Made these last week.
Outrageous Brownies?
Over 2 pounds of chocolate (actually, almost 3 lbs) in one recipe. That’s why.
If these don’t satisfy your chocolate craving, I don’t know what will.
Barefoot Contessa Outrageous Brownies with Ganache Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 pound unsalted butter
- 1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
- 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
- 6 extra-large eggs
- 1 1/2 tablespoons instant coffee granules I used decaf
- 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups sugar
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Ganache Frosting:
- 9 oz. Semisweet chocolate
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons butter
- Place all ingredients in saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until melted and combined. Pour over brownies after brownies are cooled slightly. Let sit for about 1 hour or in refrigerator until set, then cut and serve.
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
-
Butter and flour a 12 x 18 x 1-inch baking sheet.
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Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.
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In a medium bowl, sift together 2 cups of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the remaining 1/4 cup flour and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl, then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into the baking sheet.
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Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not over bake!
Recipe Notes
-The original recipe calls for 3 cups chopped walnuts or pecans and 1 1/4 cups flour.-These freeze well. Cut and wrap in Ziploc bags on paper plates. They will keep for up to two months in the freezer.
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Just curious about something – what kind of change is produced in your brownies vs. the original by increasing the flour? Fluffier? Thanks, baking is a scary thing to me!
They will be tough.
Tough??? The extra flour makes the brownies tough?
This sounds like heaven!
I stumbled upon your blog and this recipe looks amazing. I will be making this soon! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Codee
http://www.readableeatables.blogspot.com
OMG This brownie is georgeous and tempting! gloria
I have this recipe in a cookbook, but was always terrified of making it. 2 lbs. of chocolate!!
Glad you took the challenge. I bet they were amazing. 🙂
These are some of the best brownies ever. My mom found the recipe a few years back and has been making them ever since. Sooooo good.
This brownie looks delish! I would love to have one right now. It reminds me of some of the great deserts I saw on Extreme Chef http://www.facebook.com/pages/Extreme-Chef/195324160502642
Looks great! Will bake these brownies this weekend!
I have these baking in the oven as we speak…I wonder what they’d taste like with a milk chocolate ganache since so much dark and semisweet chocolate is used? I can’t wait to to try them! 🙂 Tracy,
Redding, CT
How do you make these without coffee?
Jennifer,
I used decaf granules, but you could simply skip the coffee granules altogether.
Whenever a recipe calls for coffee I just substitute cocoa powder and it turns out great.
The coffee adds serious depth to the chocolate…don’t be afraid of it. You won’t taste it…I use 2 tbs. instead of 3 though.
These are my go-to brownies. Heavenly… add a small scoop of vanilla bean ice cream to pull it all together for a great dessert.
Oops… One more thing, I put about a teaspoon or so of either Kahlua or Baileys or even Cassis in the Ganache.Just gives it a little twist and a rich flavor.
Love INA!!!
If you wanted to use a 9X13 pan, would you just half the recipe?
hmmmmm you often need a little bit of a bigger pan than a 9×13 when you half a pan that call for baking in a sheet pan. I would try 1/3 of the recipe, or bake the whole recipe and then freeze half. This recipe freezes exceptionally well!
xo
Si
For those who wonder about making without coffee: USE IT! You won’t taste the coffee flavor (I was afraid of that, too, until I tried it in a fudge buttercream recipe–amazing depth to the chocolate flavor which everyone just raved about.) If you don’t have instant coffee powder like Nescafe or Folgers Crystals around, you can also try what I do in a pinch: Grind your coffee beans in a burr type grinder to a fine espresso powder consistency. I use White’s Coffees fresh roasted hazelnut beans. Oh-my-oh-my-oh-my!
I agree, Pam, the coffee really brings out the richness of the chocolate. Thanks for sharing!
xo
Si
Can these be kept a day or 2 on the counter—in airtight container or not? Or should they be refrigerated because of the ganache?
What could I substitute for the whipping cream in the ganache?
Hello,
I am not sure I’d suggest another sub without compromising the texture of the ganache!
thanks for asking and for reading ABK,
Si
Thanks! I just bought whipping cream so i’m fine now.
Is there any reason I shouldn’t use parchment paper rather than buttering and flouring the pan?
The 16 ounces unsweetened chocolate in the brownies, is it cocoa powder or baking chocolate?
I used only a teaspoon of coffee granules and it was too strong and brownies were bitter tasting. Not sure I would make these again. Expensive recipe and they ended up in the trash. They were too dense.