Where in the World are the Double Chocolate Brownies?
Finn found them!
If every recipe tells a story, these dark chocolate brownies tell a tale of ice-cold greed and grubby ambition set in 1980s Los Angeles. Back when I was just starting to discover the power that being a good cook/baker held, I noticed that if I brought these to Hollywood parties with folks above my pay grade, I got invited back. As long as I kept bringing the brownies, I was a player. Or, at least I got to stand next to players on the buffet line.
Truth time. This particular pastry session took place in person, in Piper’s kitchen. At the end of October, my husband Ted and I rented a giant SUV and drove 1400 miles to Austin, TX to visit the family. We had been careful for seven months, but the cost of not seeing or touching the grandkids was great, and so we decided it was worth the risk of leaving our germ-free, extremely quiet home to visit the real live grandkids. The noise! The smells! The touch! Even the cries! Fantastique! Nothing beats reality.
Two weeks on the road, after 40 years or marriage is a test. We stopped at some interesting places—Marfa, TX; Cadillac Ranch; Santa Fe, NM; the Grand Canyon; and Deming, NM? In that tiny town, tucked in the less glamorous southern part of the state, we tasted a heavenly Coconut Chess pie at a place called Elisa’s House of Pies and Restaurant, possibly the best barbecue joint west of the Rio Grande. #1 on Yelp for a reason!
We hadn’t seen the grandkids in person since February 2020, and it was an emotional reunion. The moment we stepped out of the car, we forgot all about Covid. We ripped off our masks, held the kids close, and proceeded to discuss our baking schedule. Joe, Piper’s father, suggested we start with the Double Chocolate Brownies of his youth. He attended the swish parties with us.
“If you can afford them, we can make them,” I replied. As much as I hate to describe something delicious as decadent—so puritanical!— these cost so much damn money because of the top notch chocolate, they are indecent! He agreed not to cut any corners.
Back to talking Hollywood trash. In the 80s, when we were new in town, and Joe was in pre-school in West Hollywood, we met a family who ended up landing pretty high up the food chain in the film industry. As a food writer, married to a journalist, we didn’t often move in those social circles. But thanks to Double Chocolate Brownies, we got invited to A-list shindigs complete with open bars, live music, and louche-looking men in pricey jeans and polos. This was long before the rest of the world started showing up in sweats for dinner parties. The unstated price of admission for my husband and me was the brownies. Pas de problème.
As became crystal clear one Thanksgiving, when we showed up for their very generous buffet-style holiday party on the Westside. As soon as I walked in, the host led me by the elbow into the kitchen, where he yanked the tray of brownies out of my hand and proceeded to hide them up high in the pantry. “These are going here,” he told me, “for later.”
“Got it!” I thought. His well-fed friends really didn’t deserve these transcendent confections. Besides, he preferred to nibble each delectable square away from the crowd, in private, at his leisure. I was not entirely innocent either. Like many women before me, I baked cookies and cakes for the applause and entree they brought me. Ours was a twisted but somewhat even exchange.
Piper would probably say I’m making too much of a chocolate brownie. But it is no exaggeration to say that baking with Piper in-person was divine. I’m not usually a fan of sharing the kitchen; things can get nasty when my hyper-efficient drill sergeant side comes out. But watching her maneuver around her kitchen, focusing on each task with self confidence and precise technique made me realize how much she had grown in 7 months.
Double chocolates are Piper’s favorite type of recipe. They’re made entirely by hand. Even melting the chocolate is not finicky since it’s mixed with butter and won’t seize up so easily. Just remember to buy the best chocolate you can afford, and when they’re done, hide the brownies!
Or, be more civilized and do what Piper did. She bagged a few and ran them over to the neighbor kids. Like her grandma, that girl knows how to make friends!
Thanks to Michael’s Restaurant, Santa Monica for the recipe from Ma Cuisine Cookbook.
Recipe
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, best quality
3 Tbsps unsalted butter
¾ cup sugar
3 ½ Tbsps cold water
2 eggs
¾ cup flour
¾ tsp salt
2 cups walnuts, coarsely chopped
Confectioners sugar for dusting
Roughly chop the chocolate into large chunks.
Preheat oven to 325F. Line a 9-in square cake pan with parchment paper or coat with butter.
Combine half the chocolate with the butter, sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter and chocolate have completely melted. Set aside to cool 5 minutes.
Transfer the melted chocolate to a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the eggs and then stir in the flour, salt and nuts until well combined. Mix in the chocolate chunks. The batter will be thick and lumpy.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean and the sides pull away from the pan. Set aside to cool in pan for 30 minutes. Dust with Confectioners sugar, cut in 1 ½ inch squares and serve. Or pack in Tupperware, and store on the top shelf of the pantry.
