COCOA BROWNIES WITH CRUNCHY MACAROON TOPPING

One of the best things living in Minneapolis so far is that I got to meet and greet some of my favourite people. When I say my favourite people (in this context), they are not my family, but friends through blogging. Earlier last year, I met Zoe & Jeff of ABin5 fame. I went for their bread baking class on Healthy Bread In 5 Minutes a Day and it was fun!!A few weeks ago, I met Alice Medrich.She was on a tour for her new book Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-your-mouth Cookies and Minneapolis was her first stop.When I got to know about it, I booked my seat right away because I couldn't wait to hear that they are sold out.This happened in July. The class was in November :-D I just couldn't risk not being there when she was in town!!

 So, that Nov.15 evening, Jobin said he would get back home as soon as possible from work,so that he could drop me at the cooking school. Everything went smooth. I checked my bag for my camera and pen. Everything was in place. All we need to do was to leave. And we left for the school.It is just a 15 minute drive and it's a road that we are very used to. We even got onto the HOV (special lane for cars with 2 or more people in it) to avoid the after-office- hour traffic. Everything went smooth till we took the wrong exit! My hands went cold. I just didn't want to be late, atleast that day. I kept calm because I could see the worry on his face. Poor thing, he knew how much I had longed to be a part of Alice's class and I had been waiting for months now! I said, 'It's Ok,as long as we get there before the class gets over'.

Finally we reached there, maybe 10 mins late.He left me on the sidewalk and I ran. Yes,I ran on the slippery pavement (it snowed the night before). I felt I was running,but later he said, 'I thought you'd run to the class, but you just walked!'. So, maybe I was running inside :-)
Here's some cookies that she made for us ME! :)

Meeting Alice was definately a blessing, because I am a true fan of hers. I simply love all her books and the way she takes us through each of the steps.She is such a lovely lady to meet and greet.I shouldn't forget to mention...her recipes are fool proof! Here are some of her pictures, in action!

If you have this book and you are searching for this particular recipe, you maynot find it because I combined 2 recipes together to give some crunch to the otherwise plain brownie (which is by the way ,absolutely delicious!).

COCOA BROWNIES WITH CRUNCHY MACAROON TOPPING
Recipe: Chery Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-your-mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich



Macaroon Topping:
Page no:176
Ingredients:
1 large egg white
Scant 1 1/4 cups dessicated coconut (The original called for unsweetened dried flaked, since I didn't have any, I went ahead with this)
1/4 c sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
Large pinch of salt

Cocoa Brownies:

Page222

Ingredients:

11 tbsp unsalted butter

1 1/4 c sugar

1 scant cup cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1/3 c plus 1 tbsp all purpose flour,preferably unbleached.

Method:
For the topping:
Combine all the ingredients together in a stainless steel bowl and double boil it by setting it over a large pan filled with barley simmering water.
Stir the mixture, scraping the bottom to prevent burning until the mixture is very hot to touch and the egg whites have thickened slightly and turned from translucent to opaque,3-5 minutes. (For me, none of these worked!So I went ahead stirring it for almost 10 minutes.)
Set the batter aside for 30 mins to let the coconut absorb the moisture while you make the brownie batter.

For the brownie:
Pre-heat the oven to 325F.Position the rack in the lower third of the oven.
Line your tin with aluminium foil.

Melt butter in a bowl set directly in a pan of simmering water. Add the sugar, cocoa and salt.Stir until the ingredients are blended and the mixture is hot.
Remove the bowl and let the mixture cool till it is warm to touch.Mix in the vanilla.
Add the eggs, one at a atime, mixing vigorously with a spatula after each addition.
When the mixture looks thick,shiny and well blended, add all of the flour at once and stir until you cannot see it any longer.
Then mix vigorously for 40 strokes with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula .
Spread evenly in a pan.
Top with the coconut topping and bake for 20-25 mins (mine took 32 mins) or till a toothpick inserted into the center comes out dirty looking.
Let it cool.Peel away the foil and cut them into squares. Enjoy!

Verdict:
Jobin is a big fan of macaroons. So he had a double treat! Trust me, you will never miss the chocolate here. It is so fudgy and nice that it is hard to believe that we can get the same texture as that of chocolate browines with the cocoa powder.

So now don't give me an excuse saying,'I didn't have chocolate, so I couldn't make brownies!' :-) Go ahead and try them just as is or with the topping.You are going to love it!

WHOLE WHEAT BREAD IN 5 MINS

You all must have read about me breaking bread with some really talented people in May. But I never really got to baking those breads at home. I was unable to locate vital wheat gluten in these really big supermarkets here,I mean ,I didn't know which aisle they were and whenever I asked someone for help, they were lost too! ;-) So, I gave up my hopes of baking them very soon . But one evening me and Jobin were wandering in the vegetable section of our fave supermarket and happened to see the 'healthy' section of the store.And there it was...that vital wheat gluten I was searching for almost a month! We used to pass by that section every now and then but never really bothered to check in there! And finally Jobin was able to see that 'gluten' I had been talking about for that whole month! ;-)

WHOLE WHEAT BREAD
Recipe source: Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day by Zoe Francois and Jeff Hertzberg
This recipe yields atleast four 1lb loaves. It can be easily doubled or halved.

Ingredients:
Whole wheat flour- 5 1/2 cups
All purpose flour, unbleached- 2 cups
Yeast-1 1/2 tbsp
Salt-1 tbsp
Vital wheat gluten-1/4 cup
Lukewarm water-4 cups
Sesame seeds- 2 tbsp

Method:

• Measure the dry ingredients and add the warm water to it all at once and stir it with a spoon till it comes together.You might have to use your hands to get the last bits of flour together.Do not knead!
• Cover the dough with a lid or plastic wrap and let it rise for 2 hours.
• After 2 hours you can put the dough into the refrigerator to rise overnight or atleast 3 hours. Refrigerated dough is easier to work with.
• Once refrigerated , the dough will seem to have shrunk back upon itself.DO NOT punch down the dough.
• On the baking day, dust the surface of the dough with some flour and pull up a chunk and cut it using a kitchen scissors.
• Shape the dough ( you may need some flour for your hands to prevent sticking) and let it rise on a baking parchment, loosely covered with a plastic wrap, for 90 mins.
• Thirty minutes before baking, pre-heat the oven to 450 F with a baking stone placed in the middle rack ( I use my regular rect.cake pan).Place another tray in the bottom shelf.
• Just before baking, use a pastry brush to paint the top with water. Sprinkle sesame seeds.Slash the loaf with 1/4 -inch deep parallel cuts across the top.
• Place the bread into the oven and pour some hot water into the bottom tray and close the oven door immediately to trap the steam.
• Bake for 30 mins until the crust is browned and firm to touch.
• Store the remaining dough in the refrigerator in a lidded (not airtight) container and use within 14 days.

Verdict:
It was an amazing experience to bake a bread without kneading.I love the fact that it is fuss-free. You just have to mix in everything together and leave it to rise! And it does rise very very well, so make sure you have a large container to hold it all. This recipe has endless possibilities too!

We just loved it...not only did it taste great but it was healthy at the same time!

This healthy bread is Yeastspotted!

TIRAMISU CAKE IN A CUP...for A Sweet Punch! #1

Remember A Sweet Punch? No? I think you should know what it is :-) Well, it is a baking group started by Divya,Maria & Myself and since it was my brainchild, I got to choose the recipe for our first month. I chose Tiramisu Cake by Dorie Greenspan. It was something that I have made many times before, so that perfectly fitted the bill of tried, tested & trusted recipe.Since the recipe is already on my blog, I am just posting a final picture of how I made it...I piled it all in individual sized glasses.

You can see all the beautiful creations by our members in 2-3 days time at our official blog .

If you want to be a part of our group, drop us an email  at  asweetpunch AT gmail DOT com and we can carry on from there!

BREAD BAKING CLASS WITH ZOE & JEFF #22

I always wanted to attend a cookery class, just to get the feel of it. Amma has been conducting cookery classes herself and I was her sous-chef. But I never got enrolled into one until last saturday.

Jeff and Zoe are from Minneapolis and they conduct bread baking classes from their books in a school here. I applied and to my dismay I was put on a waiting list but in the end...I got through.

I was so excited that morning because I love meeting fellow food bloggers. And when I reached there, I met Zoe and she instantly recognised me (to my suprise!) . Yes, we are friends on Facebook and Twitter,but still, you wouldn't expect a person like her to remember all the faces!

I had a fabulous time learning how to make healthy bread in five minutes a day!They knew what they were doing which definately made learning from them very easy!

We were served the breads in between with cheese and jam. And I must say, all of them tasted very good! I loved the Cinnamon Cresents with Cream Cheese Topping and the Danish Braid with Berry Filling.

I am waiting for their next class now. Before that, I better stock up my pantry with all what I need to bake bread from next week on. Till then, we shall manage with the storebought one :)