A Blessed Ramadhan/Mocha Mousse Brownies

Hi All,  a blessed ramadhan to all my muslim friends and family who read this blog.. May this holy month bring us inner peace and forgiveness in our hearts., muslims and non-muslims alike (that includes me too, of course). Hehe.

Selamat Berpuasa and to those who love to bake, do try out this brownie that stole my Iman's stomach! :)  She said the topping reminded her of tiramisu, one of her favourite desserts.. And I've been made to promise that I'll make it again soon..

The original recipe came from the Taste of Home magazine; I actually tweaked a couple of recipes because I wanted a larger brownie than the original. My family so love brownies and I wanted to give some away to Azrena as the number of her tupperware in my cupboard was increasing by the day!!

Mocha mousse brownies

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup vegetable oil (corn oil, is fine)

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 eggs

1 cup all purpose (plain) flour 

3/4 cup baking cocoa

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Mocha Mousse:

2 tbps unflavoured gelatin

1 cup cold water

2 tbps instant coffee granules

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

1 cup chopped up cooking chocolate, melted

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, oil, sugar and vanilla. add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour, cocoa,baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture and mix well. Spread into a greased 13in x 9 in x 2 in baking pan. Bake at 170 deg C for 30-35  minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the centre comes out clean.. * (It's always better to check before the time's up, I rather like moister brownies).  Cool on wire rack.

For Mousse; in a saucepan sprinkle gelatin over cold water; let stand for I minute. Cook and stir over low heat until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in coffee granules until dissolved.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth;beat in milk and melted chocolate. In a chilled bowl, beat whippin cream and gelatin mixture until soft peaks form. Fold into cream cheese mixture. Spread over brownies. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or until firm. Cut into squares.

* The flavour of this brownie improves the next day because of the coffee content; so if you can hold-off long enough, do that. But never in this household! And you can vary the topping by making a chocolate ganache (melted choc and whipped cream) to pour over and top with some chopped hazelnuts.. Good too...