Brownie Bake-off: Ina Garten's Brownie Tart
Leave it to Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, to create a brownie unlike any other.
It's not that her recipe is so different from the many I've tried for this summer's Brownie Bake-off, though she does use chocolate chips rather than chocolate squares, instant coffee granules and even some baking powder to create her fudgy brownies.
But Garten's presentation, baking her brownies in a French tart pan rather than the typical square or rectangular pan, gives them a French cachet that is completely unexpected in a down-home American brownie.
Ina Garten's Brownie Tart
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons (3/4 sticks) unsalted butter
3 1/4 cups (20 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
3 extra-large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (4 ounces) chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 11-inch tart pan with removable sides.
2. Melt the butter in a bowl set over simmering water. Add 2 cups of the chocolate chips, remove from the heat, and stir until the chocolate melts. Set aside to cool completely.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, coffee, and vanilla on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. stir in the cooled chocolate.
4. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, 1 cup of chocolate chips, and the walnuts. Fold the flour mixture into the batter until just combined.
5. Pour into the pan and bake for for 34 to 40 minutes, until the center is puffed (the top may crack). The inside will still be very soft. Cool to room temperature before removing the sides of the tart pan.
6. Melt the remaining 1/4 cup of the chocolate chips with the heavy cream and drizzle on the tart. Serve in wedges alone or on a puddle of creme anglaise.
Serves 8.
Barefoot Contessa in Paris, Ina Garten, Clarkson Potter, 2004
--Tracy Schneider
grammarian on August 31, 2009 at 12:12 PM
The word is cachet. :-)
Joan on August 31, 2009 at 05:59 PM
I'm sure this is good but nothing can beat the Barefoot Contessa's Outrageous Brownines. Check them out on the Food Network website. I will never make another recipe after tasting those! I've never made (or had) a bad Ina Garten recipe.
Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction on August 31, 2009 at 06:07 PM
That Ina is very clever... What a great idea! I think these are going to be added to the must-bake list. I have quite a bit of baking to do :)
Tracy Schneider on September 01, 2009 at 10:42 PM
Thanks, grammarian, for catching my faux pas!
Joan, I'll give those Outrageous Brownies a try. Stay tuned!
Jen, try one (or all!) of our Brownie Bake-off recipes and let us know what you think. Our Grand Finale is coming up on Sunday.
Tracy Schneider on September 10, 2009 at 11:38 AM
Hey, Joan! I tried the Barefoot Contessa's Outrageous Brownies that you recommended. Take a look: http://www.aldenteblog.com/2009/09/brownie-bakeoff-ina-gartens-outrageous-brownies.html.
thistlebritches on September 15, 2009 at 04:13 PM
Ummm is it just me, but as I am halfway through making these (mixer is beating away as I type), there are no measurements listed for the baking powder....? I'm going to wing-it - after all, it's got chocolate and coffee, so it will *never* be a disaster! LOL Might be helpful for future use however. :)
Tracy Schneider on September 15, 2009 at 04:37 PM
Sorry thistlebritches! You need 1/4 teaspoon baking powder.
routeur on September 18, 2009 at 03:43 AM
"I have been on a mission all summer, to find the best-tasting brownies around and testing them in a brownie bake-off. Just a few days ago I was introduced to Sherry. We talked brownies. She told me that when her son was in college, she would send him care packages filled with brownies. Her son's friends voted them the best brownies ever. Her secret? The brownie recipe was from the Silver Palate, the renown gourmet food shop and catering company that opened in Manhattan in the mid-'70s and thrilled American taste buds for more than a decade. Sherry said she also liked the Katherine Hepburn brownie recipe included in gossip columnist Liz Smith's Dishing. In fact, the two recipes are quite similar. I'll try Katherine Hepburn's brownies next week. In the meantime, here's the recipe for the Silver Palate's fudgy brownies."
Cheap Red Wing Shoe on December 10, 2011 at 12:45 AM
He is a good friend that speaks well of us behind our backs.