Brownie Mix Review: Rising Star Organic Double Chocolate Fudge

My wife thought it would be fun to try different brownie mixes to see which one we liked best. It's really just an excuse to eat brownies.

Here are the products we have in the queue:

• Betty Crocker Milk Chocolate
• Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge
• Pillsbury Chocolate Fudge
• Rising Star Organic Double Chocolate Fudge Brownie mix
• Whole Foods Brand Brownie Mix

Rising Star was first.

Rising Star Organic Double Chocolate Fudge Brownie mix -- 4.5 of 5 stars

Preparation

The recipe called for 2 tablespoons of cold water, but we substituted approximately the same amount of Organic Half-n-Half.

We scrambled the egg in a separate bowl and then added the half-n-half, scrambling some more. Then we slowly poured in the melted butter while mixing so as to avoid cooking the egg or solidifying the butter too much. We used Cabot brand salted butter.

Into a separate larger bowl, we dumped the mix (dry ingredients) and sprinkled some espresso powder on top. Then we mixed in the liquid ingredients. The batter blended very well even though it was very thick. But it smelled a bit unpleasant due to the espresso powder.

We prepared a 7" by 11" glass baking dish by liberally coating it with melted butter and poured the batter into it, leveling it out as directed.

We set the (electric) oven for 350°F, preheated it and then baked for 30 minutes. There was a slight burnt smell, so we saw that the edges were already done, even at only about 25 minutes. When we checked for doneness, we noticed that the oven thermometer indicated 375°F to 400°F, so we reduced the setting to 335°F. As well, a raised portion of the batter was less well-cooked than the rest, so we rotated the dish slightly to move that part closer to the back.

After another 5 minutes at 335°F (plus some more time ramping up to 335°F), the thickness was uniform, and that thin, smooth, glassy layer formed over the entire surface. It passed the doneness test, so we removed it to the cold three-season porch to cool off for about thirty minutes.

We cut it with a plastic knife into 15 square pieces (/ 7.0 3.0)2.33 (/ 11.0 5.0)2.2 of about 2.25 inches. The pieces were easy to remove.

Taste

These were dense, moist, and fudgy, punctuated with soft chunks of intense chocolate. The edges were crisp and buttery but slightly overdone, with a texture marred by aggressiveness. Thus the center-most pieces were actually preferable. The three center pieces were finished off first.

The overall rating of 4.5 stars includes a deduction for less than ideal preparation.

Bake Times Depend on Pan Size and Material

With Thanksgiving less than 6 weeks away,¹ stores are promoting supplies and ingredients for baking. From flour and sugar to roasting pans and serving platters, stores are helping us prepare for a feast even while Halloween candy and decor vie for our attention.

I've always found baking to be tricky. I can improvise when I cook on the stove top, but I need a recipe to make cookies and cakes. And even then the results are underwhelming. Usually the bake time is underestimated. I poke at least a few toothpick holes in the cakes to test for doneness, and I tend to produce slightly raw desserts.

It turns out that bake times vary a lot; the pan size and material have a significant impact. Here's a summary derived from a box of brownie mix:⁴

• Dark pans shorten baking time by 3 minutes.
• Glass or ceramic pans increase baking time by 5 minutes
• The surface area and volume of the batter matter, too. For a given volume…
  • a smaller pan such as 8" by 8" (or 64 sq. in.) might require 30 minutes
  • a larger pan such as 9" x 9" (or 81 sq. in.) might require only 26 minutes.

This defines a significant range; it spans 23 to 35 minutes. And this doesn't account for variations in oven temperature or the temperature of the pan and ingredients.

Equipped with this new information, I'll be moving on to the testing phase. Time to bake brownies!

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¹ In USA, Thankgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November;² in Canada, it's the second Monday of October.³

² The Emacs-lisp expression (holiday-float 11 4 4 "Thanksgiving USA") can be added to the holiday-other-holidays variable, or (diary-float 11 4 4 "Thanksgiving USA") added to your diary file.

³ The Emacs-lisp expression (holiday-float 10 1 2 "Canadian Thanksgiving") can be added to the holiday-other-holidays variable, or (diary-float 10 1 2 "Canadian Thanksgiving") added to your diary file.

⁴ Rising Star Organic Double Chocolate Fudge Brownie mix

Dream: Imaginary Goal Line

I'm in a field.  There's a group of older children or young adults.  About half of the group are facing the other half.  It seems they are practicing football with an imaginary ball.  Now, one person is pretending to be the quarterback; she drifts back from the imaginary scrimmage line as if to pass.  The others (aka, the defense) react.  Then she runs to the side, parallel to the scrimmage line; the others react differently.  It seems to be an exercise for the defense.  They read the quarterback's reactions and then carry out their play.

At some point, someone on defense has a real ball, and she throws it to me.  I'm not part of their group or on any team, but I decide to pretend and play along.  I run toward the imaginary goal line.  I will evade the defense, fake them out, confuse them.  I'm committed to this, confident that I can do this.  "All I have to do is just run and don't drop the ball," I tell myself.