TWD: Quintuple Chocolate Brownies

Its Tuesday again!!

I just want to apologize if you came last week looking for a Florida Pie. It just didn't come together for me last week. Our host was Dianne of Dianne's Dishes. Please go check out her Florida Pie!

This week's recipe was actually Madeleines chosen by Tara of Smells Like Home. At some point I will attempt to make these but I couldn't justify another pan for this week's recipe. Also, in preparation for moving this summer, we are trying to be frugal with our budget. Therefore, when the option was presented to chose a recipe from the list of completed recipes, I went looking for one to use ingredients already on my shelf. I was successful!

Apprently, I am a bit addicted to chocolate as I had all five types (or something similar) on my pantry shelf. These brownies were very easy to put together. I thought they were fantastic! As did my husband and friends that were visiting for the weekend. Not a crumb was left behind!



Quintuple Chocolate Brownies
Source: Baking: From My Home to Yours
Photo: my kitchen

Ingredients

For the Brownies:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used semisweet chocolate chips)
2 tablespoons strong coffee (I omitted)
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 ounces premium quality milk chocolate, chopped into chips, or 1 cup store bought milk chocolate chips (I used some leftover Easter candy-Gertrude Hawk candy bars!-1 milk chocolate with almonds bar and 1 dark chocolate bar)
1 cup chopped nuts (I used a mixture of pecans, walnuts and the almonds from the candy bar)

For the Glaze:
6 ounces premium quality white chocolate, finely chopped or 1 cup store bought white chocolate chips
1/3 cup heavy cream
(I poured in a splash of raspberry syrup)

Getting Ready
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9-inch (I used and 8-inch) square baking pan with foil, butter the foil and place the pan on a baking sheet.
Sift together the flour, cocoa and salt.

To Make the Brownies
Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and add, in the following order, the butter, the two chocolates and the coffee. Keeping the pan over low heat, warm just until the butter and chocolates are melted-you don't want the ingredients to get so hot they separate, so keep an eye on the bowl. Stir gently, and when the mixture is smooth, set it aside for 5 minutes.
Using a whisk or a rubber spatula, beat the sugar into the chocolate mixture. Don't beat too vigorously-you don't want to add air to the batter-and don't be concerned about graininess. Next, stir in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla. You should have a smooth, glossy batter. If you're not already using a rubber spatula, switch to one now and gently stir in the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. Finally, stir in the milk chocolate chips and the nuts. Scrap the batter into the pan.
Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out streaked but not thickly coated. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the brownies rest undisturbed for at least 30 minutes. (You can wait longer, if you'd like.)
Turn the brownies out onto a rack, peel away the foil and place it under another rack-the foil becomes the drip catcher for the glaze. Invert the brownies onto the rack and let cool completely.

To Make the Glaze
Put the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring the heavy cream to a boil and pour it over the chocolate. Wait 30 seconds, then, using a rubber spatula, gently stir until the chocolate is melted and the glaze is smooth.
Hold a longer metal icing spatula in one hand and the bowl of glaze in the other. Pour the glaze onto the center of the brownies and using the spatula to nudge it evenly over the surface. Don't worry if it dribbles over the edges, you can trim the sides later (or not). Refrigerate the brownies for about 20 minutes to dry the glaze.
Cut into 16 squares, each roughly 2 1/4 inches on a side.

Serving
Serve straight up-whipped cream or ice cream is unnecessary with these. Well, a little ice cream is nice-why not?

Storing
The brownies can be put back into their baking pan, wrapping (without touching the glaze) and kept at room temperature for about 3 days or frozen-glaze and all-for up to 2 months.