Barb's brownies failure -- what went wrong?

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
: ...or is it just me?
:
: So, I needed some comfort food, and I decided this
: would be a
good
: time for Barb Schaller's Famous Orgasmic Chocolate
: Brownies. I followed the recipe in <heimdall-03CCAB.09533320092003@news4-
: ge1.srv.hcvlny.cv.net>
pretty
: close to the letter.
:
: I used Land 'o Lakes unsalted butter, Ghirardelli
: Unsweetened Chocolate, homemade vanilla extract, McCormic
: Pure Almond
Extract,
: and Softasilk cake flour. I did not use any nuts.
:
: I used a metal 9x13 pan, which I sprayed with non-
: stick spray,
and put
: some cut parchment paper in (a trick I got from Alton
: Brown). I figured something was wrong when at 30 and 35
: minutes, a
toothpick
: came out very wet. However, the top was "crispy", with
: lots of bubbles, and it had almost risen over the edges of
: the pan. Did
I
: overbeat the batter? It took about 50 minutes for the
: center to
be
: done, and by that time the edges were downright
: crunchy. The
center is
: pleasantly gooey.
:
: I had hoped for a tasty brownie, at least, but was
: disappointed again. They're sickly sweet, and the almond
: taste is stronger
than the
: chocolate! (I'm sure I only used 1 teaspoon of extract)
:
: What did I do wrong? Surely this isn't supposed to
: have come
out like
: this?
==============

Hmmm...a teaspoon of Almond sounds a little strong to me...

Here's the recipe I use (This recipe can easily be doubled
or even cut it in half if desired):
--
Cyndi <Remove a "b" to reply>

Brownies

2 c Sugar 1 c Cocoa 1 c all-purpose Flour 1 c chopped Nuts
1 c Chocolate chips 1 c Butter, softened 1 tsp Vanilla
extract 4 Eggs

Mix together in a bowl and pour into a greased 9" x 13" (or
close to that size) pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 325 F.
for approximately 45 minutes.

If preparing in mini-[censored] pans (2-bite brownies) plan on
about 13 minutes.

This is the recipe I use to I put in jars for gifts and/or
for craft sales (dry ingredients only with a tag that gives
directions for what else to add and cooking times).

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

...or is it just me?

So, I needed some comfort food, and I decided this would
be a good time for Barb Schaller's Famous Orgasmic
Chocolate Brownies. I followed the recipe in <heimdall-03CCAB.09533320092003@news4-
ge1.srv.hcvlny.cv.net> pretty close to the letter.

I used Land 'o Lakes unsalted butter, Ghirardelli
Unsweetened Chocolate, homemade vanilla extract, McCormic
Pure Almond Extract, and Softasilk cake flour. I did not
use any nuts.

I used a metal 9x13 pan, which I sprayed with non-stick
spray, and put some cut parchment paper in (a trick I got
from Alton Brown). I figured something was wrong when at
30 and 35 minutes, a toothpick came out very wet. However,
the top was "crispy", with lots of bubbles, and it had
almost risen over the edges of the pan. Did I overbeat the
batter? It took about 50 minutes for the center to be
done, and by that time the edges were downright crunchy.
The center is pleasantly gooey.

I had hoped for a tasty brownie, at least, but was
disappointed again. They're sickly sweet, and the almond
taste is stronger than the chocolate! (I'm sure I only
used 1 teaspoon of extract)

What did I do wrong? Surely this isn't supposed to have
come out like this?

Hmm. I can't imagine. Most folks who try it are quite
pleased. As far as the almond taste, I like it. Chocolate?
I use Hershey's unsweetened baking chocolate unless I've
got some Guittard Oban wafers in the pantry. Mine have
NEVER risen anywhere NEAR to the top of the pan. When done
(33-35 minutes) they're an inch high, max. Sickly sweet?
Dunno. A dear friend loves them because he and his wife
don't think they're as sweet as "most brownies." Never had
bubbles in a crispy top. Overbeat the batter? Dunno - I use
a flat wire whisk to
mix.

Some help I turned out to be, eh?
--
-Barb, <www.jamlady.eboard.com> Sam I Am updated 5/16/04.
Less than a month until my birthday. "Shop early, shop
often, shop big." Good gin and cheap chocolate preferred.
Or is it cheap gin and good chocolate? I can never
remember. . . .

Quoted message said:

What did I do wrong?

I'm guessing your pan wasn't big enough (brownies shouldn't
have been so thick) and your oven was too hot (you don't say
what the temperature was, but I'm guessing 350 would be
about right.

Neil

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

I used a metal 9x13 pan, which I sprayed with non-stick
spray, and put some cut parchment paper in (a trick I got
from Alton Brown). I figured something was wrong when at
30 and 35 minutes, a toothpick came out very wet. However,
the top was "crispy", with lots of bubbles, and it had
almost risen over the edges of the pan. Did I overbeat the
batter? It took about 50 minutes for the center to be
done, and by that time the edges were downright crunchy.
The center is pleasantly gooey.

I had hoped for a tasty brownie, at least, but was
disappointed again. They're sickly sweet, and the almond
taste is stronger than the chocolate! (I'm sure I only
used 1 teaspoon of extract)

What did I do wrong? Surely this isn't supposed to have
come out like this?

This may sound silly, but might you have accidently used the
tablespoon measure rather than teaspoon? That would account
for both the strong almond taste and the excessive rise (if
a tablespoon of baking powder was used).

Are you sure your oven temperature is OK? That's a very
common problem with most ovens (too hot or too cool); you
might want to get a reliable oven thermometer (I prefer the
mercury style).

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

Quoted message said:

What did I do wrong? Surely this isn't supposed to have
come out like this?

That rising thing - are you minding altitude adjustments?
and check your oven temps too. Mine is low by 25deg. Edrena

Melba's Jammin said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I had hoped for a tasty brownie, at least, but was
disappointed again. They're sickly sweet, and the almond
taste is stronger than the chocolate! (I'm sure I only
used 1 teaspoon of extract)

Quoted message said:

Hmm. I can't imagine. Most folks who try it are quite
pleased. As far as the almond taste, I like it.
Chocolate? I use Hershey's unsweetened baking chocolate
unless I've got some Guittard Oban wafers in the pantry.
Mine have NEVER risen anywhere NEAR to the top of the
pan. When done (33-35 minutes) they're an inch high, max.
Sickly sweet? Dunno.

I find them very sweet too, Barb. Much too sweet for my
taste but I like my chocolate stuff to be really
bittersweet, with the emphasis much less on the sweet.

Which is why I probably like European style chocolate cakes,
as they tend to be much less sweet.

Each to their own. 😉

Christine

Scott said:

This may sound silly, but might you have accidently used
the tablespoon measure rather than teaspoon? That would
account for both the strong almond taste and the excessive
rise (if a tablespoon of baking powder was used).

No, as I said, I'm quite certain I used teaspoons.

Quoted message said:

Are you sure your oven temperature is OK? That's a very
common problem with most ovens (too hot or too cool); you
might want to get a reliable oven thermometer (I prefer
the mercury style).

I do have an oven thermometer which read the desired 350...

Melba's Jammin said:

Mine have NEVER risen anywhere NEAR to the top of the pan.
When done (33-35 minutes) they're an inch high, max.

Well, after cooling, the center collapsed to about what I
expected (certainly less than an inch high).

I think I'll try again, with a bit cooler oven, a bit
larger pan, and quite a bit less almond extract. We'll see
how it goes...

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

Quoted message said:

Melba's Jammin said:

Mine have NEVER risen anywhere NEAR to the top of
the pan. When done (33-35 minutes) they're an inch
high, max.

Well, after cooling, the center collapsed to about what I
expected (certainly less than an inch high).

I think I'll try again, with a bit cooler oven, a bit
larger pan, and quite a bit less almond extract. We'll see
how it goes...

Keep in mind brownies do not test done with a toothpick. As
a rule they're done when they start to pull away from the
pan and the top is glossy. Bake them for the amount of time
called for and take them out of the oven!! After they've
cooled you can decide if they're done enough to suit you.
If not then increase the time a little the next time you
bake them.

Kathy

Quoted message said:

When done (33-35 minutes) they're an inch high, max

Think they could have used self rising flour? The first time
I made them I used regular flour ... they were good, but not
as good as the reviews. The second time I used the correct
flour ... I will never use anything else again .... they
were ... well ... orgasmic! ~Kat

"The early bird gets the worm, the second mouse gets
the cheese."

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

Quoted message said:

...or is it just me?

So, I needed some comfort food, and I decided this would
be a good time for Barb Schaller's Famous Orgasmic
Chocolate Brownies. I followed the recipe in <heimdall-03CCAB.09533320092003@news4-
ge1.srv.hcvlny.cv.net> pretty close to the letter.

I used Land 'o Lakes unsalted butter, Ghirardelli
Unsweetened Chocolate, homemade vanilla extract, McCormic
Pure Almond Extract, and Softasilk cake flour. I did not
use any nuts.

I used a metal 9x13 pan, which I sprayed with non-stick
spray, and put some cut parchment paper in (a trick I got
from Alton Brown). I figured something was wrong when at
30 and 35 minutes, a toothpick came out very wet. However,
the top was "crispy", with lots of bubbles, and it had
almost risen over the edges of the pan. Did I overbeat the
batter? It took about 50 minutes for the center to be
done, and by that time the edges were downright crunchy.
The center is pleasantly gooey.

Something went wrong there, but I can't say what. I have
never had a problem with those brownies almost rising over
the edges of the pan. They were flatter brownies, rather
than cake-like brownies. Perhaps you did overbeat the
batter. You still might have overbaked it, as well. I might
cut back on the time a bit, or lower the temperature a bit
(even though you mentioned elsewhere that your oven
thermometer says your oven is accurate, it's worth a try).

Quoted message said:

I had hoped for a tasty brownie, at least, but was
disappointed again. They're sickly sweet, and the almond
taste is stronger than the chocolate! (I'm sure I only
used 1 teaspoon of extract)

Do you normally use almond extract and if you do, do you
usually like it? I, personally, never use almond extract
because I don't like it. I find it to be too strong and even
pure almond extract (which is what I use--not artificial)
tastes fake to me. And perhaps your homemade vanilla extract
was not quite full-strength and needed a bit more time to
brew. The balance between the vanilla and almond extracts
may have made a difference.

If you found the brownies too sweet, just cut back on the
sugar a bit. I generally do, anyway (by about 1/4 cup-1/3
cup per cup, depending on the recipe). After years of living
in Japan, I find many North American recipes for sweets to
be too sweet.

rona
--
***For e-mail, replace .com with .ca Sorry for the
inconvenience!***

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

...or is it just me?

So, I needed some comfort food, and I decided this would
be a good time for Barb Schaller's Famous Orgasmic
Chocolate Brownies. I followed the recipe in <heimdall-03CCAB.09533320092003@news4-
ge1.srv.hcvlny.cv.net> pretty close to the letter.

(snip)

Quoted message said:

I used a metal 9x13 pan, which I sprayed with non-stick
spray, and put some cut parchment paper in (a trick I got
from Alton Brown). I figured something was wrong when at
30 and 35 minutes, a toothpick came out very wet. However,
the top was "crispy", with lots of bubbles, and it had
almost risen over the edges of the pan. (snip)

I know you said you you were diligent in your preparation,
but that over-rising thing has me flummoxed. Any chance you
used baking soda instead of baking powder?
--
-Barb, <www.jamlady.eboard.com> Sam I Am updated 5/16/04.
Less than four weeks until my birthday. "Shop early, shop
often, shop big." Good gin and cheap chocolate preferred.
Or is it cheap gin and good chocolate? I can never
remember. . . .

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

Quoted message said:

...or is it just me?

So, I needed some comfort food, and I decided this would
be a good time for Barb Schaller's Famous Orgasmic
Chocolate Brownies. I followed the recipe in <heimdall-03CCAB.09533320092003@news4-
ge1.srv.hcvlny.cv.net> pretty close to the letter.

I used Land 'o Lakes unsalted butter, Ghirardelli
Unsweetened Chocolate, homemade vanilla extract, McCormic
Pure Almond Extract, and Softasilk cake flour. I did not
use any nuts.

snip

This recipe is the family favourite and it has never failed
for us. The only thing we changed is that I leave out the
almond extract, but only because I don't like it. The
brownies are quite sweet, but that's what we like!!

Could you have used a "cutlery teaspoon" instead of a
proper "measuring teaspoon"? My only other idea is that
maybe your eggs are too large? Goose eggs? Ostrich? Heh...
Also, the tester should not be completely dry, but have
moist crumbs on it.

- Lulu in BC

Quoted message said:

...or is it just me?

I just thought of something.

Where do you live? Vertically, that is -- how far above
sea level?

--
Mark Shaw anti-spam: change 'bang' to 'not' to email me
========================================================================

"Books... stick egg-beaters in your head and make you
think.... They'll shape a personal philosophy that lasts a
lifetime." Rob "Acidman" Smith

Rona Yuthasastrakosol said:

Do you normally use almond extract and if you do, do you
usually like it?

I have used it in the past, and I do like it. I'm not a huge
almond fan, but like it in the right place...like my peach-
almond [censored]. Mmm!

Quoted message said:

And perhaps your homemade vanilla extract was not quite
full-strength and needed a bit more time to brew. The
balance between the vanilla and almond extracts may have
made a difference.

While my homemade stuff is, if anything, double strength,
I will use commercial vanilla for my next batch. Thanks
for the tip.

Quoted message said:

If you found the brownies too sweet, just cut back on the
sugar a bit. I generally do, anyway (by about 1/4 cup-1/3
cup per cup, depending on the recipe). After years of
living in Japan, I find many North American recipes for
sweets to be too sweet.

Another good idea. Thanks.

Melba's Jammin said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

...or is it just me?

So, I needed some comfort food, and I decided this would
be a good time for Barb Schaller's Famous Orgasmic
Chocolate Brownies. I followed the recipe in <heimdall-03CCAB.09533320092003@news4-
ge1.srv.hcvlny.cv.net> pretty close to the letter.

(snip)

Quoted message said:

I used a metal 9x13 pan, which I sprayed with non-stick
spray, and put some cut parchment paper in (a trick I got
from Alton Brown). I figured something was wrong when at
30 and 35 minutes, a toothpick came out very wet. However,
the top was "crispy", with lots of bubbles, and it had
almost risen over the edges of the pan. (snip)

I know you said you you were diligent in your preparation,
but that over-rising thing has me flummoxed. Any chance
you used baking soda instead of baking powder?

It is most likely the cake flour. Most of them are Self-
rising and you warned me not to use it when I asked you. It
is the only kind available in most markets here and perhaps
that is what the OP used by mistake.

Margaret Suran said:

Melba's Jammin said:

I know you said you you were diligent in your
preparation, but that over-rising thing has me flummoxed.
Any chance you used baking soda instead of baking powder?

It is most likely the cake flour. Most of them are Self-
rising and you warned me not to use it when I asked you.
It is the only kind available in most markets here and
perhaps that is what the OP used by mistake.

I used "Kraft Calumet Double Acting Baking Powder", which,
now that I look, is a bit past its expiry date. I'll replace
it before my next batch.

The cake flour I used is "Gold Medal Softasilk Cake Flour",
which is labeled as "Enriched * Bleached". The ingredient
list is: wheat flour, niacin (a B vitamin), iron, thiamin
mononitrate (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), folic
acid (a B vitamin). I really don't think that this is self-
rising flour; I don't actually think I've ever seen self-
rising cake flour.

Christine Dabney <[email hidden]> wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Melba's Jammin said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I had hoped for a tasty brownie, at least, but was
disappointed again. They're sickly sweet, and the almond
taste is stronger than the chocolate! (I'm sure I only
used 1 teaspoon of extract)

Quoted message said:

Hmm. I can't imagine. Most folks who try it are quite
pleased. As far as the almond taste, I like it.
Chocolate? I use Hershey's unsweetened baking chocolate
unless I've got some Guittard Oban wafers in the pantry.
Mine have NEVER risen anywhere NEAR to the top of the
pan. When done (33-35 minutes) they're an inch high, max.
Sickly sweet? Dunno.

I find them very sweet too, Barb. Much too sweet for my
taste but I like my chocolate stuff to be really
bittersweet, with the emphasis much less on the sweet.

I've only made them once - they disappeared very quickly at
work, but I did find them very sweet, not as chocolatey as I
was expecting. I did wonder if it was to do with differences
in the ingredients I have here (obviously not exactly the
same as what's on shelves in the US) though I did use a good
quality, dark, unsweetened cooking (baking) chocolate.

I might try Rona's tip next time and cut down on the sugar -
and then have a tiny piece and take the rest to work! (I've
managed to lose a bit over 13kg (29lb) since mid Jan and
still have about the same to go - I still love to bake, but
I sample less and take lots more in to work.)Other than the
sweetness they turned out fine.

Rhonda Anderson Cranebrook, NSW, Australia

Quoted message said:

I used "Kraft Calumet Double Acting Baking Powder", which,
now that I look, is a bit past its expiry date. I'll
replace it before my next batch.

That might be it, but I kind of doubt it -- unless "a bit"
really means "10 or 15 years."

Quoted message said:

The cake flour I used is "Gold Medal Softasilk Cake
Flour", which is labeled as "Enriched * Bleached". The
ingredient list is: wheat flour, niacin (a B vitamin),
iron, thiamin mononitrate (vitamin B1), riboflavin
(vitamin B2), folic acid (a B vitamin). I really don't
think that this is self-rising flour; I don't actually
think I've ever seen self-rising cake flour.

I can confirm that Softasilk flour + Barb's recipe uniformly
results in Damn Fine Brownies out of my kitchen, even with
my extremely crappy oven.

My guess? Evil spirits. Try again.

--
Mark Shaw anti-spam: change 'bang' to 'not' to email me
========================================================================

"Books... stick egg-beaters in your head and make you
think.... They'll shape a personal philosophy that lasts a
lifetime." Rob "Acidman" Smith