Red Velvet Brownies

I love red velvet. You might say that I have a red velvet obsession. Normally I bake red velvet cupcakes or red velvet cake roll, but I feel these demand a cream cheese frosting - which you just can't mail. So for my Valentines' Day or Singles Awareness Day care packages I made red velvet brownies and decorated them with a white chocolate heart.

Recipe adapted from How Sweet It Is

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 heaping tablespoons cocoa powder

2 tablespoons red food coloring

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line pan with parchment paper for easy removal (I used a 9x13 for maximal brownies you can use an 8x8 or 9x9 for thicker brownies).
2. In a small bowl, combine cocoa powder, red food coloring, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to create a paste.
3. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then add remaining teaspoon of vanilla. Add in cocoa powder mixture. Beat until batter is completely red. (If at this time your batter is NOT red, you can add a little more food coloring if desired.  Add flour and salt, mixing until just combined. 
4. Spread in pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool completely before decorating.

Chocolate Eclairs

I love donuts. I have a major weakness for donuts. Eclairs are not donuts. I discovered this recently after I made eclairs and they did not taste like a donut. While surprised, I was not remotely disappointed. How could you be? The pastry is light and doughy, the custard is smooth and vanillay and the chocolate glaze is just sweet enough. LOOK AT THEM.

Ingredients:

Custard Filling

2 cups milk
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter

Pastry

1 cup water
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs

Egg Wash

2 egg whtes
1 1/2 teaspoons water

Chocolate Glaze

1/2 cup heavy cream
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Filling: In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and vanilla bean to a boil over medium heat. Immediately turn off the heat and set aside to infuse for 15 minutes. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cornstarch. Whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture until incorporated. Whisk in the remaining hot milk mixture. Pour the mixture through a strainer back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and slowly boiling. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Let cool slightly. Cover with plastic wrap, lightly pressing the plastic against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill at least 2 hours or until ready to serve. The custard can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Refrigerate until 1 hour before using.

Pastry: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter, salt and sugar to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. When it boils, immediately take the pan off the heat. Stirring with a wooden spoon, add all the flour at once and stir until all the flour is incorporated. Return to the heat and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Scrape the mixture into a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer). Mix at medium speed. With the mixer running, add 3 eggs, 1 egg at a time. Stop mixing after each addition to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix until the dough is smooth and glossy and the eggs are completely incorporated. The dough should be thick, but should fall slowly and steadily from the beaters when you lift them out of the bowl. If the dough is still clinging to the beaters, add the remaining 1 egg and mix until incorporated.

Using a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip, pipe fat lengths of dough (about the size and shape of a jumbo hot dog) onto the lined baking sheet, leaving 2 inches of space between them. You should have 8 to 10 lengths.

Egg Wash: In a bowl, whisk the egg and water together. Brush the surface of each eclair with the egg wash. Bake 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375 degrees and bake until puffed up and light golden brown, about 25 minutes more. Try not to open the oven door too often during the baking. Let cool on the baking sheet. Fit a medium-size plain pastry tip over your index finger and use it to make a hole in the end of each eclair (or just use your fingertip). Using a pastry bag fitted with a medium-size plain tip, gently pipe the custard into the eclairs, using only just enough to fill the inside (don’t stuff them full). [Or, cut the eclairs in half like a hotdog bun and pipe custard down the middle]

Glaze: In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium heat just until it boils. Immediately turn off the heat. Put the chocolate in a medium bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Set aside and keep warm. The glaze can be made up to 48 hours in advance. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use, and rewarm in a microwave or over hot water when ready to use.

Dip the tops of the eclairs in the warm chocolate glaze and set on a sheet pan. Chill, uncovered, at least 1 hour to set the glaze. Serve chilled. If not serving immediately, store in the fridge.

Source: Food Network