White Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies with Raspberry Sauce

A friend of mine requested some brownies. I was determined to make extra special blog-worthy brownies and I searched high and low for -the- recipe. Inspiration did not strike until I opened a cookbook that my sister-in-law gave me for Christmas. "The New Texas Cuisine" by Stephan Pyles.

White chocolate brownies.. Can this be done, I thought? Would the chocolate gods strike me down? Would they even retain any brownie-ness without the.. well, without the brown?

Honestly, I can't say that they really scream brownies. But they're screamingly good. (Okay, I know you're all groaning right now, but my inner cheesiness has got to release itself once in a while.)

I had a feeling that the brownies would need an accompaniment because they are presented with hazelnut ice cream in the book. For lack of an ice-cream maker and for the love of color, I decided to make a raspberry sauce. It turns out that the brownies really needed that sauce. Without it they were still tasty, but lacked an edge.

White Chocolate Brownies
(from "The New Texas Cuisine" by Stephan Pyles)

1 c. Flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1/2 c. sugar
12 oz. white chocolate, coarsely chopped
8 Tblsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla or half a vanilla bean
1 cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven t 350F. Butter and flour a 9 x9 baking pan. Sift together the flour and salt, and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs at high speed until frothy. Gradually add the sugar, and beat for about 3 minutes, until thick and pale. In a double boiler, melt 7 ounces of the chocolate and gently fold into the egg mixture. Add the melted butter and vanilla, and stir well; the mixture may appear curdled. Add the flour and salt, and mix thoroughly. Fold in the remaining 5 ounces of chocolate and hazelnuts. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick or skewer inserted comes out not-quite clean. (I ended up baking mine for more like 30-40 minutes, so I guess the time will vary depending on the oven used.) Let cool in the pan and cut into squares. (I cut mine into 9 squares, even though the recipe said it would make 20 brownies. No need to be a brownie tease.)

Raspberry Sauce

1 c. fresh raspberries
10 oz. frozen raspberries
2 Tblsp. sugar
1 Tblsp. lemon juice

Blend ingredients together in a food processor and then strain out the seeds in a fine mesh strainer. I also put a big glug of Frangelico liquor in it to mirror the hazelnuts in the brownie.



*Edit of sudden inspiration: This would be insanely good with some white chocolate ice cream to turn it into a non-brown brownie sundae.

So what do you think, guys? Is this a travesty, or is it pure unadulterated deliciousness that cannot be bogged down with issues of cocoa butter versus cocoa solids?