Brownie Fun!

Hello all!
Today is my first day starting my baking adventures. I decided to start with brownies.
Simple Chocolate Brownies with a nice Chocolate Ganache.
I got an amazing recipe for the both of them, and started baking!
Well, let's start the disaster:

I started mixing the ingredients; melting them and I realized it didn't look right. Why? because I forgot to add the water.
I added it after, but we'll see how that turns out.
So far so good.
I mixed everything and put it in the oven.
They didn't grow very much, so it is a bit flat. but that's okay.
I made the ganache, and i edited the recipe a bit, and it tastes great!
So here it is (I added nuts on top) :

Here is the recipe (originally from the food network):
Makes 36 Brownies

Ingredients

• 6 ounces good quality bittersweet chocolate, plus 6 ounces
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 1/2 tablespoons water
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups walnuts, coarsely chopped (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan, combine 6 ounces chocolate with butter, sugar, and water. Cook over low heat, stirring, until melted. Set aside to cool a bit. Break up the remaining chocolate and stir into melted chocolate mixture. Whisk in eggs, flour, and salt. Add walnuts if desired. Batter will be thick and lumpy. Spray a 9-inch square pan with non-stick spray and scrape batter into pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Set on rack to cool. Garnish with powdered sugar.

As for the Chocolate Ganache, I mostly created it, but I used a base recipe:

Ganache

• 6 oz best-quality semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped (170 g)
• 6 tbsp heavy cream (90 mL)
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter (45 mL)

1. Place the chocolate in a large mixing bowl and set aside. Bring the cream and butter to just below boiling point in a small saucepan over medium heat. Pour the hot mixture over the chocolate and let stand for 30 seconds. Stir the mixture.
2. The ganache should be used for spreading while warm.

I adapted the recipe because of what I had:
I used an entire bar of 81% bitter dark chocolate, so I added 3-4 tablespoons of sugar. (it sounds like a lot, but it really isn't)
and instead of heavy cream, I used half and half cream. Much better! Didn't turn out so heavy.

ENJOY!


Happy Baking!

Starting to Bake!

Welcome to the Mini Baker Blog. I created this blog to track the start of my baking obsession.
I'll tell you a bit about me and my story:
I've never liked cooking or baking when i was young. I did take a cooking class, but I can't say it made me obsessed with cooking. It was the same issue with baking. I was never fond of it, but it always sounded so appealing. The whole idea of baking delicious goods, and decorating it with beautiful fondant icing and decorations.
In March 2009, I had THE MOST AMAZING chocolate chip cookies that this girl a grade below me made.
That made me interested in baking chocolate chip cookies, and I did. However, they weren't delicious. Well, at least not to me. I sort of gave up on it.
However, one of my good friends, Laura, recently told me that her plan is to open a bakery in less than 5 years. That sounded so cool.
Then, my sister's friend said the thing yesterday.
Since then, I cannot stop thinking about learning to bake.
The reason why I named the blog 'Mini Baker' is because, I am only 15 years old.
but, I love trying new things, so hopefully this will be something I enjoy.
On here, I will update on my cooking adventures, with pictures, and describe my 'oh-so-amazing' experience!

So here I am. I have no experience baking, no bake book yet, nothing.
So, here's to my baking adventures that will start this week.
Baking adventures, Here I come.

Have a sweet and chocolate-chippy day! :)