Brownies with white chocolate and raspberries

I think that whenever inspiration fails me when I want to bake something I bake brownies: I can’t think of any other baked good that is a hit with pretty much everyone I know. Not to mention that I absolutely love brownie batter: when I could still eat dairy I would always leave some batter left in the bowl for my own moment of happiness while the brownies were in the oven. :)

The brownies I bring you today combine the tart flavor of raspberries with the sweetness of white chocolate: nothing like sour or citrus kick to make white chocolate even more special. However, raspberries go well with all kinds of chocolates, so I have made this exact same recipe using both milk and dark chocolate chips to replace the white chocolate and it worked like a charm.

Brownies with white chocolate and raspberries
own recipe

¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, chopped
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
½ cup (88g) light brown sugar, packed
1 cup (90g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup (46g) all purpose flour
pinch of salt
¾ cup (75g) frozen raspberries, unthawed
100g white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 20cm (8in) square pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on two opposite sides, and butter the foil as well.

In a large saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Remove from the heat and whisk in the sugars, cocoa and vanilla, followed by the eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Fold in the flour and salt. Fold in raspberries and white chocolate.

Spread batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies comes out with moist crumbs. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares to serve.

Makes 16

Peanut butter and raspberry mini cakes and the fantastic "The Night Of"

Weeks ago I told you I had dropped River because it made me feel miserable – I wanted something to cheer me up, not to bring me down.
Cut to a couple of days later and I started watching The Night Of – yes, I know, I don’t even understand myself, I don’t expect you to. :)

What an amazing TV show. What a fantastic cast – John Turturro was born to play John Stone, and I found him even more perfect for the part after reading that the first choice to play the lawyer had been James Gandolfini, and after Gandolfini died Robert DeNiro got cast. The movie gods were really watching this show, since that failed too. In my head those two actors would never be able to do John Stone justice – they lack the frailty that is so important in the character. I can’t imagine Galdonfini, so big, tall and with that characteristic loud and strong voice playing John Stone.

I can’t imagine Gandolfini doing what Philip Seymour Hoffman did with his Truman Capote.

I loved the show as a whole – writing, directing, cast, everything was beautifully put together, so perfectly as I hadn’t seen in quite a while (Breaking Bad comes to my mind, as you can imagine). Yes, the show was depressingly sad and dark and each night I would go to sleep with it engraved in my mind, but it was so great I could not drop it as I had done with River. Having some chocolate around for after each episode of The Night Of is the tip I give you – these mini cakes are a good idea, too (and the raspberries can be replaced by pieces of dark chocolate for a nice variation of the recipe).

Peanut butter and raspberry mini cakes
slightly adapted from this cookbook

3 eggs
200g smooth peanut butter
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons canola oil
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
100ml whole milk, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons (30g) all purpose flour
about ½ cup fresh or frozen (unthawed) raspberries – I used 4 in each mini cake

Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Generously butter and then flour a 12-hole muffin pan.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and the peanut butter until smooth. Whisk in the sugar, oil, baking soda, baking powder, salt, milk and vanilla until smooth. Fold in the flour. Divide the mixture between the holes of the muffin pan. Top the batter with the raspberries, dividing them among the cakes, gently prodding them into their middles.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until they are golden and puffed and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Allow to cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully remove the cakes from the pan and transfer to the rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream if you want.

Makes 12

White chocolate, lemon and lime mousse and the trailer for "Gone Girl"

The trailer for Gone Girl has finally been released and boy, does it look good: the scenes, the colors, the music (the poster!), everything seems tailor-made to turn the already great book into a very interesting movie.

Fincher is one of my favorite directors and he’s perfect for dark, somber stories, not to mention that I love the fact the he doesn’t give a rat’s ass for the Oscars and makes the movies he wants to make the way he wants to make them – I have nothing but admiration for someone who couldn’t care less for the stupid people who still haven’t given Gary Oldman and Leonardo DiCaprio an award. :D

I read the book months ago but it’s still very fresh in my mind – let’s hope it stays this way till October. I wasn’t very fond of Fincher’s idea of changing the book ending, but after a colleague told me that Gillian Flynn herself had written the new ending I relaxed a little – let’s see what she comes up with for the big screen.

I love white chocolate but I know that it can be a tad too sweet sometimes – that is why I think that pairing it with citrus or sour flavors is always a good idea. In this mousse, the ingredient is combined with both lime and lemon and there are still the sour raspberries to balance things out – it was a match made in heaven, just like combining David Fincher with dark, somber stories. :D

White chocolate, lemon and lime mousse
slightly adapted from Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Home Cooking (I bought mine here)

100g white chocolate, finely chopped
300ml double cream
finely grated zest of 1 lime
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
3 large egg whites
50g granulated sugar
150g raspberries + a few extra, to garnish

Place half the cream (150ml) in a small saucepan and heat until it begins to bowl. Remove from the heat and immediately add the chocolate. Stir gently the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Cool.

Pour the remaining cream into a bowl along with the lime and lemon zest and whisk until it forms soft peaks.
Gently fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture and then set aside.

In another bowl, using an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites until you have soft peaks. Whisk in the sugar a tablespoon at a time, which will develop into a shiny smooth mixture. It should be firm but soft peaks.
Fold this into the chocolate. Be careful not to knock all the air out the egg whites as this will help to keep the mouse nice and light.
Divide the raspberries among six 200ml-ramekins and spoon over the mousse. Refrigerate for 4hours or preferably overnight. Garnish with the berries and serve.

Serves 6

Back to school raspberry granola bars and my (many) obsessions

I’m someone who obsesses with certain things from time to time – directors, actors, music, you name it. And food, of course. I obsessed with Ralph Fiennes so badly after “Schindler’s List” that I had to watch each and every film with him – and that led me to Kathryn Bigelow’s “Strange Days” (which is far better than “The Hurt Locker”, imho). Did I mention I was about 17 back then? Well. ;)

It might seem that I’m on a cake kick right now, but I’ve been really thinking about bars lately – and these are the ones to blame. They were so irresistible – and easy to make, despite the layers – that a search for great bars has begun, and the granola ones you see on the picture can certainly be part of the bar hall of fame: they were so good I almost did not share them. :)

Back to school raspberry granola bars
from The Craft of Baking

¾ cup (168g/1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 cup (110g) pecans, roughly chopped
1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
1 ¼ cups (143g) old fashioned rolled oats – I made a mistake and used 1 ½ cups (172g)
1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (58g) light brown sugar, packed
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup raspberry preserves

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 20cm (8in) square baking pan, line it with foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides and butter the foil as well.
Place the pecans on a baking sheet and bake until lightly golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Cool the sheet completely on a wire rack.
In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, baking soda and the cooled pecans. Pour in the melted butter and mix until well combined. Transfer about 2/3 of the mixture to the prepared pan. Press the dough evenly into the pan, forming a firmly packed layer. Using a spatula spread the preserves over the base. Evenly sprinkle the remaining dough over the preserves. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until the top is golden brown and fragrant, about 40 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool completely. With the aid of the foil handles, carefully remove from the pan and cut into squares.
The bars can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Makes 16