Bittersweet Brownies Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the chocolate with the butter, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and both sugars. Stir in the melted chocolate and butter. Stir in the vanilla.
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. Stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture until well combined.
• Grease a 13 by 9-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray or the tablespoon of butter. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the brownies cool to room temperature before cutting into 3-inch squares.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line an 8 inch pan with aluminum foil. Make sure to extend the foil beyond the two opposite ends of the pan. This will help in lifting brownies out of pan. Lightly butter bottom and sides of foil-lined pan.
• Cut butter into pieces and melt in a saucepan over low heat. Remove pan from heat, add 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate. Let stand 1 minute, then stir until smooth. Let cool for 10 minutes.
• Whisk in 1/2 cup white sugar, 1 egg (make sure egg is at room temperature), and then vanilla. Using a wooden spoon, stir in flour, baking soda and salt just until smooth. Spread dough evenly into pan.
• Bake 10-12 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out with a moist crumb. Do not overbake. Cool completely on wire rack.
• To Make Mousse: Melt 4 ounces of bittersweet chocolate with the coffee in top of a double boiler over hot water. Stir often until smooth. Whisk in 3 egg yolks, one at a time. Remove from heat.
• In a chilled medium bowl, beat 3/4 cup heavy cream just until soft peaks form. In another medium bowl, beat 3 egg whites just until soft peaks begin to form. Stir 1/4 of these beaten egg whites into the chocolate/coffee mixture, then carefully fold in the rest
• Gently fold in the whipped cream. Spread chocolate mousse evenly over the top of the cooled brownie in the pan.
• To Make Topping: In a chilled medium sized bowl, beat 1/3 cup heavy cream and 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar until soft peaks form. Remove brownie from baking pan by grasping the overhanging foil. Cut into squares and transfer to serving dish. Place some whipped cream on top of each brownie and top with a chocolate espresso bean. Store in refrigerator.

Steps:

• Combine chocolate and butter in a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in microwave oven on medium for 3 minutes. Stir well. Cool to room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 325°F Lightly oil an 8-by-9-inch or 9-inch-square baking pan.
• Place sugar and flour in a mixer bowl and mix 30 seconds on low speed. Increase speed to medium and add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each.
• With mixer on low speed, drizzle in the cooled, melted chocolate mixture. Increase speed to medium and mix about 1 minute or until the batter is mousse-like in texture.
• Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread it evenly with a rubber spatula. Bake on center rack of oven 30 to 35 minutes or until the center is just set. Cool on a wire rack.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, and line with parchment paper so that there is a 2-inch overhang on the two long sides.
• Prepare the shortbread: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or beaters, mix together flour, sugar and salt. Beat in butter on low speed until dough just comes together but is still a little crumbly. (Or pulse together ingredients in a food processor.)
• Press dough into prepared pan. Prick dough all over with a fork. Bake until golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven. Raise oven temperature to 375 degrees.
• As shortbread bakes, prepare the brownie: Place butter and chocolate in a large bowl. Melt in the microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring after each burst, until smooth. (Alternatively, place bowl over a pot of simmering water, and heat chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth and melted.) Whisk in sugars and cocoa powder until smooth, then whisk in eggs and vanilla.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and sea salt. Whisk into chocolate mixture until no streaks of flour remain. Fold in nuts, if using. Spread mixture onto the warm shortbread base. Sprinkle lightly but evenly with flaky sea salt.
• Bake until the top is set, the center is soft, and the edges start pulling away from the pan, 23 to 28 minutes. (A toothpick inserted into the center will come out gooey.) Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into bars before serving.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees, and lightly grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
• Melt unsweetened chocolate and butter in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently until smooth.
• Using a rubber spatula, scrape chocolate mixture into large bowl. Whisk in oil and sugar, and let cool for about 5 minutes.
• As the chocolate mixture cools, whisk together flour, cocoa powder and salt in a medium bowl.
• Whisk eggs into cooled chocolate mixture until well combined, then whisk in vanilla. Using a rubber spatula, fold in flour mixture. Fold in most of the chocolate chunks, reserving the larger chunks to place on top.
• Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth it into an even layer. Scatter the reserved chocolate chunks on top. Sprinkle lightly with flaky sea salt, and bake until the top is set and firm to touch, 17 to 23 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into 16 squares.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with olive oil and set aside.
• In a small bowl, whisk the cocoa powder and baking soda together. Set aside.
• Add the chopped beets, sugar and vanilla, if using, to the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until the beets are just puréed but before they begin to liquefy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• In a small microwave-safe bowl, add 1 cup/6 ounces chocolate chips and the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Heat in the microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring between each round, until the chocolate is almost completely melted, up to 75 seconds total. Remove the chocolate from the microwave, stir until completely smooth, then immediately add it to the food processor. Blend it with the beets on high until smooth. Add the eggs, blend to incorporate, then add the dry ingredients and blend until just combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Remove the blade, and using a rubber spatula, scrape the brownie batter into the prepared pan, then smooth it into an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining 3 tablespoons/1 ounce chocolate chips on top and bake until the brownies have puffed and set on top but are still a little fudgy when a toothpick is inserted inside, about 25 to 30 minutes.
• Remove the brownies from the oven and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting into squares and topping with flaky sea salt.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Line an 8 x 8 inch baking pan with foil.
• Combine cocoa, sugar, vanilla, salt, and melted buttter.
• Mix with mixer until well combined. Add eggs one at a time.
• Add flour and mix until just blended. Fold in nuts.
• Spread evenly in lined baking dish.
• Bake at 325 degrees for about 28 to 30 minutes.
• Toothpick inserted in the center will be a little fudgy.
• Cool brownies completely.
• Lift from baking dish and remove the foil. Cut into squares and serve.

Steps:

• Wear a pair of rubber gloves to stop your hands from staining, then top, tail and peel the beetroot - you'll need about 400g flesh. Roughly chop and put into a large bowl. Add a splash of water, cover with cling film, then microwave on High for 12 mins or until tender.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. While the beetroot cooks, butter then line a 20 x 30cm traybake or small roasting tin. Roughly chop the chocolate and cut the butter into cubes. Tip the cooked beetroot into a sieve, drain off any excess liquid, then put into a food processor or blender with the chocolate, butter and vanilla. Whizz until the mix is as smooth as you can get it. The chocolate and butter will melt as you do this.
• Put the sugar and eggs into a large bowl, then beat using an electric hand whisk until thick, pale and foamy, about 2 mins. Spoon the beetroot mix into the bowl (it won't look too pretty at this stage, but bear with me), then use a large metal spoon to fold it into the whisked eggs. Try to conserve as much air in the mixture as you can. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder, then gently fold these in to make a smooth batter.
• Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 25 mins or until risen all over, with just the merest quiver under the centre of the crust when you shake the pan. Cool completely in the tin, then cut into squares.