Eating chocolate by the light of the full moon… there is only one woman I know who would recognize such a necessity. This Full Moon brownie recipe comes from Katrina Markoff, chocolate sorcerer of Vosges Haut-Chocolat. She explains on her blog that she has always been drawn to the full moon since gazing up at it from her childhood back yard in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.
The original Full Moon Brownie recipe calls for the Vosges Black Pearl Exotic Candy Bar (wasabi + ginger + black sesame seeds + dark chocolate). I used a different bar in this batch. I knew I wanted to pair the moist, rich bites with Wattleseed ice cream (Aboriginal wattleseed + roasted macadamia nuts + creamy custard ice cream). Wattleseed has a nutty, coffee flavor so I chose the Creole Bar (Chicory coffee + cocoa nibs + 70% Sao Thome chocolate) to bring out the coffee notes in the ice cream.) In hind sight, I realize I should have also added a few tablespoons of cocoa nibs to the batter for some additional texture.
I am lucky enough to cross paths with Katrina on a personal and a professional level and I have learned many valuable lessons from this unique woman. She is a dreamer who shoots for the stars. She listens to the beat of her own drummer with confidence. And, she knows how to cook, pair flavors, invent and bake like no other I know. On a practical note, she taught me how to criss-cross foil or parchment in my brownie baking pan for easy lift out and slicing. If you don’t know what I am talking about, Kristin uses this technique with her brownies and does a beautiful job of showing her step-by-step here.
These brownies made an easy make ahead dinner party dessert. You can buy Vosges Haut-Chocolat bars and ice cream at Wholefoods stores or online. Any quality dark chocolate could be used as a substitute but it is fun to pair the ice cream flavors with the bar flavors and experiment. The next full moon is December 31… get baking and consider this your chocolate howling to the moon.
Full Moon Brownies
7 ounce Black Pearl bar (or experiment with others)
8 ounce unsalted butter
3 tablespoon cocoa powder
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 8 inch square baking pan, line with parchment paper then line with 2 pieces of aluminum foil perpendicular to each other to enable you to life the brownie out of the pan with ease after they have been cooked.
Place chocolate and butter in a medium sized, non-reactive metal bowl and set over simmering water. Stir occasionally and whisk in cocoa powder until smooth, set aside.
In a mixing bowl, briefly whisk together eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt, about 30 seconds. Add warm chocolate mixture and then mix in flour just until combined, be careful not to over mix. Pour batter into prepared pan and cook for 35 minutes. When finished let brownies cool for at least one hour before removing from pan.
Cut into 1 inch squares and share.
Brownies can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated up to 5 days.
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