Earl Grey Brownies and Lavender Ganache v.3

It is a rare day that I make anything the same way twice; today is no exception. There is always some tweaking and twisting to improve...something. For those of you who follow along, Earl Grey Chocolate Cake + Lavender Ganache v.1 was a birthday celebration cake for a friend that my husband deemed "too dry and too hard." I never told him, but I had tried to make the cake a wee bit healthier by using yogurt in it instead of sour cream. It was a kitchen flop.

Take two - used sour cream - made its way into mini cupcakes for our friends who were in a play. Just the right texture, but not exactly the ingredients I wanted, though, everything in moderation is really okay, right?!

Tonight the second graders are hosting their families for a Poetry Cafe. They have been studying poetry, reading poetry, writing poetry, and learning about the different forms. So, they have invited us all to come and listen to their creations - oh, and bring snacks. Snacks are very important to seven and eight-year-olds. Dylan signed us up to bring brownies and my parents to bring taquitos. I thought it the perfect opportunity to try out a third version of this cake, cutting them into small squares to make "brownies."

I went back to yogurt, but added a splash of olive oil. These are dense, moist, and have just a hint of exotic.

2 C chipped unsweetened dark chocolate

1/2 C (1 stick) butter
2/3 C organic buttermilk
1-1/2 C organic brown sugar, packed
2 t date liqueur
2 eggs, separated
1 C organic whole milk yogurt
2 T olive oil
2 C white whole wheat flour
1 t baking powder
3 earl grey tea bags, opened
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter your baking dish. I used a 9" x 13".

Place chocolate, butter, and buttermilk in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in loose earl grey tea, sugar, and date liqueur.

Beat in the egg yolks, yogurt, and olive oil in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the chocolate mixture. Beat with a hand mixer to aerate.

Sift in the flour and baking powder, folding in until just moistened.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate batter.

Scrape the batter into pan and bake for 45 minutes or until firm to the touch. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack. Pour a layer of lavender ganache over the top and cool to set. Cut into serving-size squares. This is rich, so make them small.