Coconut Brownie Bars With Chocolate Ganache
- Ready In:
- 1hr 30mins
- Ingredients:
- 21
- Yields:
-
40 2
ingredients
-
BROWNIES
- 14 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1⁄2 cup unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
- 1⁄4 cup light corn syrup
- 1⁄4 cup water
- 3⁄4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
-
COCONUT TOPPING
- 7 large egg whites
- 1 1⁄3 cups granulated sugar
- 1 lb finely shredded unsweetened coconut (6 1/2 cups)
- 1⁄4 cup sour cream
- 1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
- 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest (optional)
-
GLAZE-AND-GARNISH
- 18 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 4 1⁄2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
- 4 1⁄2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 2 1⁄4 cups heavy cream
- 40 roasted unsalted almonds
directions
-
THE BROWNIES:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Line an 11-by-17-inch baking sheet with parchment paper and spray the parchment paper with cooking spray.
- Put the chocolate in a medium bowl.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, butter, corn syrup and water and bring to a boil.
- Pour the mixture over the chopped chocolate and let stand for about 1 minute, then whisk until smooth.
- Whisk in the flour and salt, then whisk in the eggs and vanilla until fully incorporated.
- Scrape the brownie batter onto the prepared baking sheet and spread it to the edge.
- Bake for 15 minutes, until the top of the brownie looks dry and crackly.
- Transfer the baking sheet to a rack to cool, then transfer the baking sheet to the freezer to chill for 30 minutes, until the brownie base is completely firm.
-
MEANWHILE PREPARE THE COCONUT TOPPING:
- In a large heatproof bowl, combine the egg whites with the sugar.
- Set the bowl over a large saucepan of boiling water and whisk the mixture over moderate heat until it is warm to the touch and the sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes.
- Remove from the heat.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites at medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 8 minutes.
- Fold in the shredded coconut, sour cream, vanilla seeds and grated orange zest, if using.
- Spread the coconut topping evenly over the brownie base.
- Bake for 30 minutes, until the coconut topping is lightly golden and set.
- Transfer to a rack to cool, then cover and refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours or overnight.
-
MAKE THE GLAZE:
- Combine the chopped bittersweet chocolate, butter and corn syrup in a large bowl.
- In a medium saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil.
- Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let stand for 1 minute, then whisk until the chocolate is melted and the glaze is smooth.
- Let stand until warm to the touch, about 10 minutes.
-
ASSEMBLY:
- Meanwhile, using a sharp knife, trim the border of the chilled brownie base to make it neat.
- Cut the base into 2-inch squares and transfer them to 2 wire racks set over baking sheets.
- Top each square with an almond.
- Using a small ladle, pour a thick coating of the chocolate glaze over each brownie bar.
- Using a small offset spatula, spread the glaze to coat the top and sides completely. (Rewarm the glaze over a pot of simmering water if it gets too thick.).
- Refrigerate the brownie bars until the glaze sets up, about 1 hour.
- Serve chilled.
- *The brownie bars can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
<p>Hello all, thank you for visiting My Page but forgive me for it is a work in progress! :) As I am sure you have noticed I changed my Chef Name to Manami which means love & beauty. ;) Just thought I should get with the program - my geisha & my icon! :) Don't fret, I won't change it again! <br /><br />I am 70 years young and I live in a nursing home, which is out of this world, I am treated like a princess and the world is my oyster! I have a private room and during the season I do taxes for most of the staff, as well as my personal clients that have been following me since I left the business world about 25 years ago. I was rear-ended by a van and it turned my whole world upside down. Why dwell on that? <br /><br />I am an American Jew (from NYC) who moved to Havana, Cuba when I was 2 1/2 years old, lived there until a few days after Castro took over and vamoosed it out of that country as fast as my legs would carry me! I was on a forced hiatus from the UofM, due to illness. <br /><br />From there my sister, mother and I went to NYC to work and my father went to Haiti in Port-Au-Prince, where he and my uncle had purchased some tiny cocoa plantations & a chocolate factory - for the choccolate liquer - to make baking chocolate (the real bitter stuff). We joined my father about 2 months later where I spent 2 of the most carefree & wonderful years of my life! It is the stuff that movies are made of! (A la Grace Kelly - even my clothes were like hers)> </p>
<p>I then continued my studies in upstate NY and hated it because it was too, too cold!:( Went back to NYC to work and see what I wanted to do with my life - I was all of 20 years old and had to drop out of school because of illness and then because of the weather! Yuck - so I got a job in a Textile Buying Office as a receptionist and soon I found myself buying trimmings! Loved it and was very happy with the work I was doing. <br /><br />However, I got an offer from two young guys who had a factory in Cleveland, Ohio, where they made Maternity Clothes and they wanted me to be in charge of the shipping dept, keep inventory and in my spare time - help with the designing!! I couldn't pass it up - the offer sounded so great and the salary was twice what I was making in the NYC. So I went to Cleveland, got married, had both my children and got a divorce 15 years later. <br /><br />Then my children and I moved to South Florida and have been here since 1978, I can't count that far back :) <br /><br />Learned how to do taxes with H&R Block and worked simultaneously as a Supervisor in 2 offices for them for 15 years. Then after the accident everything went spiralling downwards until I could no longer walk alone even with a walker - so the next step was a wheelchair. Stayed at home with a lot of help (nurses, PT therapists) fixed the bathroom so I could bathe myself and fixed the kitchen so I could help warm-up meals (was taught how to cook in rehab) and so forth and so on. <br /><br />However, the fire department had other plans for me, I called them too often to pick me up off the floor - how embarassing! So they gave me a choice - either a home or they would have to call HRS! :( (very sad) <br /><br />It was there, in my home where I was robbed! <img title=Cry src=/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/img/smiley-cry.gif border=0 alt=Cry /> All my cookbooks (all my Julia Childs Cookbooks, my Settlement Cookbook which had been my mothers - published in 1939 - with all her notes) my mother's cookbooks from Cuba & Haiti, all my handwritten recipes. They also took all my Delft collection, some antiques that I had in the kitchen like my rolling pin, a beautiful old & used wooden bowl, a charcoal-iron that was brought north when my parents left Haiti, it was hand-painted & was gorgeous, as well as all the other things that are too numerous to mention! <br /><br />That proved to be the last straw & from there it was an ALF,<img title=Yell src=/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/img/smiley-yell.gif border=0 alt=Yell /> which was horrible, and then on to another home where the administrator of that home became the administrator here and voila, here I am. <img title=Smile src=/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/img/smiley-smile.gif border=0 alt=Smile /></p>
<p>I have a beautiful large private room with a private bath, furnished to my liking: eclectic! <img title=Wink src=/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/img/smiley-wink.gif border=0 alt=Wink /> My room is large enough to house my office and all the other odds and ends with which I like to surround myself.<br /><br />During tax season, mostly, my room is always full (of course I love it that way)! I have a blanket my daughter bought for me in New Mexico and that is on my bed. You guessed it - that is where everbody sits or on my great grandfather's arm chair which is in great shape. <img title=Smile src=/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/img/smiley-smile.gif border=0 alt=Smile /> Update 01/11/2008 that time is here again :) Have started doing taxes already and not just regular taxes but corporations, partnerships and 1040X - ammended returns! Whoopee! I love the feeling I get when this time comes around and I get into gear!!! I love it! :) <br /><br />The head chef, the kitchen supervisor & the dietician enjoy the recipes from Zaar; the ones that I post, as well as, the others. We are in the process of changing the menu right now - so we have been doing a lot of figuring. The administrator is so cute because every once in a while she asks for a recipe and then she gives me a pack of paper so I can print them. <img title=Wink src=/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/img/smiley-wink.gif border=0 alt=Wink /><br /><br />I am president of the resident council and most of the family members come to me to take care of their grievances - this way I do my part - and the staff can take care of the larger problems! It has been working for 10 years - why change if it ain't broke?<img title=Wink src=/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/img/smiley-wink.gif border=0 alt=Wink /></p>
<p>Well, it's time to say hasta luego folks. <img title=Laughing src=/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/img/smiley-laughing.gif border=0 alt=Laughing /><br /><br /></p>