Chocolate Gooey Ecstasy

I idolize Ina Garten, who creates amazing food on the Barefoot Contessa, a show on the Food Network. She used to be a White House nuclear policy budget analyst. I can only assume that she was harsh on the budget, because I've never seen her nuke anything on the show. In honor of Ina, I refuse to purchase a microwave. It is too much of a temptation anyway, as I'd be inclined to take the easy way out and microwave everything for reheating, even though it turns it to shoe leather or baby food. God forbid, I might buy a "Easy Meals in the Microwave" book.

Ina made a lovely 40th anniversary dinner for her husband, Jeffrey. The best part was a brownie pudding, which sounds a little bizarre, but really just means a gooey chocolate pudding -- sort of a lava/volcano idea, except that that gooey part encompasses most of the dessert. What makes it a brownie is the thin, crispy layer on top. And though I'm not the biggest chocolate fan in the world, it's almost painfully amazing.

Before you dive into this recipe, make sure that you have some sort of oven safe pan inside which to place the main 2 quart baking dish. Basically, you need to put the dish that holds the dessert inside something else that holds water, and all of that goes into the oven. I was surprised by this halfway through the first time I made it (I'm not so good with reading ahead), but luckily had a turkey roasting pan leftover from Thanksgiving that worked ok.

The Ingredients

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus extra for buttering the dish (I have to admit to regularly using salted butter, even for baking. Maybe it's because I love salt, but I've never noticed any particularly ill effects of this error)
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup good cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean (Well. I have refused to bother with this, all three times I've made this dish. I just throw in some vanilla, which is probably not as good, but it's a hell of a lot easier).
1 tablespoon framboise liqueur, optional (Yes, optional, though after adding it to this cake, I've freely added it to anything chocolate that I make. I really do think it deepens the flavor. Plus, it can be added to champagne for a great brunch drink, so it doesn't sit around gathering dust).
Vanilla ice cream

The Work
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly butter a 2-quart (9 by 12 by 2-inch) oval baking dish. Melt the 1/2 pound of butter and set aside to cool.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on medium-high speed for 5 to 10 minutes, until very thick and light yellow (If you don't have a Kitchenaid, which, due to these difficult economic times, I don't, you can use a hand mixer. It's more tiring, but effective). Meanwhile, sift the cocoa powder and flour together and set aside (If you are using a hand mixer for the eggs, I recommend not doing this simultaneously unless you have four hands. In which case, please send a photo).

When the egg and sugar mixture is ready, reduce the speed to low and add the vanilla seeds, framboise, if using, and the cocoa powder and flour mixture. Mix only until combined. With mixer still on low, slowly pour in the cooled butter and mix again just until combined.

Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared dish and place it in a larger baking pan. Add enough of your hottest tap water to the pan to come halfway up the side of the dish and bake for exactly 1 hour. I recommend putting the pan inside the pan into the oven before adding the water. Otherwise, it is possible, speaking from experience, to dump half of the very hot water into your oven, resulting in heart-stopping panic. A cake tester inserted 2 inches from the side will come out 3/4 clean. The center will appear very under-baked; this dessert is between a brownie and a pudding.

I recommend that you serve it with vanilla ice cream to cut the richness. OK, Ina suggested it too, but I really strongly suggest it. I think someone might keel over from the sweet deliciousness if you don't. Oh, and as with my last post, photo is courtesy of the Barefoot Contessa. I swear I'll start taking photos soon.