a little piece of chocolate heaven

[exterra]

Sometimes a girl needs a lot of chocolate. This recipe fits the bill. Rich, chocolatey and not too sweet. Recipe below.



Brownie

5 oz unsweetened chocolate (or 4 oz + 2 heaping T cocoa)
12 T butter
2 C sugar
1 C flour
1 t baking powder
1 T vanilla
1/2 t Salt (less if using salted butter)
1 T finely ground dark coffee
4 eggs
1/2 C chocolate chips
foil

Ganache Icing

3/4 C heavy cream
3-4 oz good dark chocolate
2-3 oz good milk chocolate
1/2 t cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375
___Brownies___

2. Line a 10X15 pan with foil (I don't have a pan this size, so I use two smaller pans). Use 1 T of softened butter to grease the foil.
3. In a double boiler, melt 11 T of the butter and the unsweetened chocolate. Stir until smoooth.
4. In a medium bowl, pour the sugar (and cocoa if you're using it), stir in the melted chocolate mixture. Whisk. Stir in salt, vanilla and coffee grounds.
5. Add one egg at a time, making sure each is well-mixed before adding the next.
6. Mix the baking powder, flour and chocolate chips together in a separate bowl. Stir into the chocolate mixture until incorporated.


7. Pour into pan.
8. Bake for 18-20 minutes, when a toothpick comes out relatively clean, it's done. Be careful not to overbake.
9. Let cool for 30 minutes or more.
___Ganache Icing___

10. In a small, microwavable bowl, put 1/2 C whipping cream, microwave until it starts boiling (this should only be 30-45 seconds).
11. Break dark chocolate into small pieces and add to the hot cream. Add cinnamon and stir until smooth and glossy.
12. Let cool for a few minutes - then pour over the brownies to coat evenly (use spatula or spoon to help spread if needed).
13. Heat the remaining cream in a small bowl to boiling. Add milk chocolate in small bits. Stir til smooth.
14. If needed, cool for a couple minutes - then drizzle over top for decoration.


15. Once cool, remove brownies from pan by holding the foil. Cut into small squares - they're rich!
16. EAT!