Let me start off by saying this. This. is. awesome. I feel like I am going to learn so many great things, and I also feel that this will help me think outside of the box in terms of cooking and baking and not just sticking to recipes. I was hoping that I would receive the book in time, and lo and behold, it was delivered YESTERDAY! I was very happy. And then scrambling.
When I found out the challenge was French Chocolate Brownies, my mind started going immediately. I knew I wanted to pair this with some kind of ice cream, so I was trying to decide between a hazelnut ice cream or a cinnamon ice cream, which I was a bit more inclined to go with to really pull out that cinnamon flavor in the brownie.
Then I started thinking about these raisins. Raisins in a brownie? Mmm... not so much. Not for me, at least. I am a no nuts, no fruit, just plain old brownie girl. I actually don't even like brownies. The smell of the boxed brownie mix used to make me sick as a little girl. But I always like to have a bite or five here and there.
So to incorporate raisins somehow, I decided on making a rum raisin ice cream. My mother used to make the best rum raisin ice cream when I was a child. And she's from the Caribbean, Trinidad to be exact, so it was a bit heavy on the rum. Not that I'm complaining.
Rum Raisin Ice Cream (adapted from Epicurious.com/Baking with Dorie for the rum raisins)
- 8 large egg yolks
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 cup raisins
- 2/3 cup rum
Wisk egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until blended. Bring milk and whipping cream to boil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat (Editors note: I DID NOT DO THIS!!! I read many reviews on epicurious.com stating that the eggs started to cook due to the heat of the milk. But go with your gut!). Gradually whisk into yolk mixture. Return mixture to saucepan; stir over medium-low heat until custard thickens, about 15 minutes (do not boil.) Strain custard into bowl. Cool. Add raisin mixture to custard. Refrigerate until cold.
Transfer custard to ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer's instructions. Freeze ice cream in covered container until firm, about 4 hours. (Can be prepared 3 days ahead)
Scene from my kitchen, with my beautiful new book.
For the raisins:
I combined the rum and the raisins in a small saucepan over medium heat. I followed Dorie's instructions of only letting it heat for about 30 seconds. Then, I lit them on fire!
It ignited! What's that? You don't see a flame? Yeah, me neither. Is this my sad little flambe? I was so good at lighting fires before!
I let the raisins soak for about an hour in the remaining alcohol and added the raisins to the custard.
And off I churned!
Whenever I make ice cream, I hear the Byrds song in my head with my own lyrics. "To everything, churn, churn, churn."
(So, as some of you may know, I am doing this 21 day vegan cleanse thing. I had a great day. But let me tell you, as soon as I tasted this ice cream, I could not stop "testing it to see if it was ok." Oprah would be disappointed in me.)
French Chocolate Brownies
- makes 16 brownies -
Adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours.
Ingredients
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/3 cup raisins, dark or golden
1 1/2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons; 6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into 12 pieces
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil, place the pan on a baking sheet, and set aside.
1. Whisk together the flour, salt and cinnamon, if you're using it.
2. Put the raisins in a small saucepan with the water, bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the water almost evaporates. Add the rum, let it warm for about 30 seconds, turn off the heat, stand back and ignite the rum. Allow the flames to die down, and set the raisins aside until needed.
3. Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Slowly and gently melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and add the butter, stirring so that it melts. It's important that the chocolate and butter not get very hot. However, if the butter is not melting, you can put the bowl back over the still-hot water for a minute. If you've got a couple of little bits of unmelted butter, leave them—it's better to have a few bits than to overheat the whole. Set the chocolate aside for the moment.
4. Working with a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until they are thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Lower the mixer speed and pour in the chocolate-butter, mixing only until it is incorporated—you'll have a thick, creamy batter. Add the dry ingredients and mix at low speed for about 30 seconds—the dry ingredients won't be completely incorporated and that's fine. Finish folding in the dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula, then fold in the raisins along with any liquid remaining in the pan.
5. Scrape the batter into the pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is dry and crackled and a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and allow the brownies to cool to warm or room temperature.
6. Carefully lift the brownies out of the pan, using the foil edges as handles, and transfer to a cutting board. With a long-bladed knife, cut the brownies into 16 squares, each roughly 2 inches on a side, taking care not to cut through the foil.
Serving: The brownies are good just warm or at room temperature; they're even fine cold. I like these with a little something on top or alongside—good go-alongs are whipped crème fraiche or whipped cream, ice cream or chocolate sauce or even all three!
Storing: Wrapped well, these can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.
I lined an 8" square baking pan with oil and buttered the foil and lit the oven to 300 degrees after placing the rack in the center of the oven.
As a random side note (because I never do that) I just want to bring something up to all Top Chef fans. I must have reset the temperature of my oven 4 different times. Every time I turned around, it was at 200 degrees. So to all of you Lisa fans (all 5 of you), no one turned down the burner. Lisa, It was not sabotage. It was your butt getting in the way.
Make the raisins at this point if you choose to add the raisins to the brownies (and let me know how that goes).
I opened up my chocolate (I used Ghiradelli 72% cacao).
I love the way chocolate looks when unwrapped. I feel like Charlie from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I always sing "I've got the Golden Ticket!"
I chopped the chocolate into fine pieces-
"Ghirardelli Chocolate, my name is Cutco knife. You killed my father. Prepare to die"
-and melted them in a glass Pyrex bowl over simmering water. Can I just say that I love Pyrex? I'm naming my first child Pyrex, that's how much I love Pyrex. (I'm kidding, first child. If you're reading this in the future, you owe me for not naming you Pyrex, because I totally was going to.)
I removed the bowl from the heat and added the butter to melt.
A dieter's worst nightmare, Paula Deen's dreams come true.
I mixed the eggs and sugar until pale and thick with my KitchenAid standing mixer and mixed in the (not warm) chocolate butter mixture.
(To the tune of O Tannenbaum: O KitchenAid, O KitchenAid, you make baking so easy).
I mixed in the dry ingredients (for only 15 seconds as opposed to 30) and then folded it in a bit further with a spatula, and finally poured the batter into the pan.
This picture is for my boyfriend, who is currently back in NYC with a sweet internship. He swears I don't clean when I cook. HA!
The French Brownies name inspired me to design these after profiteroles. I couldn't bake them like profiteroles, obviously, but I wanted to that sandwiched look with the delicious ice cream in the center, with chocolate ganache spooned over the top.
So these look a bit more like ice cream sandwiches and less like profiteroles, but it all tastes the same going down. DELICIOUS.
And then I wanted to try a different look.
Yes, I had a bite. At 6:30 in the morning. But it was just one. I have great willpower. OK, it was three bites! But I stopped and am back to my vegan diet. :)