the selfish baker
The dictionary defines selfish as “devoted to or caring only for oneself; concerned primarily with one’s own interests, benefits, welfare, etc., regardless of others.” But what is a selfish baker, you ask? It’s someone who bakes purely for his/her own pleasure. “Niceties be damned, the pie is mine!” she cries.
I decided that I need to start wearing my selfish baker hat more often. In the past couple of months, I’ve baked primarily for others. “Hey I need a cake, can you do it?” people ask. And while I enjoy baking for others, I seem to have lost my zest for what I want to bake.
I think I hit the limit with the with my baking-for-others-side. I’ve got oodles and oodles of cookbooks from the library, waiting for me to pour over and yet I haven’t had the urge to open one at all. I bought a new book and have only made ONE thing out of it. Why? Because the minute I open one book up, I think about baking for everyone else, not me. I should make it clear, I like everything I make in my kitchen, but sometimes it can feel like a chore, not fun.
In my attempt to actual bake something I like, I went for these chocolate toffee wedges from The Weekend Baker. Lisa made these a while back and I have had my eye on them ever since. Boy, am I glad to have found this recipe because it encompasses all the things I need in a dessert. Sweet and salty. Moist yet firm. Highly addicting, seriously. If you are looking for something to eat straight out of the pan, then you’ve found it.
These wedges remind me of brownies, but are much less fussy. They bake in a pie pan which results in a decreased baking time and a slightly sturdier brownie. My biggest pet peeve with brownies is that they can be rather temperamental. If you over mix it, you get a dense brownie. Don’t mix it enough? You get a cakey mess. I was not in the mood to think about sophisticated techniques, and this recipe was quick and painless. A quick stir with melted chocolate and that’s it.
I happen to prefer this recipe to some of the others I’ve featured because of one thing: toffee. How can you not love these toffee bits?! Crunchy and salty, they add a little something something to this recipe. Originally, the recipe called for nuts or something, but I swapped that out since they were for me anyways :)
For everyone out there, let this be a gentle reminder. Sometimes, thinking about yourself is necessary. Don’t forget to take care of yourself, even if that means hoarding a pan of chocolate wedges all to your lonesome…
These wedges deliver the same big chocolate flavor as brownies but have a more refined, cake-like texture. Adding canola oil rather than butter to the batter makes the texture especially moist, and the hint of cinnamon offers a bit of Mexican complexity.
Chocolate Toffee Wedges
Origin: The Weekend Baker by Abigail Johnson Dodge
Yield: 8 wedges
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
● 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
● 3/4 cup granulated sugar
● 1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate, (2 ounces) coarsely chopped
● 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
● 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
● 1/4 tsp baking powder
● 1/4 tsp table salt
● 1/3 cup canola oil
● 2 large eggs
● 1/2 cup toffee bits (you can substitute with nuts if you prefer)
Directions:
Position an oven rack on the middle rung. Heat oven to 350℉. Lightly grease the bottom ands ides of a 9-inch pie plate (I used Pyrex).
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Add in the toffee bits and chocolate chunks. Whisk until blended.
In a separate bowl, mix together the oil and eggs with a fork until just blended. You can just measure the oil in a 2-cup Pyrex measure and then mix the egg right in the same cup to avoid dirtying another bowl. Pour the liquid over the flour mixture and mix with a rubber spatula until just blended. The batter will resemble a scone or other dry mixture but don’t worry. It’s not meant to be a wet dough.
Scrape the mixture in to the pie plate and spread evenly. You might have to press the mixture in to the sides if you are having trouble spreading with a spatula.
Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in to the center comes out with only a few gooey pieces clinging to it. Transfer the baking dish to a cooling rack and let cool. Cut pie in to 8 wedges.
To store wedges, cover the cooled wedges in the pie plate with plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days.
To freeze, allow the uncut pie to cool for about 20 minutes in the pie plate, then invert the pie onto a rack, let cool completely, and, still uncut, wrap tightly and freeze for up to one month.
HOLY LORD!!!!!!!! This might be the most visually delectable piece of food I have EVER seen. My mouth was literally hanging open when I opened up this link. Um…THANK YOU thank you thank you for this. I CANNOT wait to make this. Bravo!
I’m proud of you for being a selfish baker. I do the same thing. I make things that I think others will like and forget about the food that makes me have to sit down. Great reminder. And these look. Uh.Mazing.
Kudos! I found myself baking what others would like rather than what I would this past summer, and it’s just not the same. It’s fun, it’s fulfilling, but sometimes you just have to get a little selfish. A little self-interest is good for the soul.
wow ok no need to say more. You already convinced me to try these with the first picture :) yummy these look so so so nice and moist .
so i think i would choose these over the standard brownie any day! your photos are making me crave chocolate like no other and it’s only, what, 9:45 a.m. here? good grief :)
mega, think of them like a chocolate muffin!
I think we should declare this chocolate pie day, no? : ) This looks absolutely fantastic. Glad to hear you’re baking for you.
my gracious heaven amanda! these chocolate wedges look totally out of control yummy! i’m glad you were more selfish in your baking.. sometimes that’s what it takes. i seriously ate half of that banana cranberry bread that i baked yesterday… in like 30 minutes. it was so satisfying.
this looks delish and has my chocolate crave-dar going off like crazy. chocolate and toffee are my two favorite dessert combinations….mmm mmm good!
Ok, these look out of this world delicious!! I am craving them now!!
These look amazing. I’ve been on such a chocolate kick lately, I don’t know what it is! But YUM. Sometimes I TELL myself I’m baking something for others when really, it’s all about what I’m craving :) LOL
I’m glad you liked this recipe!
I found I preferred them fully cooled, maybe on day 2. They lose some of the oily-ness and turn into a nicely chewy treat.
This looks absolutely delicious!
I’m going to quickly stash this recipe away! (:
i generally will bake for myself, but gladly share with everyone ;)
Those wedges look absolutely decadent! And thanks for the reminder. I think all of us need time to sit back now and then, and think of ourselves, as much rewarding as baking for others can be.
I totally need something like this right now. Its a shame I can’t seem to find cocoa powder ANYWHERE. Its getting a bit silly really.
These lok absolutely amazing! You should be selfish more often!
Oh my goodness, these look so, so, SO amazing. Chocolate and toffee is one of my favorite combinations, and I don’t make it enough…these are definitely going on the list to make! I want to reach right through the computer and grab one! -Amy
Those look fabulous! Good for you for making something for yourself for once.
you can be a selfish baker, and i will still love what you make! looks so good!
I’ve made this three times now, and every time it’s more amazing. My friends think I’m brilliant in the kitchen, and the fact is that I’m not very good at baking.
Thank you for sharing this with us.