7/2/12 Chocolate Mascarpone Brownies

Background: I made a recipe two days ago that called for a tablespoon of mascarpone cheese. That stupid tub cost $5.00, so I didn't want to waste all that cheese. I started looking on the internet for recipes that use mascarpone, and found this one:

http://www.food.com/recipe/chocolate-mascarpone-brownies-83867

I checked for any alterations I might need for high altitude baking, and saw a post that said other than cooking them longer, brownies should be ok at high altitudes with the original ingredient quantities.After checking all the ingredients, I realized I had everything in-house, and jumped up to start making my first recipe for my new blog. It's always a bonus when you can make a new recipe that doesn't require you spend a single extra penny!!! It used up almost the rest of my mascarpone, so it was worth it. By the way, any changes to the recipe will be in bold so they can be easily recognized. I will italicize and underline any tips or tricks that are helpful that I have learned along the way.

Here we go...

Here are all the ingredients I used

I used semi sweet chocolate chips rather than block semi sweet chocolate. 
I added one extra ingredient - chopped pecans. I had them, so I used them! 
When baking, eggs are supposed to be better at room temperature. I'm not sure why, but I do it, because I'm a rule follower! You can let them sit out for an hour or put them in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes. I just leave them out for an hour.


1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and butter a square glass pan. I learned to use a sandwich bag to butter the pan from my mom. Works great and NO MESS!!!!!

2. Put the chocolate in a bowl and melt the butter in a saucepan.
3. When butter is almost boiling, pour over chocolate and let it sit for 30 seconds. Then stir until all the chocolate is melted.
4. Add sugar and cocoa powder, SIFTING FIRST, for some reason...

5. Add mascarpone, eggs, and vanilla. Stir.
6. Fold in flour and salt. 
7. Pour into prepared glass dish. Make sure it's evenly spread, so it bakes evenly.

8. Bake for 45-50 minutes. After 45 minutes, I checked it with a toothpick, and it came out clean. So much for the whole "extra time at high altitudes advice...."
9. Set on a rack to cool and make the ganache. Ganache is a glaze, icing, sauce, or filling for pastries made from chocolate and cream.

These are the ganache ingredients:

10. Put chocolate in a bowl and heat butter and cream in saucepan. Right before it boils, pour it over the chocolate and let it sit for 30 seconds, then stir until smooth. Pour over brownies. Top with pecan chips.

11. Put brownies in fridge so that the ganache can get firm.

That's it! I let it sit in the fridge while I made dinner. It sat for about 2 hours. When Marcus and I ate the brownies, we both felt that they weren't as dense as other brownies we've had. While I'm glad I tried this recipe, I didn't care for the texture, and will probably never make it again.

If you decide to make this recipe, please let me know how it goes for you. If you like any of my tips and tricks, please let me know that too!