Congo Brownies

The August baking project with the ABC Bakers was Congo Brownies, found in Flo Braker's Baking for All Occassions. Now just to set the story straight I am not a brownie person. In fact I couldn't tell you when the last time I made brownies. Now come on, stay with me here. This will end well, I promise. As I was saying......brownies to me are gooey, soft, over the top chocolatey. I don't mind chocolate if it is in the form of Lindt Truffles but over the top brownies not so much. But, being a good sport and having hungry neighbors I went with the program. As it turns out these were definitely different and....wait a minute you're just going to have to read through to find out how this story turns out.

This is not your usual brownie recipe, it is a combination of a brownie and a nut studded blondie, that's right! First the Congo layer (blondie incognito) made with all the usual participants including yummy brown sugar and studded with walnuts. This wonderful layer is partially backed then removed from the oven for the addition of the brownie layer.

The brownie layer again has all the usual participants but includes not only cocoa but melted unsweetened chocolate, over the top? Or maybe its just a nice balance of chocolate that helps to tone the chocolately sweetness down a bit. Back in the oven to finish baking.

After cooling there is a drizzle of melted chocolate and I added another drizzle of white chocolate for a continuation of the black and white theme. I must say this was not gooey and not mushy. The texture was closer to cakey, much more to my liking. The over all reaction from my tasters was very positive and I must admit that if I was to eat a brownie...this would be the one. I might even suggest some vanilla ice cream on top to finish it off! See it ended well! Enjoy!

French Chocolate Brownies

Ah, another baking challenge from the "Tuesdays with Dorie" group chosen by Madame Chow's Kitchen. This time it is French Chocolate Brownies on page 92-93. I have decided not to include the project recipes so that I do not deter from the sale of the book by Dorie Greenspan.

Her intension with these brownies was to maintain a soft moist texture, and powerful chocolate flavor of a French fondant cake. As is goes I'm not a chocoholic and definitely not a brownie person. But that just makes it easier for me not to succumb to those voices that usually lure me to dessert. Luckily my official tasters do not share my tastes.

The brownie batter is quick and easy to make so I figured I had the time to do a little twist on Dorie's twist. The little treasures in this batter are rum soaked raisins. Now what would a project be if I didn't tweek it just a little. So I added walnuts for "J" and soaked the raisins in Vanilla Schnapps (yes, very conservative tweeks but, I just love the fragrance of vanilla).

There is no chemical leavening added to this recipe either so beating the eggs as instructed, until they are light and fluffy is essential. It is the reason these brownies are so light and cake-like. It is also the reason the top cracks into a million pieces and is difficult to cut into neat squares. Although I would probably never serve these to guests I gave them a taste (afterall someone had to be first). My conclusion: the raisins and light texture are what makes these brownies a bit above average. My official tasters were very pleased to have something out of the ordinary to test. So, thank you Dorie.