Mexican chocolate brownies problem

: I've tried to make this recipe three times now, and both times the : brownie will not set, no matter how long I try baking them. It remains : a gooey mess. Each time I made it was with a different oven. I'd like : to try fiddling with the recipe to see if I can get it to work. Here : is the recipe (from Aaron Sanchez, off of the Food Network's web : site):

: 1/2 pound cone piloncillo : 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate : 6 ounces Mexican chocolate : 1/2 pound butter : 5 eggs : 2 1/2 cups sugar, plus 1 tablespoon : 1 teaspoon vanilla extract : 1 teaspoon almond extract : 3 teaspoon espresso : 1 1/2 cup flour : 1/2 pound walnuts

: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. In bowl over double boiler, melt : piloncillo, both chocolates, and butter. Allow mixture to cool. In : another bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, both extracts, and espresso until : well mixed. Then pour cooled chocolate mixture in the eggs. Mix well : then add the flour and walnuts. Add this mixture to a greased 9 by : 13-inch baking pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until brownies are : well set.

: Any advice on how to improve the recipe would be greatly appreciated. : Thanks!

5 eggs? The recipe is closer to mousse than to a brownie. Try cutting the eggs down to 2 and increasing the flour to 2 cups. Might even add a bit of baking powder if you want more of a cake-like brownie.

wonder?..Yes, I did see this chap Aaron Sanchez, whoa! He is just a kid!Be reminded?.. A lot of Chefs are notorious for their ego than for their cooking prowess, so any bakery related recipes from such individuals I view with trepidation. Many Chef do not usually measure things when they do their cookery stuff so as to make things look impressive.But if they are to write down their recipe for others to follow they are at a loss with regard to the accuracy of the recipe details,precision of measurement and much more with regards to the reproducibility of the results of the recipes they provided.

Roy

Thank you all, for your advice. I'm going to fiddle with the recipe, reducing the eggs/fat and increasing the flour somewhat, and see what happens. I'll post an update if I discover a successful version. If it ever is worked out, it should be a very tasty brownie!

Jennifer

A brownie that contains a blend of dark brown sugar( piloncillo), chocolate, and espresso can taste good. And this flavor combination was maximized but the combination with the floral note of vanilla with the nutty and aromatic smell of the almond extract.

1/2 pound cone piloncillo 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate 6 ounces Mexican chocolate 1/2 pound butter 5 eggs 2 1/2 cups sugar, plus 1 tablespoon 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon almond extract 3 teaspoon espresso 1 1/2 cup flour 1/2 pound walnuts Think about the complex chemistry involved between the molasses of the piloncillo, the cocoa solids in the chocolate, and the coffee flavor essence combined; this would be a bunch of heterocyclic compounds of the pyrazines,,pyrolles, triazines, and complex membered rings that contains heteroatoms of nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur,; then coupled with the interactions between the various sugar molecules with the proteinacious emitted materials( amino acids from milk solids in butter and eggs,) plus the gamma , delta and octa-lactone from walnut aroma,would result in a really nice flavor even in our mind's eye.One of the distinctive flavor aroma molecule the maltol which is present in coffee and nut flavors will improve the appreciation of flavors as well. This will be enhanced by the interaction of the butter fat that contributes flavorsome volatiles such as the butyric acid and its esters, the diacetyl and other aldehydes .which will tend to merge with the ethyl vanillin( in vanilla bean) and the benzadehdye of the almond extract. You can use any balanced brownie recipe and apply that flavor combination and I am certain you will be pleased with the results. No need to follow that kids recipe( which is only good in his hands but not reproducible in other) I am certain that the successful recipe that comes out from his demo was not exactly the one shown in the foodnetwork file. The discrepancy that results was again the chef's fault and his youthful exuberance in pleasing his crowd. If you still want to tweak Sanchez recipe, reduce the sugar first ( about half) the com petition between the high sugar and limited starch( in the less amount of flour) in the aqueous syrupy solution delaying the gelatinization point of the starch. Meanwhile the amount of fat used( cocoa butter in chocolate and the butter fat)will thin the solution further preventing the change of viscosity( thickening to happen).. You can add more flour( ¼-1/2 cup) to improve the viscosity.If the batter is still wet you can gradually reduce the eggs by up to two and so on. Or you can replace part of the whole eggs with egg whites for better structural stability which will interact with the flour gluten as well to improve batter stability. There are other means to tweak that recipe but doing step by step would be easier for you at this time. I wish you luck in your trials! Roy