Brownie Contest in the Bakery!/By Shelley Lance, Blog Editor
I have a pretty tough job. Today one of my tasks was to go over to the Bakery in South Lake Union (in the Westlake Harrison building- the same place our second Serious Pie is located as well as the Dahlia Workshop and Michael Teer’s Soul Wine), to judge a brownie contest! Don’t you feel sorry for me? Pastry chef, Stacy Fortner, and Dahlia Bakery manager, Molly Melkonian, want a really great brownie to sell in the Dahlia Bakery and they decided to let the pastry bakers compete to find the best recipe.
When I arrived at the Bakery, the 5 brownie entries were lined up on numbered plates. We judges carefully selected tastes of all the brownies placing them on metal pie pans (which Bakery Production Manager, Gwen LeBlanc, referred to as our “prison plates.”) The first thing I did was ask for a glass of water to clear my palate between bites- a necessity!!
Not surprisingly, every one of the brownies was delicious. My personal goal for the Dahlia Bakery was to find a brownie traditional enough to satisfy everyone’s brownie craving. Also I’m a fan of cake-like brownies, more than fudgey brownies. Surprisingly, the first place winner, created by pastry baker Meghan Poulin, (winner of a $250 gift certificate to a spa) was chosen unanimously. All of us judges loved this brownie!! It has a great texture, a classically crinkled top, a hint of salt- just enough- plus just enough chocolate flavor- and somehow this brownie seems both traditional and yet a little unique in taste and texture. Our own special Dahlia Bakery brownie- just what we were looking for! My hidden agenda- I want Stacy to get the recipe for me so I can test it pronto and slip it into the Dahlia Bakery Cookbook while I’m hard at work on the manuscript for the next couple of months.
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