Brownie Pudding

A while back I posted about chocolate pots de crème, such decadent and beautiful individual chocolate desserts.  One reader asked if there was a way to make them as one large dessert, family-style.  There may well be but in my mind, pots de crème are meant to be an individual dessert and I prefer them that way.  So instead I promised to post an equally decadent family-style chocolate dessert, and here it is.  This brownie pudding is guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser.  It is meant to be somewhere between a cooked brownie and pudding (hence the name), and is very much like a giant molten chocolate cake.

People, this dessert is just sinful.  It is chocolatey, rich, warm and gooey – basically, perfection.  And contributing even more to its appeal is the fact that it takes just minutes to put together, requires ingredients you probably already have on hand, and can be prepared in advance and reheated when ready to serve.  I do think serving with a scoop of ice cream is essential.  The contrast of the warm brownie pudding against the smooth, cold ice cream is heavenly.

Brownie Pudding
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Ingredients:
½ lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing the dish
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
¾ cup cocoa powder
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325˚ F.  Lightly butter a 2-quart oval baking dish.  Melt the 2 sticks of butter and set aside to cool.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the eggs and sugar.  Beat together on medium-high speed until thick and light yellow in color.  Meanwhile, combine the flour and cocoa powder in a medium bowl and whisk together until blended.

When the eggs and sugar are finished mixing, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the mixing bowl.  Add the flour-cocoa powder mixture to the bowl as well.  Mix on low speed just until combined.  With the mixer still on low, slowly pour the melted butter and mix again just until combined.

Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.  Place the baking dish in a larger baking pan.  Add very hot tap water to the outer baking pan to create a water bath, coming halfway up the side of the baking dish.  Bake for 60 minutes.  The center will appear very under-baked, that is the way the dessert should be.  Allow to cool slightly before serving with ice cream.

Source: adapted from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics by Ina Garten