... on brownies

is there more than one way to cook a brownie?

the one way i know (and have followed since i first started baking) is to mix the flour, eggs and sugar. meanwhile, melt the butter and chocolate in a separate bowl. then mix them all and bake.

but could we do it faster?

sure, stovetop brownies!

the french laundry cookbook is still a source of endless inspiration. the idea for a stovetop brownie stems from thomas keller's veloute of bittersweet chocolate recipe. in the recipe sebastian makes a veloute of bittersweet chocolate, folds it with meringue and then bakes it. a veloute!! (on a side note: the french laundry cookbook instigated my determination to end the line between savory and sweet. we should not separate it like that. it should be more start, middle and end. afterall, its food and we all eat. and as chefs, we should excel in all fields of cooking.)

so a veloute.

stovetop brownies.
make a blond roux with the butter and flour.
add the sugar and eggs. (the flour prevents the eggs from curdling - a tip from molecular gastronomy by herve this)
cook until mix resembles a thick custard.
remove from heat and add chocolate.
mix until chocolate melts.
pour into prepared pan.


this is an idea. i have not tested it to see the results, but in theory this sounds solid. just imagine, if you cooked the roux further than blond. imagine the flavors built by adding a dark roux to a brownie.

of course, this method produces a custardy and gooey brownie. (personally, its how i like my brownies.) if you seek a brownie that is more like cake, abandon this procedure.

i will test this out over the weekend and post an update with results.