These days I am doing a bit of experimenting. Some have been happy surprises (like working with buckwheat flour or this service) and some recipes I tested that needed tweaks and yet others that did not work out well. The last has always been a interesting learning. I am not one to follow recipes to the letter. I inherently rebel and want to put my own stamp on it. Or, I make up entire dishes in my mind and sometimes, that fantasy turns out a lot more appealing than the actual dish. I like these instances.
Recently, though, I have had different fails. Of actually following a recipe to a tee and those from known, big-name sources and them not turning out as promised. NYT Cooking has been a recent find and I love the words and journalism but the recipes, so far, have not panned out as much. A couple I had to tweak along the way because they just felt off (and others who had tried it left similar comments) and a couple simply were off. I still subscribed because I love words too much!
I tried this much hyped "Soufflazy" a couple of weekends ago. I only made half the recipe, well, because 8 eggs is a bit much and it did not seem like a leftover-survivor. Nevertheless, I was disappointed by it being neither a 'lazy' recipe, nor a 'souffle' {at this point the thinking emoji would be suitable!}!! The baked egg turned out to be flat and frittata-ed with much too much fuss! Oh well, live and learn.
In other note, the parmesan crusted baby zucchini I made to go with them were delish!
And back on the positive note, I am LOVING Buckwheat! It is a nutty, rounded flour that adds a beautiful depth of flavor. It is also gluten free and a whole lot cheaper than almond, chestnut or other nut flours. Of course, its color makes it more suitable for chocolate-y looking dishes but its flavor is par none.
The best test of a new item is indeed in an old favorite. That for me in baking is always a brownie - rich, chocolete-y, moist, fudge-y brownie! I did have to tweak the liquid measure (more!) a bit and I did by sight. Buckwheat seems to have a fairly starchy texture and bulks up and gels a little in liquid. So, to prevent it from drying out while baking I added a little more oil. Fat helps cut the dryness more than water because fat molecules do not bind with the grain molecules like hydrogen based molecules.
The result was a deeper flavor that stood well with the chocolate, instead just letting the latter take center stage. The brownie, overall, felt a lot lighter to eat as well!
Triple Chocolate Buckwheat Brownie
INGREDIENTS
8 T olive oil or melted butter
1/3 cup + 1 T brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 cup milk chocolate chips
2 small eggs
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
pinch of salt
1/8 tsp baking powder
handful of chocolate chips to top (I used a mix as you can see)
Over a double boiler melt together the oil, sugar, salt, cocoa and chocolate until it is a thick mixture.
Remove from heat and whisk in the eggs quickly, one at a time. It is fully incorporated when the mixture is shiny and pulls away from the edges. It will look like pudding, because it is!
Add the flour, baking powder and mix completely. Pour the batter into a greased 5 inch square dish. Top with handful of chocolate chips.
Bake at 350 F for about 20 minutes.
The center will still be gooey and jiggle a bit but will not be runny. Remove to cool on rack for as long as you can hold yourself.
