Urfa-Biber: As Fun to Say As It Is to Bake With

I love trying new things. If I see something on a menu and I don’t know what it is, I’ll order it. If someone offers me something with an unpronounceable name, I’ll sample first and ask questions later. If I hear about a food that I’ve never had before, I’ll seek it out. That is precisely what happened when the amazing Danielle of Habeas Brulee put up a post with a picture of the fudgiest brownies I’ve ever seen. But these were no ordinary brownies. These were Raspberry Pomegranate Urfa-Biber Brownies. I had no idea what urfa-biber was, but I knew I wanted some. Further research helped me to determine that urfa-biber is a spice, a type of Turkish pepper that has smoky and deep dried fruit aroma. One of Danielle’s readers had said that you could find urfa-biber at Kalustyans in New York. Well I don’t live in New York but I was thrilled to find out they had a website. The thrill faded quickly when I realized they don’t ship to Canada. Back to square one. Before I had time to figure out where I would find urfa-biber, it came to me. I had left a comment on Danielle’s post saying I’d have to search out some urfa-biber, she emailed me asking if I was interested in a trade; she’d send me some urfa-biber if I sent her something in return. I was definitely game for this! My urfa-biber arrived last week, (thanks Danielle!) and has been sitting on my counter, calling out to me every time I walk past. Last night I couldn’t fight it anymore and had to make brownies. I didn’t have all of the ingredients required for Danielle’s Raspberry Pomegranate Brownies so I set out to create my own recipe. What I ended up creating was Rhubarb Urfa-Biber Brownies. I should be making up more of my own recipes because I’m on a roll right now. I loved these brownies. Urfa-biber has been described as tasting somewhat like what would happen if a chile pepper and a raisin had a baby and so with that in mind, I added raisins to my brownies and was quite happy that I did so. I don’t know if the urfa-biber brought out the raisin taste or the raisins brought out the urfa-biber, but whatever happened, it was good! The urfa-biber was most evident though as a subtle aftertaste of fruity pepper that lingered on the tongue. These brownies even made rhubarb taste good! I’ll definitely be making them again.

Myriam of Once Upon A Tart had such great success with the first round of BrownieBabe of the Month that she’s decided to give it another go. I’m vying for that BrownieBabe apron with my Rhubarb Urfa-Biber Brownies as my submission to BrownieBabe of the Month 2.

Rhubarb Urfa-Biber Brownies by Brilynn

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

3 T butter

¾ cup sugar

2 eggs

¾ cup rhubarb puree

1 tsp vanilla

1 ½ tsp urfa-biber

½ cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 T Armagnac

½ cup raisins, soaked and drained

Preheat the oven to 325F and cover an 8 x 8 pan with tinfoil, buttered. Place the pan on a baking sheet.

In a bowl set over a double boiler, melt the chocolate and butter. Keep the heat low so that the butter doesn’t separate. Remove from the heat when the chocolate is melted. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, combining thoroughly. Whisk in the rhubarb puree and vanilla and then give an extra whisk to bring it all together. Switch to a spatula and fold in the urfa-biber and flour. Continue to fold the ingredients together and add the Armagnac and raisins. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 34-38 minutes. The brownies will still be a little wet in the middle but dry on the outer edges. Place on a rack to cool.

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Brownies + Baking + Chocolate + Rhubarb