My neighbor has his own catering company, and he has asked me to bake desserts for a few of his events. I usually provide around 10 dozen pastries per party. It’s time consuming, a little nerve-wracking, but so rewarding. I’ve learned a lot about baking this way, and I’ve slowly developed my own pastry menu. It includes, but not limited to, mini chocolate ganache cakes, milk chocolate tarts, cannoli, petit fours, assorted cookies, and chocolate covered strawberries. However, the one dessert that has been requested frequently, but given me the most problems is the beloved brownie. I don’t get it. It’s either over baked, or under baked, or not fudgy, or too mushy, or hard around the edge while being very soft in the middle. Therefore, I am on a quest to figure out what makes the brownie tick. I had beginners luck with the chocolate souffle brownies. I thought I would give Nigella Lawson’s How To Be A Domestic Goddess brownies a try. It was a good start… not perfect, but still delicious. I adapted the recipe and added some extra ingredients. And I baked them for my dad’s birthday. He just turned 67. He deserves a platter of cherry walnut brownies.
Cherry walnut brownies are moist, dense, and chocolaty. Also, the bits of tart, dried cherries and toasted walnuts take each bite to the next level. This recipe, like most brownie recipes, begins with a mixture of melted butter and melted chocolate. I recommend melting these two ingredients together in a heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water so as to not scorch the chocolate.
Whisk sugar and salt into the hot butter/chocolate mixture. This will help dissolve the sugar while simultaneously cooling down the hot butter and chocolate.
Mix in vanilla extract, and then whisk in lightly beaten eggs into the chocolate mixture.
Mix in the flour.
Finally, mix in the toasted walnuts and dried cherries.
Bake for 10 minutes in a 350 degree F. oven, and then reduce the temperature to 325 degrees F. and bake for an additional 15 minutes (give or take).
With a thin, and hot knife (dipped in hot water and then dried off) cut the brownies into squares.
It is most important to not over bake brownies. When checking to see if they’re done insert a toothpick in the center. If it comes out with just a little chocolate gooeyness stuck to it then they are ready. To get even more specific, I took these brownies out of the oven when they reached an internal temperature of 185 degrees F.
- 8 oz. (226 g) Semi-Sweet Chocolate, chopped
- 5 oz. (142 g) Bittersweet Chocolate, chopped
- 1 and 2/3 cup (26 and 2/3 TBS or 377 g) Unsalted Butter, softened
- 1 and 2/3 cup (333 g) Sugar
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 1 TBS Vanilla Extract
- 6 Large Eggs, at room temperature and lightly beaten
- 1 and ½ cup (187 g) All-Purpose Flour
- ¾ cup (95 g) Walnuts, toasted and chopped
- ¾ cup (120 g) Dried Cherries
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13-inch by 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper, and then grease the parchment with oil spray.
- In large bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, heat the chocolate and butter until melted and smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk in the sugar and salt. Mix for about 5 minutes so as to let the sugar somewhat dissolve, and to allow the chocolate mixture to cool. Stir in the vanilla extract, and then whisk in the eggs until fully combined. Finally, stir in the flour, and once it is fully incorporated add the walnuts and dried cherries.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 325 degrees F. and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes. The brownies are ready when a toothpick comes out mostly clean with just a few bits of brownie stuck to it. If you have a candy thermometer on hand than remove the brownies when the internal temperature is anywhere between 185 degrees F. and 210 degrees F.
- Cool the brownies in their pan on a wire rack for 1 hour. When ready, cut along the edges with a sharp knife to loosen the sides, and then carefully invert the pan. Using a hot knife (dipped in hot water and then dried) cut out 1 and ½ inch squares. Enjoy!
- 13” x 9” baking pan
- Parchment paper
- Saucepan
- Large heat-proof bowl
- Whisk
- Rubber spatula
- Candy thermometer (optional)
