Supernatural Brownies

As you can tell, I have been baking a lot lately. It is almost a last ditch effort of a desperate attempt to have a semi-normal life before residency starts. I know... I still have months before July 1st, but I feel the day looming. My match information has to be turned in within the next two weeks, and I really need to take a moment between now and then to make my final list. It is a bit nerve racking and I am ready for the whole process to be over so that I can move on with my life. For now though, I will bake and I will bake like there is no tomorrow. I plan on taking these brownies to the clinic I am working in this month for the nursing staff. It is always good to try to get on people's good side with baked goods right? :) The recipe I discovered on the Brownie Project blog.

Supernatural Brownies - adapted from Nick Malgieri from the Brownie Project

2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
One 13×9x2-inch pan, buttered and lined with buttered parchment or foil

1. Set the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
2. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and turn off heat. Combine butter and chocolate in a heat proof bowl and set over pan of water. Stir occasionally until melted.
3. Whisk eggs together in a large bowl, then whisk in the salt, sugars, and vanilla. Stir in the chocolate and butter mixture, then fold in the flour.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for about 45 minutes, until top has formed a shiny crust and batter is moderately firm. Cool in pan on a rack. Wrap pan in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature or refrigerated until the next day.
5. To cut brownies, unmold onto a cutting board, remove paper, and replace with another cutting board. Turn cake right side up and trim away edges. Cut brownies into 2-inch squares.

The baking learning issue for today is the double boiler. Now, I do not actually own a double boiler. So melting chocolate can often be a challenge but not impossible. When I first started baking, I steered clear of recipes with the elusive double boiler...thinking that I actually needed one to do the recipe. Ha! The double boiler itself is essentially two saucepans that fit into each other. The bottom saucepan aka the larger one is partially filled with water and you bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, the top saucepan is placed on the lower one and the substance you are melting or heating is placed inside. Chocolate sauces, custards and the wax from candles can be made in a double boiler. I always create a makeshaft double boiler in my kitchen. I pick a small sauce pan and a glass bowl to go atop the sauce pan. Finding the right size glass bowl for the sauce pan is the trick. You don't want your glass bowl to actually touch the bottom of the sauce pan, but you also don't want you glass bowl to float in the water. So the bowl has to be able to shimmy into the sauce pan with the top portion of the bowl larger than the sauce pan. Does that make sense? There is a nice picture on another blog: Double Boiler Picture. I fill the small sauce pan with water and I place the glass bowl atop. Wala...you have yourself a double boiler.

As for this recipe, I give it 3 out of 5 stars. The brownies were decent but you can do better. The pro's to this recipe was the fact that these brownies are incredibly simple to make. It is hard to screw them up. This is a lot coming from me...queen of incorrectly reading recipes. In addition, I liked how moist these brownies were in the center and the color of the brownies was ideal. The cons to this recipe was that the brownies were a bit overdone on the outsides after 45 minutes (which is my fault because I forgot how much brownies continue to cook after you take them out of the oven.) Second, where's the extra punch...what is making these special??? Where is the chocolatey goodness oozing out of the brownies? I leave you with this. If you have any recommendations on recipes for me to try, please send them my way. I am in the mood to bake. Bring it!