As the weather is turning colder and the leaves are changing color, one thing is for certain: autumn is upon us. One of the best parts of the fall is Oktoberfest, and I recently attended a German-themed party in honor of the festival. I was tasked with bringing a dessert as part of the festivities (along with a bottle of Riesling). As I usually do, I spent way too much time browsing through countless recipes looking for the perfect one. I was surprised at how many German desserts there were: strudels, kuchen, and the classic black forest cake.
The recipe that I finally settled on was one that played on the classic black forest cake: Black Forest Brownie Bars.
This was actually the second time that I made these bars and both times they have been extremely popular. They are not brownies at all, so be sure to curb your expectations. They really are “bars,” much more fudgy than your average brownie. The base is chocolaty and with the addition of walnuts, it really is like eating fudge. To be considered “black forest,” however, it needs some cherries. In this recipe, the dried cherries are added to a cream cheese frosting. The result is decadent to say the least.
The recipe is pretty easy to make, although there are a lot of steps. You have to make the bars, then the frosting, and then a ganache drizzle for the top. If you’re feeling lazy, you can totally leave out the drizzle. It sure looks nice, but with the brownies being so chocolaty, you don’t really notice the chocolate on top.
If you’re a cherry fan (and can stand the extra calories of chocolate brownies and cream cheese frosting), then you will probably love this recipe. It has certainly been a hit when I’ve made it!
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Oct 21, 2009 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
