bourbon brownies + mint julep buttercream

What's better than dessert? Dessert spiked with alcohol. 

Just in time for the Kentucky Derby, I whipped up some decadent and fudgy brown butter brownies full of chocolate chunks. Into the batter went a splash (or two) of Maker's Mark. To top it off, a mint julep buttercream to utilize the abundance of spearmint growing in my garden. 

So simple, so rich, so good. 

Bourbon Brown Butter Brownies

• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1¼ cups sugar
• ¾ cup cocoa powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp espresso powder 
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, cold
• ⅔ cup all-purpose flour 
• 2 tablespoons bourbon
• 2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 325 F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Grease the paper. 

In a medium-sized saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook the butter, whisking constantly, until  golden brown. 

In a mixing bowl, stir in the sugar, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, bourbon, and vanilla extract. Add the browned butter. Set aside the mixture to cool for 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time.  Mix in the flour and stir until combined. Beat vigorously for 50 strokes. Fold in the chocolate chunks.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake for about 30 minutes in the lower third of the oven. Cool the brownies in the pan. 

Mint Julep Buttercream

• 1/2 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 
• pinch of salt
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 tsp peppermint extract
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1 tablespoon bourbon  

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together butter and salt until creamed. Gradually add in confectioners' sugar. Add extracts and bourbon. (Note: If the mixture is too thin, add more sugar. If too thick, add a tablespoon of milk). 

Browned Butter Mocha Brownies

If you have yet to notice, I'm on a full-fledged brownie kick. 

Ever since I made the Green Tea White Chocolate brownies that I blogged about this weekend, I've had a debilitating craving for more brownies. Recently, my mother requested that I make brownies with a coffee icing, so I began brainstorming. When she slipped away from home to go to her doctor's appointment, I decided to whip some up for a special surprise. 

These browned butter brownies are full of so much delicious, rich chocolately flavor. As if your basic brownie wasn't satisfying enough already, the addition of browned butter, espresso powder, and semi-sweet chocolate chunks. And if that didn't persuade you enough, I topped them with a creamy mocha buttercream frosting. 

These brownies are so so so delicious. I may or may not have eaten 5 of them last night when I got home. Yes, five. Oh well; they were so worth it.  

Browned Butter Brownies

• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1¼ cups sugar
• ¾ cup cocoa powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp espresso powder 
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, cold
• ⅔ cup all-purpose flour 
• 2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 325 F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Grease the paper. 

In a medium-sized saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook the butter, whisking constantly, until  golden brown. 

In a mixing bowl, stir in the sugar, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, espresso powder and vanilla extract. Add the browned butter. Set aside the mixture to cool for 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time.  Mix in the flour and stir until combined. Beat vigorously for 50 strokes. Fold in the chocolate chunks.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake for about 30 minutes in the lower third of the oven. Cool the brownies in the pan. 

Mocha Buttercream Frosting

• 2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons brewed coffee, cooled

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder. Add in the coffee and beat until combined. 

Banana Cake with Honeyed Brown Butter Frosting

    I hate January. Next to September, January is by far one of the worst months of the whole year. Yes, I love the cold weather (hello polar vortex), but going back to college and starting a new semester is the worst — especially right when I finally got used to laying around the house and doing absolutely nothing.

    I am a mere four days into my second semester of my sophomore year and I am already looking at my calendar for convenient times to schedule my impending mental and emotional breakdown. I know what you're thinking, it's only the first week. The work load for this semester is sickening, to say the least. Between taking 18 hours, mandatory service learning programs, constant meetings, way too many emails, and the rapidly approaching National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) — I am exhausted just thinking about it. But hey, I need to be optimistic... right? This semester will be great! 

Whenever I'm stressed, I find my body acting rather erratically. This time around, any desire for regular food has been replaced by a near-constant craving for sugar. I told myself no sugar this week, but by Tuesday, I had already caved. Oh well. Considering that I'm in control of whatever ingredients go in the mixer, I guess that I'm not too bad off. The one plus of my lack of self-restraint is that y'all get more recipes! So here goes nothing...

    Today, I wanted to share this amazing cake with y'all. Guys, this one is really good. Not just really good, it's damn near perfect. The cake layer is super moist and full of flavor, a glorified banana bread of sorts. From there, I whipped up a honeyed brown butter icing and topped off the cake with toasted pecans brûléed bananas. 

    My recipe made two 8" rounds, but instead of making a layer cake, I decided to ice one cake and simply cover the other one in powdered sugar. Best. decision. ever. Seriously, both ways so good. Each cake was special, but equally as delicious. I am urging you to try this out immediately. 

Banana Cake 

adapted from Food.com

• 1 1/2 cups bananas, mashed, ripe
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• a pinch of ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 1/8 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 275°. Grease and flour two 8" round cake pans. 

In a bowl, mix together the mashed bananas and lemon juice. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. Stir in vanilla.

Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix in the banana mixture.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for about 1 hour, or until a cake tester or toothpick placed into the cake comes out clean. (Note: the cake may take a little more or less time to bake depending on your oven. The best bet is to check it 5-10 minutes before just to make sure it's all good!) Cool and ice with frosting. 

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Honeyed Brown Butter Frosting

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 4 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup whole milk

Heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Strain the butter into a small bowl to ensure that all sediment is left behind. Set aside. 

Combine the butter with the sugar, honey, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons milk until smooth. If your mixture is too thick, add more milk. Give it a taste and add more honey if necessary.