Spicy Brownies

 

The new ( maybe not so new , but still innovative) rage is sweet and salty-everything from caramels to cookies to cakes- and it's delicious. For some, the thought of combining the two tastes is unthinkable, but if you let your palate experience the flavors, you will understand what I mean. I love the idea of mixing salty pretzels with chocolate, sprinkling fleur de sel on the top of a chocolate frosted cake or, in the other direction, adding chocolate to a sauce for chicken or meat.

This week on Baked Sunday Mornings, the assignment was not actually sweet and salty , but sweet and spicy. I have read a lot about the mixture of peppery spices to sweet dishes, especially chocolate. This was the perfect opportunity to try it for myself. The recipe calls for ancho chile powder, which I cannot find for the life of me ( at least here in Israel) so I did some research on how to substitute. I ground up some sweet chile seeds with a small amount of hot chile pepper seeds and came out with something that tastes great- don't know if it has any resemblance to ancho chile powder but it was worth a try. In any case, ancho chile powder is on my list for my next visit to the States ( adding one more food item to the long list I already have!)

The result is heavenly. The cinnamon flavor comes across quite dominant ( which I love!) mixed with the strong chocolate flavor. That in itself is enough.... but then after chewing and swallowing, you suddenly get that slight burst of spiciness. Not overwhelming, but just enough to let you know it's there, and is it ever out of this world. The texture of the brownies is fudgy and just melts in your mouth. This is a definite keeper!

You have two choices before serving these to people- tell them in advance about the spice or let them find out for themselves. They'll thank you either way!

rich chocolate, ancho chile powder and warm cinnamon