TWD: Cocoa-Nana Brownies

 
 

It's the first time in a very long time where I've played around with one of Dorie's recipes, which must mean I'm feeling back to my old self again after a crazy few months.  

I woke up this morning (hi, I'm Slacker, nice to meet you) and the first thing I thought was: Cocoa-Nana Brownies.  

Ah, the mind of a food blogger. 

Now, I'm not the biggest fan of brownies.  My father is a huge fan of boxed-mix brownies, and the smell of those chemical-laden brownies wafting through the air always slightly wanted to make me vomit. But I truly believed the only way to make brownies was to pour a mystery mix into a bowl, add eggs or oil or something, mix and bake.  And try to hold dinner down. 

Years later, when I finally learned that I need not be a slave to Duncan Hines, I tried to make my father "cakey" brownies from scratch.  Even though brownies are not my favorite treat, I was extremely pleased with how these brownies turned out.  I proudly presented one to my dad.

He took a bite and silently chewed.

"Well?"  I asked in anticipation. "How are they?"

He nodded.  

"What does that mean?" I asked, getting impatient. "Do you like them?"

He looked at me with the eyes of a five-year old kid.  "I like box brownies." he said, innocently.

I threw up my hands in frustration. "You're gross!  That makes me want to puke!"

Now who is the five-year old kid?

But I do believe that I would win over that box-mix fan with these Cocoa-nana brownies. I combined Dorie's Cocoa-Nana bread recipe with King Arthur Flour's brownie recipe. The result is an incredibly light, sky-high cake brownie studded with chocolate chunks that is incredibly moist with a slight tang from the buttermilk, a far-away, deep caramel flavor from the brown sugar and a hint of banana and topped with a smooth chocolate ganache. These brownies definitely don't make me want to puke. 

Yummy.

Check out Steph of Obsessed with Baking's website for the recipe for her extremely popular choice (the actual Cocoa-Nana Bread) and check out the rest of TWD for some more Cocoa-Nana Bread! No puking! 

Cocoa-Nana Brownies adapted from Dorie Greenspan: Baking from My Home to Yours and King Arthur Flour

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1 1/4 cups Dutch Process cocoa

1 tablespoon vanilla

5 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 1/4 cups all purpose unbleached flour

2 medium, very ripe banans
1/3 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Lightly great a 9 x 13 pan. Set aside. 

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add in cocoa. Beat in vanilla, then beat in eggs, one by one. Beat in baking powder and salt (making sure baking powder is dissolved), then add in buttermilk. When smooth, lower speed to low and add flour and stir just until blended. Add chocolate chips if using.

Pour into pan and bake for about 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Let cool. Frost brownies when cool.

Chocolate Ganache 

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 tablespoons heavy cream
3 tablespoons butter

Place chopped chocolate in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, heat the butter and cream over medium heat, stirring constantly. When mixture is almost boiling, pour over the chocolate. Let stand for 30 seconds. Then, stir until smooth.

Pour ganache over cooled brownies and spread evenly.

Allow ganache to firm before cutting brownies. Brownies may be placed in refrigerator to expedite this.

Comments

[Tracey]

I wonder if your dad knows my husband... Whenever we're in the store he always stares longingly at the prepackaged goodies and I'm like "hello, I bake things that are SO much better." Oh well. Your brownies look wonderful! I think you may be the only person to make brownies this week - brilliant!

[Spike]

box brownies are so gross... while these brownies look perfect. nice adaptation

[Vibi]

You sneeky little devil... you made then even chocolatier with icing! Humpf... should have thought about that! Mmmmmm... great idea!

[ingrid]

Teanna don't hate me! I don't care for chocolate desserts but I do think box mix brownies darn good for a box. :)
~ingrid

[Eliana]

You're like the mad scientist. I love it.

[Leslie]

What a fabulous direction to take with this one! Can you at least lure your dad over to the Ghirardelli box mix? Everyone I know who doesn't bake from scratch swears by them.

[obsessedwithbaking.blogspot.com]

Haha.. I totally agree!! It always amazes me how some people actually prefer box mixes over homemade. It seems crazy to me! I actually gave in once and bought cake mix just to make sure if I really didn't like it or if I was just going along with what practically every food blogger says about shortening and mixes. I'm definitely glad I baked myself some dunkin hines and fed it to my family because now I'm so sure I'll never eat mixes again. It's not worth the calories! Thanks for baking along with me!

[bakers@kinagthurflour.com]

What fun to combine two different recipes and come out with a winner! Thanks for mentioning King Arthur Flour. Joan D@bakershotline

[pamela]

So glad that these don't make you want to puke! They look outstanding! Hope your dad likes them, too.

[Margaret]

I grew up with DH. All I knew. But now I know better.

Brownies - what a great idea. With ganache. Perfect!

[Elizabeth - Cake or Death]

Making brownies out of this bread is such a good idea! Wish I'd thought of that before I ended up with several loaves of mediocre bread. :/

And...I must confess...I hate boxed cakes and cookies (I mean, cookies?!) but I don't think boxed brownies are half bad, chemicals and all.

[Hugo]

Looks and sounds deelish, but I must be missing something.....
Where are the bananas?

[Teanna]

Oops! Thanks Hugo! I updated the recipe!

[Erin]

I could be blind, but I believe you're missing an oven temperature, pan size, and a mention of when to add the bananas. I barreled ahead and made these, with a few improvisations (350F, 9x9 pan is too small, just chucked the bananas in with the buttermilk), and they're quite good, though mine came out a little more cake-like than brownie-like. Thank you for sharing :)

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