Fundamental Food: Mascarpone Brownies

The entire meal was seriously good. Not fancy, in fact, quite the reverse, but each component was delicious and they all worked in perfect harmony. It was a great Father's Day meal.

I poached the bratwursts in beer and then grilled them briefly. Some of the beer went into the pan with the caramelized onions and peppers where I cooked it off completely leaving just a residue of beery goodness on the mixture. The buns were slightly sour, definitely (but not overwhelmingly) rye, with exactly the right crumb to support the brats. A large stack of perfectly twice-cooked frites were heaped on the plates and a choice of beers rounded off the main course.

Simple, hearty, and completely made from scratch. And how do you end such a meal? Brownies.

I did get somewhat fancy with the brownies because I wanted to try an idea I had for marbling them with mascarpone flavored with espresso. They weren't quite what I wanted. The flavors absolutely worked but they needed more of the mascarpone mixture. The recipe below calls for the needed increase.

Mascarpone Brownies

Triple-Fudge Brownie Mixture (Note: leave the espresso powder out of the brownie mixture.)
Mascarpone Espresso
12 oz mascarpone -- at room temperature
3 tbsp powdered sugar
2 tbsp hot water
2 tsp espresso powder

Heat oven to 350F and place a rack in the lower-middle position. Spray a 9"x9" baking pan (8"x8" is too small with the filling) with a nonstick cooking spray, line with aluminum foil, and spray again. (Note: The aluminum foil should extend beyond two ends so it can be grasped to lift brownies out of pan.)

Whisk together all mascarpone ingredients.

Pour half of brownie batter into the prepared pan and gently spread into an even layer. Spoon mascarpone on top and spread. Add remaining brownie batter and gently spread.

Bake 40 to 45 minutes until puffed and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it. Cool on a wire rack for about two hours before cutting. Makes 16 thick brownies.

Kevin Weeks is a Gather food correspondent (Paisano), personal chef, cooking teacher, and writer in Knoxville, Tennessee who spends too many hours on his feet, cooking. "Paisano" is a column focused on peasant dishes from around the world. To read more of Kevin's writings or connect to him click here. His blog, Seriously Good, is read by 75,000 cooks a month.