A while back I bought a dark milk chocolate bar from a Chocolate Naive, an artisan bean to bar maker, that had porcini mushrooms in it. I knew right away I had to try that combination in a dessert. The flavour of the porcini chocolate was nutty and earthy like the smell of a wet autumn forest floor. And that of course made me want to make it a gooey, fudgy brownie with my favourite earthy, nutty ingredients. And that basically is how this absolutely delectable brownie came to be.
Porcini and coffee dark milk brownies with hazelnuts and rosemary ganache
Dark milk brownie
150g dark milk chocolate
80g butter
2 large eggs
120g sugar
40g all purpose flour
30g cocoa powder
10g dried porcini mushrooms, ground to a
1 tsp. finely ground coffee beans, I used darker roasted espresso beans
fine powder
1/2 tsp. salt
50g roughly chopped dark milk chocolate
50g toasted hazelnuts
Sieve together the flour, coffee, cocoa powder and porcini mushroom powder. Set aside.
Melt dark chocolate and butter in a bowl over a water bath (or in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds or so).
Meanwhile whisk the sugar and eggs light and airy and then fold in the chocolate mixture. Gently fold in the flour mix and salt and finally the chopped chocolate and hazelnuts.
Pour into a 20cmx20cm/8inchx8inch cake tin lined with parchment and bake at 180C/360F for about 30 minutes.
Cool completely on a wire rack.
Rosemary ganache
150g finely chopped dark milk chocolate
15milk glucose syrup or light corn syrup
90ml heavy cream
1 large sprig rosemary
1/4 tsp. salt
Handful of toasted, chopped hazelnuts
Heat cream with the rosemary to to just below boiling point. Leave to infuse for 15 minutes. Remove the rosemary sprig, stir in the glucose syrup and reheat.
Put the chocolate and 1/4 tsp. salt in a small bowl.
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate, stir in small circles to emulsify for a minute or two. Then beat with a hand mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds until the ganache is creamy. Spread over the cool brownie and garnish with hazelnuts.