Young & Hungry

Not too long ago, one of the girls at work brought in Browned Butter Cookies.  Have you ever had browned butter?  It’s amazing.  While I noticed the flavors are much more intense when used as a sauce, how could I not try to incorporate this deliciously nutty transformation of an everyday staple into baked goods!  And so my quest for a Browned Butter Cake began. 

 

 

Upon googling brown(ed) butter cake I was presented with a myriad of recipes for Hazelnut Browned Butter Cake.  Surprised at how common this relatively specific cake was I decided to go for the one recipe that opted for almonds instead.  Sorry hazelnut.  Why is it that all the cakes containing browned butter also contain nuts?  I don’t know exactly, but imagine that it brings out the aforementioned nutty flavors of the butter.  When you taste this cake you’ll see what I mean.  It has flavors quite unique from anything you’ve had before.  The recipe, too, is quite unique.  It contains no trace leavening agent, powdered sugar instead of the usual white, hardly any flour, and meringue?!  Crazy, I know. 

 

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One of the many perks to being an avid baker is that, quite simply, people look forward to seeing you. Those who might otherwise find you detestable instead eagerly anticipate your presence because of the possibility of being able to try a new dessert. I use this bit of knowledge to my utmost advantage, particularly in the office. Yes, I may occasionally burn popcorn in the office microwave and, true, I do like to listen to my voice mails on speaker phone. But instead of being that girl, I can happily relish the role of office baker merely by bringing in the occasional basket of cookies.
 

Thank You Martha!

It was with this in mind that I set about to bake a batch of killer brownies. Unsurprisingly, I turned to my trusty Cookiesby Martha Stewart and chose her Truffle Brownie recipe from the “Rich & Dense” chapter. And rich and dense they were! A base of chewy, fudgy brownie topped by a generous layer of sinfully thick dark chocolate ganache and my predilection for hogging the fax machine was all but forgotten.
 
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