Mascarpone and Chocolate Ganache Brownies

Brownies are one of those timeless, quintessential dessert items that no household should be without. There are so many different ways to make them that it’s easy to find a recipe to suit almost any taste. I’ve been on a bit of a mascarpone cheese kick lately after discovering how delicious it could be, so I went and found a brownie recipe that would make use of it as well.

I expected a decent batch of brownies out of it, but what I didn’t expect was something so rich, decadent, and almost fudge-like, though not overpoweringly sweet. It may look almost exactly like the chocolate cake I posted previously, but we’re dealing with a whole other class of dessert here.

Recipe adapted from Food.com

Difficulty: Relatively Easy
Active Prep Time: About 20 minutes
Total Prep Time: About 2½ hours
Special Equipment: None

Brownie Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 3 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, softened
• 3 large eggs, at room-temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Ganache Ingredients:

• 6 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 6 tablespoons whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F; have ready a buttered 8-inch square glass cake pan.

(Start by preparing brownie batter)

2. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and bring it to just below a boil.

3. Have the chopped chocolate in a mixing bowl. Pour the hot butter over the chocolate and let stand for 30 seconds.

4. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

5. Sift in the sugar and cocoa powder and mix until smooth.

6. With a wooden spoon, beat in the mascarpone, eggs, and vanilla, mixing until smooth.

7. Gently fold the flour and salt into the batter.

8. Pour batter into prepared pan. Make sure batter is spread evenly or it won't bake evenly.

9. Place into preheated oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean (about 48 minutes did it for me).

10. Place pan on a cooling rack and let brownies cool for 10-15 minutes

(Prepare chocolate ganache)

11. Place chopped chocolate in a mixing bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream and the butter to just below the boiling point, over medium heat.

12. Pour the hot cream-butter mixture over the chocolate and let stand for 30 seconds, then stir until smooth. Ganache is now ready to use and can be spread over the brownies.

13. Don't cut into the brownies until ganache has firmed up. About an hour in the fridge should be plenty.