Quintuple Chocolate Brownies

Mmmmm fudgey. This is the first recipe I have made from Dorie Greenspan's book Baking: From My Home to Yours. These brownies turned out great! If you like cakey brownies, these are not for you. If you like rich, thick, fudgey, chocolately brownies, give these a try!

Quintuple Chocolate Brownies

Source: Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

Ingredients for the Brownies:

• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate coarsely chopped
• 3 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2 tbs strong coffee (I substituted Kahlua, mmmmm)
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped or 1 cup store-bought milk chocolate chips (I used chopped Dove candy bars)
• 1 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

Ingredients for the Glaze:

• 6 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped, or 1 cup store-bought white chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

• Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven, and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a 9-inch baking pan with foil, butter the foil and place the pan on a baking sheet. Sift together the flour, cocoa and salt.
• To Make the Brownies: Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and add, in the following order, the butter, the two chocolates and the coffee. Keeping the pan over low heat, warm just until the butter and chocolates are melted- you don't want the ingredients to get so hot they separate, so keep an eye on the bowl. Stir gently, and when the mixture is smooth, set it aside for 5 minutes.
• Using a whisk or a rubber spatula, beat the sugar into the chocolate mixture. Don't beat too vigorously- you don't want to add air to the batter- and don't be concerned about any graininess. Next, stir in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla. You should have a smooth, glossy batter. If you're not already using a rubber spatula, switch to one now and gently stir in the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. Finally, stir in the milk chocolate chips and the nuts. Scrape the batter into the pan.
• Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out streaked but not thickly coated. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the brownies rest undisturbed for at least 30 minutes. Invert the brownies onto the rack and let cool completely. (I left my brownies in the pan to cool and glaze them, since other people had problems with the glaze running off the brownies).
• To Make the Glaze: Put the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring the heavy cream to a boil and pour it over the chocolate. Wait 30 seconds, then, using a rubber spatula, gently stir until the chocolate is melted and the glaze is smooth. (I wanted a thicker glaze, so I only used about 1/4 cup of heavy cream).
• Hold a long metal icing spatula in one hand and the bowl of glaze in the other. Pour the glaze onto the center of the brownies and use the spatula to nudge it evenly over the surface. Don't worry if it dribbles over the edges, you can trim the sides later (or not). Refrigerate the brownies for at least 30 minutes, or until the glaze is firm. (I recommend refrigerating overnight. I cut my brownies after about an hour and a half, and the glaze ran and was all messy).