Dark Chocolate, Chevre Brownies for Sarah and Eric

Sarah and Eric, our long time internet friends, were visiting Portland so we thought it would be nice to surprise them with a little treat and, lets face it, we are always looking for an excuse to bake something. Do you ever watch Throwdown? Well, the brownie battle with Vermont Brownie Company made us curious to try our hand at making our own chevre brownies (with a gluten free twist). After looking around for a bit of inspiration, we decided to just try our hand at making them without a guide. I’m happy to say they turned out heavenly: delightfully rich and fudgy with just the right amount of tang.

Kitchen Tools:
1 Large Bowl and 1 Small Bowl
Medium Sauce Pan
Spatula
Butter Knife
Electric Beaters
Wooden Spoon
Measuring Spoons and Cups
8×8 Inch Pan
Parchment Paper

Ingredients for Brownie Layer:
1 Tbsp Unsweetened Dark Cocoa Powder
12 oz. Dark Chocolate Chopped
3 Tbsp Corn Starch
2 Eggs at Room Temperature
6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar

Ingredients for Sweet Chevre Layer:
8.oz Log of Chevre
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Egg Room Temperature
1 Tbsp Fleur De Sel

Making the Chevre Layer:
Use a large mixing bowl and your electric beaters to combine the chevre, sugar, and eggs. Beat contents until smooth and glossy, then set bowl in fridge to thicken slightly.

Making the Brownie Layer:
Line the 8×8 baking pan with parchment. To keep the parchment from falling out, first run your hand under water and gently speckle the pan with beads of water, then place the parchment inside flattening it to the water. This should create a suction/sticking of the parchment to your pan making adding additional ingredients easier later. Grease the parchment up to the mid side of the pan with butter. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the chopped chocolate and butter in a sauce pan on the stove at medium heat, stirring constantly until they become smooth and silky. Remove from heat. Stir sugar into the mixture and then the eggs. Do not add the eggs too soon or they will cook in your chocolate. Sift the cocao powder and the corn starch into a small bowl, then add them to the chocolate mixture until fully combined and the batter is smooth.

Combining and Baking:
Use the Spatula to scrape the brownie mixture into the prepared 8×8 pan. Apply evenly to the bottom. Remove chevre mix from fridge, stir vigorously to loosen it up, then pour contents on top of brownie layer evenly. Use a butter knife to draw a bit of the brownie up to create a marbled texture across the top layer of the chevre layer. When done, sprinkle top with fleur de sel. Set on middle wrack of oven and bake for 30 minutes. When time is up, remove from oven and let cool for at least 1 hour. I actually find these brownies to be even better the next day when they are completely cool and fully set.

Now share with your friends, like we did, or, you know, just hoard them for yourself.

So, on Saturday, we wrapped a few of these rich brownies in wax paper and put them in a gift box for safe delivery. Sarah and Eric had never been to Coava, one of our favorite coffee spots, so we thought it would be an ideal place to meet up and chat face to face for the first time. It was pretty extraordinary. It’s so fun to find out what people are like in the real world.

Of course we couldn’t help but go to Salt & Straw for a few scoops of ice cream. I guess it has turned into a bit of a  tradition with all of our out of town guests. Our goodbyes turned into an impromptu photo shoot with plenty of smiles and laughs. Eric was talking about how unphotogenic he is! Ha! Look at that photo Jade snapped! That guy could be a J. Crew model.

We can’t wait to welcome them back to Portland. And, who knows, we may just need to visit Wisconsin one of these days.

Oh, and be sure to check out Sarah and Eric’s gorgeous photos from their time spent in PDX.

+ Share Post