s p a c e y // cassis milk chocolate brownie

                 Time present and time past

                                             Are both perhaps present in time future…

…What might have been is an abstraction

   Remaining a perpetual possibility

                                   Only in a world of speculation…

-Burnt Norton (Interlude), Lana Del Rey

Words are not surfacing without difficulty recently so allow me to be direct – inspiration for this cake was derived from the bit of leftover cassis puree I had and a bag of black cocoa powder that I bought sometime back. I thought that the contrast of light purple against the black would make for quite a beautiful cake, so I incorporated the cassis puree into a white chocolate ganache and the cocoa powder into, of course, the brownie. Truthfully, I struggled with the cassis ganache because it kept splitting as I tried to whip it. I managed to minimize the damage by adding some extra cream but as you can see, it’s still not quite smooth. Nevertheless, I’ve included the recipe below and hopefully you’ll have better luck! The fruitiness of the cassis complemented the richness of the chocolate components so well. No regrets.

Cassis Milk Chocolate Brownie

makes an 6 inch round cake

For the brownie:

70 grams unsalted butter

125 grams sugar

40 grams unsweetened cocoa powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg, cold

32 grams all-purpose flour

 1/3 cup walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

For the cassis ganache:

80 grams white chocolate, chopped

30 ml heavy cream

30 ml cassis puree

20 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature

For the milk chocolate ganache:

40 grams milk chocolate, chopped

40 ml heavy cream

20 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature

Make the brownie: Preheat the oven to 160C. Line the bottom of a 6 inch round cake pan with parchment paper.

Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir from time to time until the butter is melted. Remove bowl from pot and set aside until the mixture has cooled slightly.

Stir in the vanilla, then the egg. When the batter looks thick, shiny and well-blended, add the flour and stir until completely incorporated. Stir in the nuts.

Scrape the batter into the pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter. Let the brownie cool completely before decorating. I refrigerated it while making the ganache.

Make the cassis ganache: Combine the white chocolate, heavy cream and cassis puree in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in short bursts until the white chocolate has almost completely melted. Whisk the mixture until smooth. Cut the butter into three to four pieces and add them to the ganache, stirring gently to combine. Chill the ganache in the fridge until firm.

Make the milk chocolate ganache: Combine the milk chocolate and heavy cream  in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in short bursts until the chocolate has almost completely melted. Whisk the mixture until smooth. Cut the butter into three to four pieces and add them to the ganache, stirring gently to combine. Chill the ganache in the fridge until firm.

Assemble the cake: When both ganaches are firm, whip each ganache separately with a mixer until they take on a light and fluffy texture. Transfer each ganache into a piping bag fitted with a star or round piping tip and pipe small amounts of each onto the surface of the cooled brownie. Chill the entire cake until the ganache has firmed up.

Note: brownie recipe taken from here.