Sumopocky | Custom Bakes: Brownies

Baking Therapy: Jessi Lane Adams once said, "Coffee smells like freshly ground heaven." This recipe transformed my kitchen and home into a coffee heaven, with the scent of espresso and chocolate filling the air like an orchestral medley. An instant ticket to paradise.

I came across this recipe on the latest issue of Kinfolk magazine and baked it using atomi's own roasted blend of coffee beans. The smashed-up espresso beans and dark chocolate will awaken the flavours in these fudge-like brownies. I thought it was a brilliant idea to use espresso beans, but it turned out a bit too rich for my liking. The original concept is still good, thus, I've tweaked the recipe to improve it!

These are the few changes I made:

The original recipe called for coarsely grounded coffee beans, but it's highly recommended to crush them finely. Coarsely grounded beans interfere with the texture of the brownies and gets caught in your teeth.
Instead of using 85g of espresso beans, I cut it by half as I found the taste of coffee a bit too strong. Using 40g creates a subtle, but still enjoyable, taste.

ESPRESSO BEAN BROWNIES
Adapted from: Kinfolk Magazine
Servings: 24 - 30 portions
Equipment: 9 x 13" baking pan
Time: 20 minutes + baking time

Ingredients
225g unsalted butter, cubed
170g bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (60 - 70% cacao)*
55g unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped (90-100% cocao)*
165g all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
370g caster sugar
4 large eggs, beaten
2 tbsp instant espresso powder
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
40g espresso beans, finely crushed

*If you don't know the percentage of cacao in your chocolate, just try to look for dark couverture chocolate. You can also use normal chocolate chips, but the brownies might turn out a bit sweeter.

Directions
1. Melt the cubed butter and chocolate over a water bath, stirring until the chocolate is smooth.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and espresso powder, and add the melted chocolate and butter to the bowl.
3. Mix in the eggs and vanilla until thoroughly combined.
4. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and mix well.
5. Pour the batter into a baking pan lined with parchment paper/greased with butter.
6. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 25 to 30 minutes. You will know when it is ready when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean with a few moist crumbs attached. Let it cool before serving!

June 24, 2015
2 Comments

White Chocolate Chip Walnut Brownies

Baking

May 29, 2014
0 Comments

One-Bowl Mascarpone Brownies Recipe

Baking

Happy Chinese New Year! Hope that you are having a horsing good time and may the year of the horse bring nothing but happiness and satisfied bellies. To welcome the new year, I shall share an amazing and simple One-Bowl Mascarpone Brownie Recipe! Don't you just love one-bowl recipes without all the fuss of washing up?

Anyway, I came across this recipe while searching for a way to use up my leftover mascarpone (from the previous time I made tiramisu). My search came up with many fruit tarts/cheese cake recipes, and so this mascarpone brownie recipe really intrigued me. I've never fathomed that mascarpone could be used in such a manner. What's more, it's a one-bowl recipe! (sorry my lazy self can't stop praising the awesome-ness of one-bowl recipes) Thus, I was tempted to try baking the brownie and putting this recipe to the test.

My verdict? A resounding YES! Do try this for yourself!

The brownies are nice and moist, with just the right level of sweetness. I don't know if it's just me, but the texture reminds me of Japanese sponge cheese cakes. It's spongy and a bit dense, giving it it's uniqueness. Come to think of it, these brownies would taste even better with walnuts! Perhaps you could add walnuts if you try this recipe.

ONE-BOWL MASCARPONE BROWNIES RECIPE
Adapted from thekitchn

Makes 8 x 8" Brownies

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter (226.8g)
3 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (85g)
1 cup white sugar (200g)
1/2 cup cocoa powder (sifted) (60g)
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese (113.5g)
3 large eggs, at room-temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (60g)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 163 degrees celsius and grease or parchment paper a 8x8" pan.
2. In glass/porcelain mixing bowl, melt butter in microwave on full power. Stir in chocolate and mix until combined (a few additional seconds in the microwave may be needed).
3. Add sugar to chocolate/butter mixture until combined. Heat for an additional 30 seconds on high, remove and stir until it looks shiny. It will still look a bit grainy.
4. Add mascarpone, vanilla, eggs and mixing until smooth.
5. Sift flour, salt and cocoa into mixture with a sieve and stir just until combined, making sure to scrape all sides of the bowl. (Mixture will be rather light in texture, instead of dense and heavy like many brownie batters)
6. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top to ensure even baking. Bake for 40-50 minutes until tester comes out clean.
7. Leave your brownies to cool slightly and serve! (Would be great with a generous scoop of ice cream hehe)