Since I returned from Vermont I’ve been a bit obsessed with the idea of including artisan cheeses in chocolate sweets. Thoughts of chocolate whoopie pies with chevre filling, gorgonzola butter cream, chevre truffles, and of course dark chocolate chevre brownies have been distracting me from work and other more productive aspects of my life.
I decided it was time to at least wet my palate a little bit by making my first attempt to recreate the dark chocolate chevre brownies I tried at the Vermont Cheesemakers Festival. (It seemed especially fitting since today is Fromage Friday so a cheese-based recipe is a must.) I knew this would be no easy feat since the Vermont Brownie Company really did an outstanding job of balancing the chocolate and chevre. They also had a very distinct goat cheese taste. No confusing those beauties with cream cheese brownies.
After work I made the 1/2 mile walk from my office to Whole Foods for a couple of logs of Vermont Butter & Cheese Chevre and headed home to tinker in the kitchen. The result of experiment #1 is the following recipe. I’m going to have to keep tinkering this to get it 100% up to my standards so consider this a work in progress recipe. It’s delectable, don’t get me wrong. The chocolate brownie base is the perfect cross between fudgy and cakey so it’s sure to please brownie fans with varying tastes. The chocolate chips provide wonderful textural contrast and a great hit of flavor. The chevre swirls are luscious and have the expected tang and delicate richness. My only complaint was that the chevre wasn’t quite as pronounced as I’d been hoping for. Still, I am sharing this recipe because perfect or not these are darn addictive and well balanced. Also, although this is certainly NOT intended to be a low fat or healthy recipe it’s interesting to note that chevre is lower in fat and higher in protein per ounce than regular cream cheese so it’s a little healthier as a brownie topper. It’s also easier on the stomach than cow’s milk cheeses so it’s worth trying if cream cheese leaves your tummy unhappy.
Note: I have since created two additional variations on this recipe. They are a little fudgier and have a stronger chevre flavor than the original (the latter and newest version also includes a blend of brown and powdered sugar and a sea salt topper to make it closest to the original recipe). Those recipe are available on my blog here and here. All recipes are great, it just depends on your personal preferences.
Yields: 16 brownies
Ingredients:
Chevre Swirl:
-4 ounces chevre, room temperature (I like Vermont Butter & Cheese)
-2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
-1 tablespoon honey
-1 large egg
-1 tablespoon all purpose flour
Brownies:
-6 ounces good quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
-1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
-1/2 cup sugar (I like raw sugar for its richer flavor)
-2 eggs
-1/2 cup all purpose flour
-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
-1 teaspoon chocolate extract (optional)
-1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Method:
Make swirl
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter 8-inch square nonstick baking pan. Using electric mixer, beat chevre and butter in medium bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually add honey and beat until well blended. Beat in egg. Mix in flour. Set mixture aside.
Make brownies
Stir baking chocolate and butter in heavy small saucepan over low heat until smooth. Cool slightly. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and eggs in large bowl until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt. Mix in chocolate mixture and extracts. Stir in chocolate chips.
Spread half of chocolate batter in prepared pan. Using rubber spatula, spread chevre mixture over chocolate batter. Using tip of knife, gently swirl through batter, forming marble design. Bake brownies until tester inserted into center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 30 minutes. Cool brownies in pan on rack. Cut into squares.
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i just got so excited
can’t wait to get back to my loaf of goat cheese!
I love this twist on the usual cream cheese-swirled brownies, especially because I adore chevre. You have totally sold me on trying this the next time I bake brownies, given the lower fat content, too. Who would have guessed!
Shannon – That sounds like something I would say.
Carolyn – It definitely makes a difference. I think it brings much more of a richness of flavor.
These sound amazing! I imagine the tang of the goat cheese and the richness of the chocolate play very well together.
On a different note, have you tried goat yogurt? it tastes like chevre, but more on the tangy side than rich side… perhaps you could incorporate some into the swirl to give more tanginess?
Jen, that is a fantastic idea. I’ve actually never tried it before although I’ve often looked at it. I’ll have to try it both on its own and in a future variation. It would also be interesting to try it in place of sour cream in a simple sour cream cake.
I was hoping you’d be making these yummy treats! The brownie looks fantastic!
Natasha – What can I say, the recipe was practically haunting my brain. I’m just sad I finished the pan because now all I can think about is trying again and making more.
I love this! Goat cheese is my favorite and I can just taste it in brownies – yum! I’m glad you had such a lovely time in Vermont – sounds like a foodie paradise!
Kerstin – It really was foodie paradise. With all the local ingredients I was in absolute heaven.
Hey! you seemed to have forgotten to say how many eggs go into the brownie mix. (not just the chevre mix) am i mistaken and you said it somewhere i just didn’t notice? help?
Sorry Tom, I’ll send you an e-mail as well but it should read 2 eggs in the brownie mix. I’ve updated it.
This is mind-blowingly delicious. The Vermont Brownie Company was on Food Network so I picked up a few tips from them as well. First instead of swirling the cherve through I made a center layer over about 2/3 of the brownie mix, put the rest of the brownie mix on top, and with a rubber spatula made a pretty design on top with the cherve just peaking through. Also when it was done and cooled for a bit, I put some sea salt on top, sounds slightly weird, but it really brought the flavors together.
Justine – These are all awesome tips. Do you remember what show you saw VT Brownie Company on? I would have loved to see that episode.
Throwdown with Bobby Flay
I just watched that Throwdown episode with the Vermont Brownie Company on it last night, and I came online to find a similar recipe first thing this morning, one that I could work off of. Thanks for posting this! I’m lactose intolerant but can have both dark chocolate (what the ladies on Throwdown used) and goat cheese. It’s like it was meant to be
So excited to check out the rest of your site, too!
I just came across this website because I was saw the throwdown on TV yesterday and HAD to try this out: perfect. Thanks Kelly! On the show, Vermont Brownie Company also drops chunks of chocolate on top before baking instead of incorporating chocolate chips inside. I’m sure your version will be fantastic, too. Yum!!!! Can’t wait!
I, too, came here looking for a goat cheese brownie recipe because of the Throwdown episode. One question – you say to spread half of the chocolate batter into the pan, but then you never say what to do with the other half. Can I assume the other half of the chocolate batter goes on top of the chevre mixture before swirling?
Yes, sorry I will make that change.
Thanks for the clarification, and thanks for the recipe. I can’t wait to try it!
Like your last few readers, I first heard of dark chocolate chevre brownies on Bobby Flay’s Throwdown. Found your recipe — and baked ‘em last night. Fan-fricking-tastic!!! Hubby and I just love ‘em!
The chevre is not as pronounced as I had assumed it would be — which is just fine for our tastes. (I’ve never been a cream cheese brownie fan, so wanted the chocolate to be more pronounced.
Very light (as opposed to dense) and luscious — thanks for sharing! (And love the choc chips in the mix — helps add to the fudgy factor w/o being overwhelmingly fudgy.)
I came across your website after watching the throw down on food network. The brownies came out beautifully. The only changes I made were the suggestions made from the previous comments. I added about 1/4c goats yoghurt to the chevre mixture and a pinch of sea salt to garnish after they cooled. The brownie had a pronounced delicious tang and were more airy and light then most brownies I have made. Everyone who tried them loved it. I have had a request to make them again. Thanks for the recipe!
Kelly,
I just watched the Bobby Flay Throwdown yesterday and wanted so badly to find the recipe for the Chevre brownies. Thanks! I will try making these this weekend! Love and laughter, Lydia
Glad you found my recipe Lydia. I also have a second version that is a little bit more fudgy and cheesy here:
http://pink-apron.com/2010/04/national-blogger-bake-sale-deep-chocolate-brownies-with-chevre-swirls-version-2-0/
I’m totally sold on making these brownies this weekend. Throwdown was on the other day and I was dying for one of these brownies. Hope it turns out good!!
Nice! Just saw a re-run of Throwdown and this was the first
recipe I found. Will be making these soon!
Sandi – Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. I hope that you enjoy them. There are a couple of other updated versions of the recipe on my site as well so if this recipe doesn’t suit your taste, there may be another you enjoy more. I know that my personal favorite of all I have tried is this version.