat to 350°. Lightly grease an 9 inch square pan with butter or oil or line the bottom with parchment paper.
Melt the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler, covered and placed over simmering water on low heat until it is melted. The burner can be turned off before the mixture is fully melted, just to allow it to complete the process gently on its own, with no overheating of the chocolate. Give it an occasional stir while it is melting. Let cool for 5 minutes.
Place the sugar and cocoa in a medium bowl of an electric mixer. Place the flour and powder in a small bowl and set aside.
Pour in the chocolate/butter mixture and blend with a paddle or whisk attachment until ingredients are blended, about 30 seconds. (You really do not have to worry about over-beating when making brownies.)
Add the vanilla to the eggs and blend until the eggs are incorporated, about 25 seconds then scrape the bowl again.
Add flour/cocoa mix on low speed and blend about 20 seconds. Stop the mixer to scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula. Finish the blending by hand to make sure the flour mix is incorporated and blend in the walnuts if you are using them.
Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake just until the center rises to the level of the sides and a tester inserted in the comes out with moist crumbs, not batter. About 35-40 minutes. Let them cool for several hours before cutting. I actually like them even better on day two for some reason…. maybe the ingredients all get to know each other better and blend well 😀
Note:
This can also be done by hand in a large bowl with a hand mixer or even a whisk, if you feel up to the exercise.
THE FROSTING:
3½ oz unsweetened chocolate broken into pieces
½ cup plus 1T evaporated milk
¾ cup granulated sugar
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler placed over simmering water.
Heat the evaporated milk in a small saucepan just till hot, not simmering. Turn off the burner, add the sugar and whisk until the sugar is dissolved.
Pour this mixture into the blender and add the melted chocolate. Blend the frosting on medium speed until it thickens, about 50 seconds (the sound of the blended may change slightly when this process blending is sufficient).
Using a frosting spatula, spread the frosting evenly over the surface of the cooled brownie, then use a sharp thin knife dipped repeatedly in a glass of hot water then wiped after each cut to ensure smooth cutting.
Adapted from Rosie’s All Butter, Cream-Filled, Sugar-Packed Baking Book published by Workman Publishing in 2011.
