Fudgy Brownies

Fudgy brownies are something I don't have a lot of experience with, so for Halloween I tried this recipe. For Halloween this year I made cupcakes, cookies and these really good brownies. While shopping at Target one day I happened to find these aluminum foil little ghost shapes.

Fudgy Brownies

1/4 cup butter
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or 60z semi-sweet baking chocolate
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup all purpose flour

Heat your oven to 325 degrees. Spray bottom of a 8x8 glass pan with non-stick spray.

Put the butter and chocolate chips in a medium microwaveable bowl and heat on high for 1 minute;stir. Heat for 30 seconds more and stir until the chocolate is completely melted.

Add the sugar and stir until the sugar and chocolate mixture is completely combined.

Add the vanilla and eggs, and stir until the mixture is completely combined.

In a small bowl, combine the baking powder, salt, cocoa powder and flour;mix well to break up any lumps in the cocoa powder. Add to the chocolate mixture and stir until completely combined.

Bake for 26-28 minutes, or until the top of the brownies are flat and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean (you want a few moist crumbs to cling to the toothpick). Cool completely before cutting to get the best looking pieces.

Note: I just dusted them with powdered sugar and they were great. Carefully watch the baking time if you want moist brownies.
This recipe was found online on another blog (I forget which one).

Creme Brulee

My sister absolutely loves creme brulee and has been asking me to make it for her since the beginning of time. So this year for her birthday I decided to surprise her and make creme brulee. Of course I bought the wrong size ramekins because they were huge and could have fed two people instead of just one. Ooops!


Creme Brulee

2 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split
2 oz granulated sugar
5 egg yolks
granulated sugar, as needed

Heat the cream and the vanilla bean in a medium saucepan over medium high heat until bubbles appear along the sides of the pan.
Quickly whisk the sugar into the yolks.
When the cream is hot, slowly pour it into the yolk mixture. Whisk until well combined.
Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a pitcher or large measuring cup. Scrape the vanilla bean with the tip of a paring knife to remove the remaining seeds; stir the seeds into the custard.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Arrange the ramekins in a 2 inch deep pan. Pour the custard into the ramekins. Set the pan of ramekins inside the preheated oven and then carefully pour enough water into the pan to come 2/3 of the way up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until just set, 45 to 50 minutes. The custard should be set, not soupy, with only a small area of jiggle in the center.
When the custards are done, carefully remove the baking dish from the oven and allow the ramekins to cool in water bath. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before service or up to 2 days.
At service, sprinkle tops of custards with granulated sugar, then immediately caramelize the sugar with a blowtorch or broiler.
recipe from On Baking

Tips: Before putting custards into the oven, turn on your blowtorch and gently go over custards. This removes air bubbles.
I have never heard of letting the custards sit in the water bath after taking them out of the oven, I always dump the water right away. When you are doing this at home, I used a baster to remove the water because my oven is too low and too far from the sink. Plus, I am not a fan of hot water (too many bad memories and physical scars).