In Honor Of Chocolate Pudding Day...

We'll be celebrating with an unbelievable recipe for Chocolate Brownie Pudding! What is brownie pudding you ask? It's a cross between a pudding and a brownie. The top is somewhat crisp like a brownie but the inside is ooey, gooey, delicious! It can also be described like an undercooked brownie.

Now, if you're a chocolate lover, I'm sorry to say, just give in now. You won't be able to hold back when it comes to this dessert. Even for someone like me, who normally prefers chips to chocolate, I have no restraint. It just sucks you in. First, when it's cooking, the whole house has that unbelievable sweet aroma of chocolate. Then, when it's ready and you see that crisp top, you just know what's waiting for you once you dig your spoon in. That goo. Uh! is there anything better than that goo? If there is, please let me know because I haven't found anything to come close to it.

Now, I can't take full credit for this recipe. It's basically a modified version of Ina Garten's (the Barefoot Contessa from The Food Network). I'll explain what I changed as we go along.

First up - the ingredients

sugar, eggs, flour, UNSALTED butter, unsweetened cocoa powder and vanilla extract.

Before we start, preheat the oven to 325 and put a banana in the fridge. Yes, a banana - trust me on this one.

Next up, melt your 2 sticks of butter. Save the wrappers - you will need them later. I put my butter in a bowl and then in the microwave for about 30 seconds. My butter was already at room temperature so it didn't need much time. If yours comes right from the fridge or freezer, you will need more time. Just do it in 30 second intervals. We need to do this in the beginning to give the butter a chance to cool down a bit before adding it to the rest of the ingredients.

I am using a Kitchenaid mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

Now this is where I start to modify it a bit. Ina's recipe calls for 2 cups of sugar. I use 1 3/4 cup. The first time I made it, it was just way too rich. I cut back on the sugar and it was much better. So, put 1 3/4 cups sugar into the bowl of your mixer.

Crack 4 eggs and put them in the same bowl.

Now set your mixer to medium speed and mix for 5 to 10 minutes until it gets really pale yellow.

While we're waiting for 5 minutes to pass, we can start working on the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, we need to sift together 3/4 cup of the unsweetened cocoa powder with the 1/2 cup flour.

Sift Sift Sift!

Here's my next modification. Ina says to use a fresh vanilla bean. Honestly, I NEVER have that in my pantry and I wasn't about to go out just to get it, so I used 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (which I ALWAYS have on hand). In that goes - mix it up for a second or two.

Now set your mixer down to a lower speed and start adding in the cocoa/flour mixture. Just mix until just combined. You don't want to ovemix flour.

Now, remember those 2 sticks of butter we melted back in the beginning? We're ready for them.

In they go, into the mixer. Mix up a bit and you're done! How easy was that?!?

Do you also remember I mentioned to save the wrappers from the butter? Well, I did. So go back and read from the beginning if you forgot. Get those wrappers and use them to grease your pan.

Pour the mixture into your greased pan - get as much of it out as you can. We'll see why later.

Now you need to put this pan into another slightly larger pan.

Open your oven, slide your rack out a bit and put the pans on the rack. Now you need to pour hot water in the SECOND pan - just enough to go about halfway up the first pan.

Unless you have a super steady hand and no distractions - I clearly do not - it's much easier to do this ON the rack rather that having to transport it TO the rack with the water in it.

Slide the rack back in your oven, close the oven door and cook for EXACTLY 1 hour.

Another step I modified was to omit the franboise liqueur. I NEVER have that in my house!

So now it's cooking away. The house is starting to fill up with that oh-so-good chocolaty aroma. My neighbors must be so jealous.

Hmmm, what to do while we're waiting. Let's see.

We can clean up the mess.

Nah.

We can wash the dishes.

No way.

I have an idea...

Kids always know when it's time to lick the bowl.

I like this full hand method - good technique

one finger works also

not too much damage here

uh oh

Not sure where the blue stuff came from.

Doesn't this look like finger paint?

The reason why I mentioned to scrape out as much as possible was that JUST IN CASE anyone wanted to lick the bowl (hehe), you don't have to feel TOO guilty.

After an hour it's done and ready to come out of the oven. My advice is to take only the inside pan out. I've always found it way too tricky to try and balance both pans without spilling the hot hot water. Let's just be safe and do one at a time.

Look at it. Yum!

If you have the willpower, let it cool down a bit. Now is a good time to go to the fridge and get out that banana. You do remember I told you about this, don't you?!? Don't disappoint me now. Cut it up into half inch slices.

OK - we're ready to go in for the kill. Get your spoon and dig in.

See how the top is crisp? But wait - here comes the goo!

Scoop it out into your bowl and add some of the sliced bananas.

The combination of the hot gooey chocolate and the firm cold banana is a match made in heaven.

Feel free to add some vanilla ice cream to the mix. I won't be insulted.

Well, I hope you love this recipe as much as I do. If you want Ina's original, click here, or just read on for my version.

Now you have something to do this weekend.

Brownie Pudding Recipe

Ingredients
1 3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 banana

Prep:
Melt the 2 sticks of butter and set aside.
Place the banana in the fridge.
Grease the pan with the butter wrappers.

Steps:
1 - Put the sugar into your mixer. Crack the eggs and also put them in the mixer. Mix on medium speed for 5 to 10 minutes.
2 - Sift the flour and cocoa in a separate bowl
3 - Pour the vanilla into the mixer.
4 - Reduce your speed and pour the cocoa/flour mix into the mixer. Mix until just combined.
5 - Add the melted butter and mix for a few seconds.
6 - Pour the batter into your pan.
7 - Place your pan into a slightly larger pan
8 - Open your oven, slide out the rack a bit.
9 - Place both pans on the rack.
10 - Add hot water to the outside pan - just enough to go halfway up the first pan.
11 - Slide into the oven and cook for an hour.
12 - Let cool a bit and eat.
13 - If you have any leftovers, refrigerate them. You can reheat it in the microwave for a few seconds to get back to the gooey stage.