Saturday, May 3, 2008

Belgian Raspberry Brownies with Truffle Ganache


I love this picture. It's pretty. ... Moving on. Amanda sent me this recipe a week or so again, and I decided to make these brownies for her birthday. Sadly, a car snafu has prevented her from picking up her delicious birthday present, but that's okay; her birthday isn't for another 45 minutes. As a responsible chef, I have tasted the end product, and I can verify that they are pretty tasty. Hubby and I each have our own issues with them: I feel the brownies are a bit too dry, and hubby feels they are a bit too bitter, at least the chocolate aftertaste is. That's not to say we didn't both heartily enjoy our little brownies. We did. Hopefully, Amanda does too.

Belgian Truffle Brownies with Truffle Ganache
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup raspberry beer - I couldn't find any, so I used Leinenliugel's Berry Weiss.
1/4 cup seedless raspberry preserves - again, I could not find this so I used seedless raspberry jam. I felt the seedlessness was important
5 oz coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate
1 cup flour
1/3 cup Hershey Special Dark Cocoa Powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Ganache:
1 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp heavy cream
5 oz coarsely chopped dark chocolate truffles - Lindt

Preheat the oven to 375F. Line an 8x11 baking dish with foil and coat with cooking spray.
Melt 1/2 cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; stir in beer and preserves. When the mixture starts to boil, turn off the heat and stir in the bittersweet chocolate until it is melted and well combined. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.
In a large bowl, beat the sugars, eggs, and vanilla extract on high for 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and beat in the warm chocolate mixture until they are well combined. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined.
Pour batter into a pan; spread even. Bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes or until set (toothpick comes out clean). Gently place the baking dish into a larger dish filled with ice water. Let sit until the brownies are cool. (I thought this was odd, but whatever. It did quickly cool the brownies).
On medium heat, melt 1 tbsp butter. Stir in the cream. When the mixture starts to bubble, reduce the heat to low. Stir in the truffles until they are melted and smooth. Pour over brownies; smooth evenly across. Place brownies in the freezer for 15 minutes, or until the ganache is set.
Lift out the foil (and brownies). Slice into bars; they will slice very easily.
I topped each brownie with a raspberry.

So here we are. Tasty brownies. OH! During the baking of these brownies, I discovered the first beer I can tolerate drinking! The Berry Weiss was pretty tasty as far as beer goes.

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