Passover Brownies

Sheryl Rosen said:

I needed dessert for my seder tonight and I didn't feel
like separating eggs and beating them separately for the
typical sponge or chiffon cake. I decided since my guests
are chocoholics like I am, I'd make brownies.

They love when I make Barb Schaller's famous brownie
recipe. So I read a few passover cake recipes, and figured
out matzo cake meal was probably a lot like cake flour, in
the gluten department, anyway. And brownies really don't
need the structure you get from flour like a cake does. So
why not?

So I made a half batch of Barb's brownie recipe, leaving
out the baking soda (which I do anyway, because I prefer
them that way) and subbing the cake meal plus some potato
starch for the cake flour.

Here's what I did:

1/4 pound (1 stick) of margarine 2 ounces of good
unsweetened baking chocolate 1 cup of white sugar 2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup matzo cake meal 2 tablespoons potato starch

Chop the chocolate into bits (I actually grated it on a
box grater from a block I had) and combine with the stick
of margarine. Microwave for one minute on high. Stir.
Microwave 30 second more, if necessary, to melt all the
chocolate. Stir until smooth. Add the sugar and stir
until smooth.

Add one egg, mix it in well, then the other, mixing in
well. Add the extracts, and stir.

Now, mix the starch with the cake meal and sift it into
the batter, folding just until the flour disappears.

Pour into a prepared 9x9 inch pan (I line it with
parchment so I can easily remove the brownies from
teh pan.

Bake at 325 (I used a glass pan, if using metal, 350 is
fine) for 33-35 minutes, until JUST done. Don't
overbake!!!!

I arranged them on a plate yesterday and rats, all but ONE
brownie fit on the plate, so I HAD to taste it...well!!!!!
These definitely DID NOT taste like a typical Passover
dessert!!! They were fantastic!!!

After such a rich and lavish meal, we had brownies and I
cut up some wonderful strawberries I found at the green
market, and put out the jar of Fox's Ubet Chocolate Syrup,
which we passed around. We had brownies and strawberries
dipped in Ubet chocolate syrup! It was not a terribly
heavy dessert, but it was fun, it was delicious, and more
importantly, it was intensely chocolate! Plus we felt
virtuous having had fruit! We started the meal with
grapefruit halves. It's a silly thing, but it harkens back
to my grandmother. We always had half a grapefruit before
a big holiday meal. My grandma said it woke up your
tastebuds.

Anyway, try the brownie recipe, it's really fantastic!

It sounds good.

My favorite brownie recipe doesn't have any baking powder or
soda in it. They rise a little just from the eggs. I wonder
how it would work to use ground almonds instead of flour?

Best regards, Bob

zxcvbob said:

My favorite brownie recipe doesn't have any baking
powder or soda in it. They rise a little just from the
eggs. I wonder how it would work to use ground almonds
instead of flour?

A recent episode of "Everyday Italian" featured cookies made
using ground toasted hazelnuts instead of flour.

(See www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_99-
36_26058,00.html)

I got the impression that they turned out a bit soft, so
maybe brownies made like that would fall apart. But if you
have to spoon this chocolate crumb mixture into a bowl and
put vanilla ice cream on top of it, that's not the end of
the world.

(Aside: I think Giada De Laurentiis is hotter than
Rachael Ray.)

Bob

zxcvbob said:

My favorite brownie recipe doesn't have any baking
powder or soda in it. They rise a little just from the
eggs. I wonder how it would work to use ground almonds
instead of flour?

Here's a recipe with ground almonds. I'm sure hazelnuts
would work too.

Passover Brownies

Sent in by Fabulous Foods

Makes 24 brownies

Preparation time less than 30 mins Cooking time 30
mins to 1 hour

Ingredients

175g/6oz unsalted butter, softened 175g/6oz sugar 5 eggs,
separated 175g/6oz bittersweet chocolate 175g/6oz almonds,
finely ground pinch of salt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas5.
2. Cream butter and sugar together.
3. Mix in egg yolks. Set aside.
4. Melt chocolate in double boiler.
5. Cool, then mix into butter mixture.
6. Mix in finely ground almonds.
7. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry, then fold
into batter.
8. Pour mixture into 23cm/9in square greased baking pan.
9. Bake for 45 min.
10. Cool and cut into squares.

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot)
com

In article <[email hidden]>,

zxcvbob said:

My favorite brownie recipe doesn't have any baking
powder or soda in it. They rise a little just from the
eggs. I wonder how it would work to use ground almonds
instead of flour?

Isn't that supposed to be the story behind the original brownies--
someone made a chocolate cake but forgot to add the
leavening?

--
to respond, change "spamless.invalid" with "optonline.net"
please mail OT responses only

"Sheryl Rosen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I needed dessert for my seder tonight and I didn't feel
like separating

eggs

Quoted message said:

and beating them separately for the typical sponge or
chiffon cake. I decided since my guests are chocoholics
like I am, I'd make brownies.

They love when I make Barb Schaller's famous brownie
recipe. So I read a few passover cake recipes, and figured
out matzo cake meal was probably a lot like cake flour, in
the gluten department, anyway. And brownies

really

Quoted message said:

don't need the structure you get from flour like a cake
does. So why not?

So I made a half batch of Barb's brownie recipe, leaving
out the baking

soda

Quoted message said:

(which I do anyway, because I prefer them that way) and
subbing the cake meal plus some potato starch for the
cake flour.

Here's what I did:

Hi Sheryl,

This looks really good....Thursday will be my cooking day;
the only thing I do different with the brownies when I make
the regular recipe is to substitute the Hershey's Cocoa,
and corn oil for the unsweetened chocolate bars....I prefer
the taste.

Harriet & critters (J J the world famous jack russell
terrior who is in the yard...and P K the lady manx who is
under the chair by the window....snoring softly)

In article <[email hidden]>, Sheryl Rosen

Quoted message said:

So I made a half batch of Barb's brownie recipe, leaving
out the baking soda (which I do anyway, because I prefer
them that way) and

My recipe has no baking soda in it.
--
-Barb, <www.jamlady.eboard.com> updated 3-29-04.

in article [email hidden], Melba's
Jammin' at [email hidden] wrote on 4/6/04 6:35 PM:

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Sheryl

Rosen said:

So I made a half batch of Barb's brownie recipe, leaving
out the baking soda (which I do anyway, because I prefer
them that way) and

My recipe has no baking soda in it.

You are right (of course you are!!!). Your recipe calls for
baking powder.

Apologies.