Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Best Ever Brownies - TWD: Baking with Julia

Tuesdays with Dorie: Baking with Julia - 21st Installment.  The recipe is Best Ever Brownies.
After the comments in the blog about gooey brownies taking a long time to bake, I braced myself, but as it turned out, my brownies went pretty well.  Maybe all the warnings made me pay more attention to following the recipe exactly.   After listening to a radio interview about how one can't multitask while cooking (or one will suffer the consequences), I decided that maybe this project is helping me to pay attention more directly while I bake.  Or maybe it's just making me realize that I don't always pay attention while I bake :-)

I also increased my popularity in my household by making brownies for "no particular reason" (usually it's for an event, and the brownies are whisked out of the house without a trace).  The brownies tasted great! 

This did seem like a lot of trouble for brownies, with the whisking of sugar and eggs, adding half of it to chocolate and then whipping the rest (getting out the Kitchen Aid mixer for brownies?!).  It seemed more like the method one would use for a cake. 
Eggs and sugar whipped for three minutes
Folding the whipped eggs into the chocolate

I also used my favorite chocolate/butter melting technique in the microwave.  I find it more foolproof than the stove.  You put the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave it for a minute or two on 50% power, till the chocolate is getting soft.    At that point, you can add the butter,  and continue on 50% power for another minute or so, keeping an eye on it.  Stir it before adding the butter, and then stir again after the butter has a chance to melt. I'm much less likely to burn the chocolate when I use this method.

I did bake them longer than the recipe said - exactly how long, I can't tell you...I put them in for the amount of time in the recipe, decided they needed a little longer, and then promptly forgot to set the timer.  Luckily, a few minutes later, I remembered them,  ran to the oven and pulled them out right away.  Phew. 

Does anyone know the bio for the author of this recipe?  The name is Rick Katz, but there is no biography in the back of my "Baking with Julia" book.

8 comments:

  1. Hahaha... I do multitask while baking... and sometimes recipes go quite wrong for me!
    Well done on the lovely brownies!

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  2. LOL - I have to wear a kitchen timer clipped to my belt whenever I'm baking. Your brownies turned out beautifully!

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  3. They look so lovely! Happy they turned out so well for you! :)

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  4. I always forget to set (or reset) the timer! Glad you caught them in time!

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  5. I left mine in longer too! I just couldn’t bear to take them out of the oven while still wet in the middle! Yours looks perfect to me…very moist and delicious!

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  6. The microwave is great for melting chocolate - I always seem to mess it up on the stove top.
    Glad you were able to save your brownies.

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  7. I love using the microwave for melting. So easy. I put all the sugar in the chocolate but they still came out just right.

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  8. Your brownies look perfectly baked. I could not find much info on Mr. Katz either. Other than he may be owner of a pizza restaurant in Boston. Strange huh? Maybe he is just a very private person. :)

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