Yep, you read that correctly, “Cheddar Brownie.” And I’m here to tell you that it’s a brownie revelation.
Update: August 1st. I won! Vote for Chaz!. (deadline Friday July 29th).
Some back-story, I was asked by the folks at Cabot Creamery to be one of five people to take part in their Summer Dessert Challenge. It being summer and I loving desserts, I said yes. The challenge is to create a summer dessert using any Cabot Cheddar Cheese. I’ve made this recipe with their sharp white cheddar and Cabot’s lovely extra sharp white cheddar.
So what makes this a Brownie Revelation? The cheddar elevates the chocolate, lending its tang and creaminess heightening the chocolate and smoothing it out. The cheese also transforms the texture of the brownie giving it this best-of-both-worlds crossover between cake and fudgy. This brownie is dense and intense, which is why I chose sweet, yet tart summer strawberries to cut through the cheddary-chocolate and cleanse the palate, the lightly sweetened whipped cream eases the transition between the two.
Cheddar Brownie Recipe – Makes 18 3″ x 2″ brownies
Ingredients:
8 ounces unsalted butter (2 sticks) melted, and cooled
8 ounces Cabot Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated with micro-plane (or similar size)
5 large eggs
2 cups brown sugar, packed, (You may also use 1 cup of brown and 1 cup of granulated or palm sugar)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour (or 1/2C + scant 1/3C)
1 cup dutch process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (whole teaspoon if using kosher salt)
Method:
Preheat oven to 325F (162C, Gas Mark 3)
Grease a 9×13 inch pan with butter, set aside.
1 ) Melt the butter and set aside to cool
2 ) Grate the cheese into a bowl, (be careful not to let the cheese pile too high, you don’t want it getting weighted down and clumpy). Set aside.
3 ) Beat eggs in/with mixer until light and creamy
4 ) Add vanilla extract
5 ) Add sugars to eggs and cream on high speed
6 ) Meanwhile In a mixing bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder and salt.
7 ) Add the cheese to the egg/sugar mix and bring back to high speed, let the beater cream the cheese in well.
8 ) Set the mixer to low and add the butter, once incorporated, turn mixer off, add flour/cocoa mixture and beat on low to incorporate.
9 ) Spread the mixture into the 9×13″ pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. Until they appear done in the center of the pan. Allow to cool, at least until warm.
To serve top with whipped cream and strawberries for a fine finish to any summer evening.
I hope you enjoy and vote for my recipe. Cabot Creamery Challenge Voting Form.
Thanks,
Chaz
Chaz French is a private chef and caterer in the San Francisco Bay Area, he lives in Berkeley where he has the privilege of being the Chef at the not for profit Golestan Center for Language Immersion & Cultural Education. Resume: https://chazfrench.com
Recipe & Content © Copyright 2011 Chef Chaz French for Cabot Creamery’s Summer Dessert Challenge
