Browniebabes Treat Chocolate Right

Myriam at Once Upon a Tart has called upon all brownie lovers to answer her Browniebabe challenge, so here is my response to the call.

Brownies bring back a lot of childhood memories for me because they were the very first thing that I ever made all by myself (without mom's help) at the age of 10 years old. I always loved to cook, helping my mom with dinner, cakes, cookies, whatever, but now I was given the chance to make something myself, and brownies are really the perfect place for a child to begin to learn how to cook. The ones I used to make were a pretty basic, really sweet, fudgy dense brownie. But now, 13 years later, I usually prefer the not-as-sweet, cakier brownie that focuses on conveying a depth of intense chocolate flavor. That's right, I said it, I'm in the cakey-camp, terrible aren't I? But not to worry, I still do appreciate those rich, gooey-sweet types of brownies.


It's been a while since the last time I made brownies, so I didn't have a treasured recipe on hand, so I decided to read a whole bunch of recipes on Epicurious. From reading those recipes, I formulated my own recipe. I use less than the common 2 cups of sugar, more than the common 3/4 cup flour. A lot of cocoa was really intensified with some cinnamon and espresso grinds- it might sound funny, but it makes for an amazing result. Also, the addition of dark chocolate chips and white chocolate chips give these cakey brownies an extra chocolate pizazz.

Mocha & White Chocolate Chip Brownies

3/4 cup (1 ½ sticks) butter, softened
¾ cup cocoa
1 ¼ cups sugar
2 tsp espresso grinds (or you could use instant espresso)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 large eggs
¼ cup milk
1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
¾ cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease the bottom and sides of a large jelly roll baking pan with shortening, and then line bottom of pan with parchment paper and grease parchment well with shortening.

In a large bowl, mix the butter, cocoa, sugar, espresso, vanilla, cinnamon and salt, and then add the eggs 1 at a time, whisking after each addition until batter is smooth. Add milk. Continue beating batter until it is very smooth, almost whipped. Stir in flour. Add both types of chocolate chips, stirring to combine.

Pour batter into prepared pan, and spread it out till even. Bake in the middle of the oven until top is firm and edges just begin to pull away from sides of pan, about 20 minutes, be very careful not to over bake!

Cool brownies in the pan on a rack. Cut into 40 squares and store in an airtight container.

Big ol' pan of yummy brownies

If it's any indication, the guys at work really liked them

A Feast for Easter

Happy Easter everyone! Here are some pictures of my day of food...

Peach cake for breakfast- yum

This is a recipe that I got from my grandma this past summer, and it is just fabulous! It's easy, delicious, and you can use whatever fruit you like- plums, pears, apples, apricots, etc. It is kind of like a fruit cookie bar or a crostata more than a full-fledged cake. The crust is thin and some what crunchy depending on how long you cook it, and the sugar on the peaches caramelizes a bit to make a scrumptious topping.

Grandma’s Peach Cake

In a medium bowl, combine until they hold together:
½ cup butter
1 ¼ cup flour
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ cup sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 egg
2 Tbs milk

Grease a 9”x13” cookie pan & preheat oven to 400°F. Press dough into the pan.

In a medium bowl, combine:
4 large peaches (more or less), sliced
½ cup sugar
1 Tbs flour
3 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon

Arrange peaches in a single layer over the dough. Bake cake for 40-50 minutes, or until the dough is cooked through on the bottom and the peaches are soft.

When I think of Easter dinner, I think of lamb. It seems to me like the perfect meat to serve, so fitting for the holiday, plus I don't get lamb very often (even though I love it) so it makes it that much more specialer. This is a recipe that I just kinda threw together, one of those walk in the pantry and start dumping and puring spice in a bag. It is Middle Eastern inspired, sort of similar to a kabob, only I left my leg of lamb whole. I did butterfly it though, in order to make it cook faster and more evenly on the grill.

I Love Lamb!

BBQ Lamb with Middle Eastern Spices

In zip loc bag or other marinating container combine:

1 Tbl Cumin
1 Tbl Coriander
1 Tbl Turmeric
1 tsp hot Paprika
1 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbl garlic, chopped
¼ cup yogurt
2 Tbl lemon juice
fresh ground pepper

Add to marinade, and massage meat:
2-3 lb leg of lamb, semi-boned and butterflied

Allow meat to marinate overnight in refrigerator. An hour before cooking, take meat out of the refrigerator and sprinkle with:
2 tsp sea salt
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Start your barbeque, preferably the good ol’ charcoal kind, and make sure you have some nice hot coals. Barbeque your lamb to desired doneness (I like it medium in the center, and done on the ends- this way your guests will be able to find a doneness level that they like.) Slice and serve with sauce (recipe below).

Shiraz Lamb Sauce:

In a small sauce pan combine:
½ cup Shiraz wine
any and all dripping/blood from the lamb
½ tsp garlic powder
fresh ground pepper
sea salt

Simmer sauce over low heat for 5 minutes. Sauce will be thin, it is just meant to be a jus of sorts for the lamb. Serve hot with the lamb.

Lemon & Garlic Roasted Potatoes

Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine in a large glass baking dish:

6 large potatoes, chopped into bite-sized chunks
2 red onions, chopped into bite-sized chunks
2 Tbl garlic, chopped
the zest of one lemon
the juice of one lemon
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
sea salt to taste
fresh ground pepper to taste
¼ cup olive oil

Bake potatoes, covered with tin foil for 30 minutes. Then uncover them, stir and return to the oven (uncovered) and cook till tender and brown, about 40 minutes.

Spiced BBQ Lamb with Lemon & Garlic Roasted Potatoes & Asparagus

Pure chocolate for dessert

Recipes coming soon...

Dark Chocolate & Almond Cake with Anisette & White Chocolate Cream

It's like a chocolate landscape...