Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Tuesdays with Dorie—French Chocolate Brownies

French Chocolate Brownie PopsiclesBrownies were “Born in the USA” but no one quite knows who can take credit for this treat.

• Was it Fannie Merritt Farmer who published a recipe for the brownie in her 1906 edition of The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book?

• Was it Fannie’s protégé Maria Willet Howard who published a recipe for brownies in 1907 in Lowney’s Cook Book that contained an egg?

• Was it a housewife in Bangor, Maine who forgot to add baking powder to her chocolate cake who can take credit for the brownie we know today?

What we do know is that it is a favorite and well-loved treat.

Cake or Fudge?
Dorie’s version is more on the fudge side of the brownie scale than the cake side. More butter and chocolate and less flour means a more fudgey brownie.

The chocolate you use is important so use one you like. The better the chocolate, the better the brownie. I used semi-sweet Callebaut (“approved by Belgian chocolate makers” and Ottawa foodies alike), and it was delicious. If you want to use a bittersweet chocolate, you may want to use half bittersweet and half milk chocolate.

Links
I found a great article about the brownie written by Cookwise author Shirley O. Corriher.

The Nibble has an article that talks about the origin of the brownie.
French Chocolate Brownie PopsiclesPlaying Around
I was inspired by the Daring Bakers’ cheesecake pops to give brownie popsicles a go. I used this popsicle pan once before for my daughter’s birthday party, so it was time to dust it off and try brownies in it. Although they look cute for the photo op, I wouldn’t recommend it. This recipe was too delicate for the popsicle angle. A more cakey one would be better suited to it.

Recipe
French Chocolate Brownie mise en placeYou can find the recipe for French Chocolate Brownies at this blog Di’s Kitchen Notebook or in the book Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. To see how the rest of the TWD group fared with this week's recipe, click here and then click on each blogger!

Fannie Merritt Farmer’s original 1906 version of brownies
Fannie Merritt FarmerI have a favorite brownie recipe that is more like cake that I usually make, but I was curious about Fannie Merritt Farmer’s original 1906 version of brownies. Although I have a little cookbook by Fannie, it didn’t have the brownie recipe in it. Thanks to the internet, I found the recipe and baked up a batch for comparison. I used the same Callebaut chocolate that I used in Dorie’s version. I also cut the brownies into “shapely” pieces as recommended by the recipe! These brownies were good, but more chewy, fudge-y, and had a crisp top. But, it wasn’t as chocolate-y as Dorie’s version.


French Chocolate Brownie PopsiclesTasting Notes
Dorie’s French Chocolate Brownie is a delicious fudgey treat that melts in your mouth. Personally, I loved the rum-soaked raisins in these bars. They added a richness to the chocolate, but some of my tasters threw a tantrum upon tasting it, begging me, through their tears, to make a new batch sans raisins. Kids these days! I will definitely be making these again (both with and without raisins).

Recipe for Next Week (June 10)
La Palette’s Strawberry Tart on page 374 chosen by Marie of A Year in Oak Cottage.





49 comments:

April said...

Very cute!

Engineer Baker said...

Brownie popsicles sound adorable!

April said...

Ingenious! They look great.

Miranda said...

These are adorable!

Amy said...

Sooo cute! I'm amazed that you got them to actually stay on the stick, my brownies were kinda messy and delicate (though, I typically prefer sturdy brownies). Awesome job!

The Kitchen Vixen said...

These are so cute! Where did you get that pan? I love it!

ostwestwind said...

What a great idea, that looks great and remove the last French idea from the title.

Brilliant....

Ulrike from Küchenlatein

Melissa said...

Those are adorable!

Anonymous said...

Your brownie popsicles are an inspiration for experimentation. Good job!

PheMom said...

Loving the pan, loving the brownies, loving your post! Seriously fabulous job!

Linda said...

Love the popcicles!!! Applause for keeping the shapes intact, as this brownie recipe is extremely fragile

Jessy said...

the best ones I've seen all day after scrolling through about a million brownie pictures! You've got my vote!

Heather B said...

cute pops! I thought these brownies were way more cakey than fudgey. I wonder what was different. I prefer a fugey brownie so yours look perfect!

Amy said...

They look so cute.

marae said...

i def think these are more cakey than fudgy...at least on top for sure. the bottom is more fudgy for me. your pops are so cute!!! i did brownie tartelettes for fun too. hehee.

RecipeGirl said...

What a fun idea :)

Annemarie said...

Very, very cute! My kids LOVE anything on a stick!!

My Sweet & Saucy said...

I love these! I have seen the pan before, but never the finished product! Too cute!

steph- whisk/spoon said...

is there actually a pan that bakes popsicle shapes?? i love it!

Christine said...

Brownie popsicles! So creative best ones I have seen all day!

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness. Best idea ever!

Nikki57 said...

your pops are adorable!!

Susie Homemaker said...

You must be joking! These are too adorable (even if they are too delicate for the stick, they photographed perfectly!) now i too want a popsicle pan, and I have never even seen or heard of such a thing! So glad I made sure to drop in on your blog! genius...

Julia from Dozen Flours said...

These get the highly coveted Cutey-Patootie Award! (applause from the crowd) Bravo!!

So unbelievably adorable! I think most things are better on a stick, don't you think? These are just brilliant!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I have been seeing these chocolatey, gooey treats all over the blogosphere. Well done ladies:D

Patricia Scarpin said...

Oh, I can't believe how adorable they are! I absolutely love your idea, even with your considerations.

CB said...

Brownie popsicles!! Thats fabulous. You are so creative. Love all the pictures as always... Great job!
Clara @ I♥food4thought

Anonymous said...

mmmmm.....brownies - quite possibly my favourite food, they look awesome!!

LyB said...

I loved the raisins as well, and so did 1 out of the 2 kids that tasted them so, not a bad day here! That pospsicle pan is so cool, I'm sure they'd be a hit at a kids or summer party!

Anonymous said...

Cute, and nice try, even if they were too delicate.

Anonymous said...

They're adorable. The ultimate fudgsicle.

Bumblebutton said...

Super cute, as always!!

Mari said...

Love your take on these brownies and the history lesson, marvelous!

Prudy said...

Those are too too darling! I love the popsicle angle. I don't think mine would have stayed up at all!

Cecilia said...

Thank you for the comparison! The brownie popsicles look cute; I'm sorry they didn't work out too well for you, though!

Anonymous said...

I love the idea of the a brownie Popsicle. That's an awesome pan!

Anne said...

Wow, I love the info and the popsicles are so cute! Great job!

Shari said...

Thanks to everyone for stopping by! I've added the link to where you can buy the cake pan in the text (amazon sells everything, it seems). I definitely recommend these cake pans for more cakey cakes. Wrinkly, crumbly brownies just aren't meant to be on a stick, I guess. And the whole fudgey versus cakey thing threw me for a loop. It's so interesting to hear everyone's opinions! Thanks again for taking the time to stop by and leave a note! xo

L said...

Oh my gosh! These are the cutest!

eatme_delicious said...

WOW these are awesome!! Brownie popsicles. What an excellent idea.

Anonymous said...

What a great idea to put those little brownies on sticks:) Cheesecake pops will be jealous:)

Dolores said...

You're right... the brownie Popsicles make a great photo op. Where can I find that cute pan?

Lynne Daley said...

How cool! Love your photos.

Anonymous said...

OMG!!!!!!!!!!! those are soooooo adorable!!

Jaime said...

WOW, brownie pops?! so cute! i agree that these are probably too delicate to hold up to being pops, but they still look super cute :)

kimberly salem said...

i... LOVE these :) adorable & inspired!! love your pics as always!

Anonymous said...

What a clever and genius idea! Good job.

Andrew Abraham said...

Your brownies look amazing... What a cool idea for brownies... I am a member of a social networks site... recipebuddys.com and we recieved a post on Brownies and wanted to hear you opinions of it …I stumpled upon your post…and thought you would be a good sounding board.. we have a bake sale coming up…and want it to turn out good for our daughter… please advise…thanks

Roberta Galea said...

These look absolutely divine.. such a wonderful idea too.. Love your photography.. and loving your blog :)

Take Care