Baking: really rich Coffee and Cream Brownies

These brownies were wonderful. Very rich with the filling and the chocolate Ganache on top. I will be making these again. I did not follow the recipe exactly- I was short on powdered sugar and butter for the filling so I expect the original recipe will have quite a bit more coffee flavored filling in the middle. The recipe is from Cookie Maddness

Coffee & Cream Brownies

8 tablespoons butter, cut up (salted)
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Filling:
1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
2 1/2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar

Topping:
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or line an 8 inch square metal pan in whatever way you see fit. Today, I used regular foil and sprayed it with flour-added cooking spray.

Place the butter and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir well to distribute heat, and repeat, microwaving at 30 second intervals until chocolate is melted (should take about 1 minute total). Set aside.

In a mixing bowl (I used a 2 qt), beat eggs and sugar. Beat in vanilla. Stir the flour and baking soda together in a separate bowl, then add them to batter. Stir until incorporated. Spread in pan and rap the pan hard against the counter so that air bubbles come to the top.

Bake the brownies for 23-25 minutes or until they look and smell done. Remove from oven and let cool. For fudgier brownies, “quick cool” in a pan of ice water.

When brownies are cool, prepare filling. In a small cup, stir together cream and coffee to dissolve coffee. In a 2 quart (medium) bowl, stir together butter and powdered sugar. Add cream/coffee mixture and stir well, then beat with a mixer until very fluffy. If necessary, add a little more cream. Spread this over the cooled brownies and chill for about half an hour.

Make chocolate topping. Combine the bittersweet chips and whipping cream in microwave-safe bowl. Heat on high for 30 seconds, then stir. If chips are not completely melted, repeat. Spread melted chocolate mixture over coffee mixture. Chill until chocolate is set (doesn’t take long – about 30 minutes). Score into 12-16 brownies.