Thursday, September 19, 2013

Chocolate Bars with Chocolate Ganache Frosting




LUCY BURDETTE: MURDER WITH GANACHE will be on bookshelves next February, but we're starting in early with ganache recipes! 


After some harrowing twists and turns in MWG, Hayley Snow’s mother Janet wants to bake something sweet and delicious to celebrate the family's resilience. What could be better than chocolate bars with chocolate ganache frosting--especially for breakfast? 

Unfortunately, she has yet to share the recipe with me. But chocolate ganache, which can be drizzled on anything, including the wedding cake on this glorious cover, is basically two ingredients--heavy cream and good quality chocolate--and sometimes a dab of butter. And happily for all of us, my friend Pat Kerens shared her family’s recipe, which sounds very much like the treats that Janet Snow baked--rich and delicious!

Bars

4 oz good quality unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 325. Butter an 8” square pan. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Remove pan from heat and stir in the sugar. Whisk in the vanilla and the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the flour and salt. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 25”. Cool.

Ganache Frosting

3 oz good quality semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Melt the chocolate, cream and butter over low heat in a double boiler. Remove from the heat, cool, and then spread on the chocolate bars. Cut into squares and serve. Store in the refrigerator or freezer.


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19 comments:

  1. Looks delicious! Can't wait to try it! :)

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    1. thanks Robyn, let me know how you like it! My friend Pat said it's definitely for chocoholics!

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  2. Oh, my! My mouth is watering. I'm wondering how GF flour would work for this.

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    1. Janet, I don't know. We could ask our resident expert Daryl when she stops in later....

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  3. When I first read the name of your dessert I thought you were talking about spreading ganache on chocolate candy bars! But this sounds delicious as well (even though I still can't get the image of a Hershey bar topped with mounds of ganache out of my head!).

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    1. I'm going to be laughing all day about the image of spreading ganache on a Hershey bar! that's a lot of chocolate:)

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  4. Now I'm going to have to deal with visions of chocolate on chocolate all day!
    I'd make one tweak--a bit of powdered espresso in the brownies (hm, maybe the ganache, too) to boost the flavor punch.

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  5. My friend Alexander Woollcott said, "All the things I really like to do are either immoral, illegal or fattening." This comes very close to covering all three! Well done.

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  6. Oh, my gosh, how gorgeous and decadent! I love chocolate for healing. :)

    Hugs & we'll be releasing books at the same time. Fun!!

    Daryl /Avery

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    1. We'll have a great month Daryl, as Sheila has a book out in February too!

      Chocolate for healing...love it!

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  7. This is such a beautiful cover, Lucy. I want to slide into one of those chairs and relax with one of these goodies. Mmm. I bet these would go fast at a bake sale!

    ~Krista

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    1. It took me a little while to get used to having a pink cover--first pink in 12 books LOL, but I love it now!

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  8. Echoing Krista, Lucy, your upcoming mystery has a beautiful cover and your pal Pat has shared a decadent indulgence with all of us. Sweet enough to fend off a killer? Can't wait to find out in February!
    ~ Cleo

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  9. Great cover and possibly the most tempting recipe ever.

    XO

    Your chocoholic friend and admirer,

    MJ

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