Lemon/chocolate/goat Cheese Brownies
Why I Love This Recipe
Ingredients You'll Need
1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup pure Cane Syrup-do not use the ones that have corn syrup in them.
1/4 cup finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 lb goat cheese, soft and mild
1 8oz package cream cheese
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
8 to 10 ozs bittersweet, dark chocolate
1/4 cup milk
2 cups pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
NOTE: if you aren't fond of sour, as I am, reduce goat cheese by half and double amount of creamcheese.
Directions
In a double boiler, combine the chocolate and milk over medium heat. Watch carefully, when nearly all the chocolate is melted, turn heat off.
either use soft butter or melted butter (do not overheat). Put butter, syrup and sugar in large mixing bowl, mix for at least 5 minutes starting on low and moving to medium high. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well between them.
Stop mixer, add 1/2lb goat cheese, mix for 1 minute on low, add 1/2lb goat cheese mixing again on low for 1 minute. Add creamcheese and continue mixing on low, moving to medium for approx 5 minutes until cheese is completely incorporated. You can use a mixing wand for the last step above to avoid splashing mixture out of mixing bowl. Add lemon and lemon zest and 1/2 cup flour. On low speed mix well. Add 1/2 cup of flour repeating above step, add last half a cup of flour and beat on low until flour is incorporated, then for at least a minute on medium. Scrape sides of bowl.
Making sure the chocolate is completely melted, use a whisk and beat for at least a minute until chocolate is glossy. Add chocolate to mixture. Beat on low until chocolate is absorbed, move to medium high and beat for at least 30 seconds until well blended. Remove mixer bowl from mixer. Add 1 cup pecans and mix by hand until nuts are well distributed throughout the mix. Using at least an 8x12x2" pan (larger is okay-smaller is not)butter and flour it, making sure to knock out all excess flour. Pour batter into pan. Rock and drop a couple of times to insure leveling. Sprinkle top of mix with remaining cup of pecans distributing evenly. Bake in oven for at least 1 hour. More if middle is still jiggly at the end of the hour. It shouldn't require more than an additional 20 minutes to complete. Remove from oven, let cool, cut into manageable squares.
If you use a larger pan you get thinner brownies, the size I use you get cake-like brownie pieces-either way it works fine. Larger pan needs less time in the oven, check at 45 minutes.
