I do love chocolate, so when I discovered Barefoot Contessa’s Brownie Pudding recipe a couple of years ago in her Back to Basics cookbook, I quickly added it to my recipes to go-to whenever a chocolate craving sets in.

So simple, so rich, and a must-pair-with-ice-cream dessert, impress your guests, family or enjoy yourself the next time brownies or chocolate are calling your name.

Brownie Pudding

(adapted from Barefoot Contessa)

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus extra for buttering the dish
• 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup good cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean
• 1 tablespoon framboise liqueur, optional
• Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly butter a 2-quart (9 by 12 by 2-inch) oval baking dish. Melt the 1/2 pound of butter and set aside to cool.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on medium-high speed for 5 to 10 minutes, until very thick and light yellow. Meanwhile, sift the cocoa powder and flour together and set aside.

3. When the egg and sugar mixture is ready, reduce the speed to low and add the vanilla seeds, framboise, if using, and the cocoa powder and flour mixture. Mix only until combined. With mixer still on low, slowly pour in the cooled butter and mix again just until combined.

4. Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared dish and place it in a larger baking pan. Add enough of the hottest tap water to the pan to come halfway up the side of the dish and bake for exactly 1 hour. A cake tester inserted 2 inches from the side will come out 3/4 clean. The center will appear very under-baked; this dessert is between a brownie and a pudding.

~Water bath, just before it goes into the oven.~

5. Allow to cool and serve with vanilla ice cream.

~Just out of the oven, resting while the ice cream waits patiently.~

Key Things To Keep In Mind:

*For those of us with very hot ovens, check brownies at 45 minutes and test with a tooth pick.  If the top is crusted and firm, and the inside is still gooey – you can remove it from the oven.

*Having overcooked this recipe once, I can speak with experience and say it is better to have it too runny, than not enough. They key is to let the crust be your guide.

*Add the seeds of the vanilla bean can be expensive, so know that the recipe tastes just as delicious without it. And in this case, just add one teaspoon of vanilla extract.

*The perfect ice cream as a complement – vanilla bean!