Raspberry Ganache Brownies

Doesn't the title of these brownies alone make your mouth water? These are wonderful! This is a recipe created by my sister, Amy, and they really are as good as they sound. Keep reading for Amy's post about these brownies and to get the recipe! Thanks, Amy, for sharing!

"At a bakery here in town, I heard the words raspberry ganache brownie and thought “yumm!” and of course, had to try to make them for myself. I started with Martha Stewart’s Double Chocolate Brownie recipe and just added my own filling. They turned out really well! These are rich so I cut the squares smaller than normal. I didn’t have one in the bakery that day (I chose the peanut butter one instead) so I’m not sure how they made theirs or how it tasted. But these are very good."

These are so easy to put together, but very impressive in the end. You can really wow people with these! It all starts with some beautiful chocolate.

All you do is melt the butter, chocolate, and cocoa together. Whisk until it is smooth and luscious looking, like this. (Forgive the background on this one!)

Whisk together your flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl.

With your mixer, beat the eggs with the sugar and vanilla until it is light in color and frothy-looking.

Add the chocolate mixture first, blend, then add the flour mixture. Voila! The brownie batter part of this treat is done! Here is what it should look like:

Put half of this batter into the bottom of your prepared pan.

Now you are ready to make the raspberry ganache. Simply heat the cream, then add the chocolate and whisk to smooth perfection. Resist the urge to dip into it with a spoon or your fingers!

Warm the raspberries in a small saucepan before you push them through a strainer to remove the seeds and add the resulting smooth sauce to the chocolate mixture.

Now, depending on how juicy your raspberries were, you may have a thin or slightly thick ganache. If yours is thin, simply chill it a bit in the refrigerator or let it sit at room temperature until it thickens up. You will want to dollop it onto the batter in the bottom of your pan and spread it around without going all the way to the edge. Mine was pretty thin. I poured it on anyway because I was impatient and couldn't stand to wait for it to thicken! This is a rough pic, I know, but you can see what happened.

There was no controlling that ganache. It went all the way to the edge! And it was so thin that it was impossible to neatly cover it with the remaining batter. So, instead I just put the batter on the top and swirled it all together with a butter knife. It still worked! Check out the finished product, cooling still on it's parchment.

And, finally, all plated up!

I actually also scattered some fresh raspberries on top of the brownies and sprinkled it all with a bit of powdered sugar. But, I was in a hurry and forgot to take that one last picture! Sorry! It looked spectacular, though! You can trust me on that one!

Here is the recipe so you can impress all of your own family and friends! Enjoy!!


Dark Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Brownies

Batter:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for pan
6 ounces good-quality dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Ganache filling:
1 heaping cup fresh or frozen raspberries
2 ounces good-quality dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
¼ cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a buttered 8-inch square baking pan with foil or parchment paper, allowing 2 inches to hang over sides. Butter lining (excluding overhang); set pan aside.

Put butter, chocolate, and cocoa in a heatproof medium bowl set over a pan of simmering water; stir until butter and chocolate are melted. Let cool slightly. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl; set aside. Put sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat on medium speed until pale, about 4 minutes. Add chocolate mixture; beat until combined. Add flour mixture; mix, scraping down sides of bowl, until well combined.

To make the ganache filling, heat cream in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until steaming. (You can also do this in the microwave. Just put it in for short bursts until the cream is hot. Be careful not to burn the cream!). Remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. In another small saucepan, heat raspberries on medium-low heat until they are softened. Begin mashing them when they start to warm. Remove from heat and push through a mesh sieve to remove the seeds. Add the seedless raspberry puree to the chocolate mixture. Stir to combine. If the resulting ganache is thin, chill in the refrigerator or at room temperature until it thickens.

Pour half of batter into prepared pan; spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Drop dollops of ganache on top of batter. Carefully spread ganache evenly over batter leaving a 1/2-inch border. Place the remaining batter on top and gently spread over the ganache. There shouldn’t be any ganache showing through the top.

Bake until a cake tester inserted into brownies (avoid center and edges) comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, about 35 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan, about 15 minutes. Lift out brownies; let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares.