Chocolate Hazelnut Truffle Brownies

I used ½ bittersweet and ½ semi-sweet.


Chocolate Hazelnut Truffle Brownies
a Gourmet, December 2001 recipe

For hazelnut base
Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted, loose skins rubbed off with a kitchen towel, and cooled
¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ stick ( 1/4 cup) unsalted butter
6 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), finely chopped
2 large whole eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter bottom and sides of an 8-inch square metal baking pan, then dust with cocoa powder, knocking out excess.


Finely grind nuts in a food processor with flour, sugar, and salt. Melt butter in a 2-quart saucepan, then remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time, whisking until smooth. Stir in nut flour until just combined. Spread batter evenly in baking pan and bake in middle of oven until top is firm and dry and a tester inserted into center comes out with crumbs adhering, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a rack, at least 2 hours.

For ganache
2 large egg yolks1 cup heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon salt
12 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), finely chopped

Lightly beat yolks in a bowl. Bring cream with salt just to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, then add half of it to yolks in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Whisk yolk mixture into remaining cream and cook over low heat, whisking, until slightly thickened and an instant-read thermometer registers 170°F (do not let boil).

Remove from heat and add chocolate, whisking until smooth. Pour ganache over hazelnut base in pan, smoothing top with offset spatula, and chill, covered, until firm, at least 5 hours. Cut into squares with a warmed thin knife, wiping off knife after each cut, and remove from pan while still cold. Serve truffles cold or at room temperature.

Gourmet’s notes: 1. Truffles can be chilled up to 1 week. 2. Truffles can be frozen in pan, covered tightly with foil, 1 month. 3. Makes about 80 truffles.

Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

Shockolate Cheesecake

• 1 x box (15.5 oz/440 g) low-fat brownie mix (such as Betty Crocker Fudge Brownies)
• 2 cups 1% cottage cheese
• 1 cup light sour cream (not fat-free)
• 1 x pkg (8 oz/250 g) light cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 ounces (170 g) semi-sweet chocolate squares, melted and cooled slightly (see Tip)
• 1 cup fat-free egg substitute or 4 whole eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup fresh raspberries
• Melted chocolate for drizzling (optional)

Directions:

Shockolate Cheesecake

1. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Prepare brownies according to package directions, baking in springform pan instead of regular cake pan. Brownies should bake in 20 to 25 minutes.
2. Remove pan from oven and reset temperature to 325ºF. Set brownie crust aside to cool slightly while you prepare filling.
3. To make filling, whirl cottage cheese, sour cream and cream cheese in a blender until perfectly smooth. Scrape out mixture into a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, sift together sugar, cocoa and flour.
4. Gradually add sugar mixture to cream-cheese mixture and beat on medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Add melted chocolate and beat again, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat just until eggs are incorporated into batter.
5. Before pouring batter over crust, lightly grease sides of pan. This will help prevent cheesecake from cracking as it cools. Pour batter over brownie crust and smooth top.
6. Place on middle oven rack and bake for 60 to 70 minutes. Cake will be puffed up and center will jiggle slightly when pan is shaken.
7. Turn off oven, open oven door halfway, and leave cake in oven to cool for 1 hour. Remove from oven, run knife around edge of pan to loosen cake from sides, and cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
8. To serve, remove sides of pan, slice thinly (it’s rich!), and serve with fresh raspberries and chocolate drizzle, if desired.

One Bowl Brownies
from Kraft Canada

4 squares Unsweetened Chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup butter
2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 cup toasted pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. Microwave chocolate and butter in a large microwavable bowl on high for 2 minutes, or until melted. Stir in sugar until well blended; mix in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour and nuts, if using.

Spread mixture in lightly greased 13 x 9 inch baking pan.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. Do not overbake!


My notes:
Instead of using the springform pan, I used individual paper cups for each brownie base. I filled them 1/4 full and had a very large brownie base. I had so much left over brownie batter that I made two bite brownies mixed with M&M candies for the children, who aren't fond of cheesecake.
After filling 18 mini brownie bases with the cheesecake, I had enough batter left over to still make a full sized cheesecake. Since I had used the brownies somewhere else, I made a quick graham cracker crust for it - and let me tell you, you want the brownie base for this cheesecake! It makes a HUGE difference in the taste and texture of the entire recipe

Chocolate Brownie Mousse Cake

I did not fiddle with these recipes except to replace 2 tablespoons of milk in the mousse with an equal amount of the Kahlua that had been part of the original cheesecake recipe. I am a fan of Ms.Boyles, ( I also have Diner Desserts and Simply Sensational Desserts ,to which she contributed ) so I decided to follow her lead ( and I'm not the most confident of meddlers ). To sum up, what we have is a Kahlua laced bittersweet chocolate mousse on an espresso brownie base topped off with swirls of whipped cream and Vahlrona chocolate covered coffee beans. Nothing too fancy then.ESPRESSO BROWNIE MOUSSE CAKE

For the espresso brownie base:

• 115g dark chocolate, 60-70% cocoa solids
• 115g unsalted butter
• 1 tbls instant espresso powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 200g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 60g plain flour

For the bittersweet chocolate mousse:

• 450g dark chocolate, 60-70% cocoa solids (best quality please, the chocolate is the diva here so make sure she can perform)
• 140ml milk
• 20ml Kahlua
• 130g caster sugar
• 1 tsp instant espresso powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 600ml double cream

To finish:

• whipped cream
• chocolate covered coffee beans

1. To make the brownie base: Preheat the oven to 170 C. Lightly butter the base and sides of a 9 inch x 3 inch deep spring-form tin. Melt the chocolate and the butter in a bowl over a large pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in the espresso powder, vanilla extract and salt. whisk in the sugar until combined. Whisk in the eggs one at a time also until combined. Lastly fold in the flour just until incorporated. Don't over mix.
2. Scrape into the tin and smooth the surface. Bake the brownie for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached. Place on a wire rack and let cool completely in the tin.
3. When the brownie is nearly cool get started on the mousse layer. Place the chocolate in a food processor and process until finely ground. Leave it in the processor.
4. Heat the milk, sugar, espresso powder and salt over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and the milk comes to the boil. With the food processor running pour the hot milk carefully down the funnel and process until the chocolate has melted. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the vanilla and process until blended. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl and leave to cool. (If you don't have a food processor chop the chocolate finely and put in a large bowl, heat the milk mixture as before and pour over the chocolate. Leave for a minute then stir until chocolate has melted. Stir in the vanilla and set aside until cool.
5. In another bowl whip the cream until soft peaks form. Using a rubber spatula gently fold in one-third of the cream into the chocolate mixture. Fold in the remaining cream until completely blended.
6. Scrape the mousse onto the brownie base and spread into an even layer. Refrigerate the cake for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Serves 10-12.