Barefoot Contessa - Back to Basics

So I was half way watching food network yesterday, and half way napping. I would have given into the nap fully if it were not for the fear that one of my children would wake up too quickly and I would be sound asleep. That has happened only a few times, and its not good. I don't do cat naps, I do bear naps. I sleep like a brick during the day... I don't know why. I wake up easily at night.. maybe because I rarely take naps? Well I fluttered my eyes open and Cayden was standing at the foot of the couch. "I want to watch cooking with you, Mommy." So, I pulled him onto the couch with me and we watched a new episode of Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten.) Okay, who knew she had a new cookbook out and didn't tell me? You are rotten! If anyone had shared this information with me, I would have surely cooked something for you already. Anyway, her new cookbook is Back to Basics. It looks dandy. I read cookbooks like novels, by the way. I committed the Brownie Pudding recipe to memory and made it last night for Matt as a Valentine surprise. Thanks Ina, quite good timing! Here's the recipe:

4 extra large eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup of "good cocoa" powder
1/2 cup of flour (plus extra for buttering the dish)
seeds scraped from one vanilla bean
2 sticks of unsalted butter (melted)
1/2 tablespoon of framboise (Ina's key to "unlocking" the flavor) I used chambord.

Blend eggs and sugar in your mixer (using paddle attachment if you're fancy and have one - I don't.) Mix until thick, smooth, and light yellow - about 5 to 10 minutes.
Sift the cocoa and flour together - or let your 3 year old do it, this is great fun for a toddler... little messy, but who cares, right?
Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean by slitting the bean from stem to stern with a good kitchen knife, and then scraping out the inside.
Add the flour mix and bean scraping to the mixer, and mix just until blended.
Finally, pour in the melted butter and framboise, mix just until blended.
Butter your baking dish and pour the entire mixture into the dish.
Bake at 325 for one hour. Baking in a water bath keeps it evenly done.
Check with a toothpick. Sides should come out clean, middle should be wet... and chocolate, moltenly delicous. Try it out, hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Serve with vanilla icecream. As Dolly Parton would say, "you need something to cut the sweet!"