A recipe wakes from the past: Chocolate Finns

The note in the margin is dated 1981. "These are incredible! Flavor of chocolate and butter dominate. Sinfully rich!" It was back in the day when recipes were on paper, in books. This book was San Francisco A La Carte, published by the Junior League of San Francisco in 1979. The recipe was for Chocolate Finns. 

I made them for a pot luck and soon, I could not show up without them because one of my chocoholic friends (and all my friends were chocoholics) would complain, "hey, where are those chocolate things?" 

Where did Chocolate Finns come from? Usually, the Internet gushes with versions of any recipe one can name but yesterday, I could find just a couple of transcriptions of the same recipe. As far as I can tell, the first and only place the recipe ever appeared is in the book where I found them 30 years ago. They are a little like Nanaimo Bars, a Vancouver Island favorite, but not really. I guess someone in the Junior League made them up.

So I dug around and found the book and a few hours later, took my Finns to a pot luck where they received the same reception from the chocoholics (which, again, was pretty much everyone). 

The Chocolate Finn is a thin, three-layer cake-candy mash-up. The bottom layer is a dense brownie. The middle layer is a candy: sugar, cream, butter. The top is a thin film of bitter chocolate. They are very — they math out to about 100 calories when I cut them as directed, into 1 x 1.5-inch pieces.

While the recipe is pretty easy, there are three separately prepared layers and unless you plan carefully, you will use quite a few bowls and pots. I plan a few adaptations to simplify the procedure (see note below) but for now, the recipe is very close to the original. 

Chocolate Finns

FIRST LAYER 2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, Or: 6 T (1.5 oz) cocoa plus 2 T butter ½ cup butter 2 eggs, beaten 1 cup sugar ½ cup flour 1 cup pecans, chopped 1 teaspoon vanilla extract SECOND LAYER 1 ½ cups powdered sugar ½ cup butter, softened (do not substitute) ½ cup heavy cream THIRD LAYER 2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, Or: 6 T (1.5 oz) cocoa plus 2 T butter 1 tablespoon butter PREP: Attach a candy thermometer or probe thermometer to a small (1-2 quart) sauce pan. Preheat oven to 350 °F (non-convection setting). FIRST LAYER: In a saucepan over very low heat, melt the chocolate and butter. Set aside to cool slightly. Add the eggs and stir immediately; then add the sugar, flour, nuts and vanilla. Spread evenly in a 9x13-inch pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 12-15 minutes until almost set. Remove from oven. SECOND LAYER: In the saucepan with the candy thermometer, combine the Layer 2 ingredients and cook over medium heat to between the soft ball and hard ball stage, 120°C=250°F (no higher) about 15 minutes. Spread over baked layer, tilting pan to evenly coat. Allow to cool for 10 minutes or more. THIRD LAYER: In a small saucepan over very low heat, melt together the chocolate and butter. Drizzle over the top of the second layer and spread with a silicone spatula or an offset spatula. Cool until set, then cut into squares (6x8=48 1x1.5-inch pieces). You can refrigerate an hour to cool, but don't serve cold, as they are better at room temperature and are very hard to slice while cold.

 

Notes: I plan to eliminate a step and a pot by using a microwave and using cocoa and butter instead of the unsweetened chocolate. I already tested the cocoa substitution and it works perfectly. The new method will change the first layer instruction to:

Melt 1/4 cup (4 T) of butter and stir in 3/4 cup (3 oz) cocoa. (Hint: Place butter in a glass bowl and microwave with 1/2 cup water in a separate glass sharing the microwave. This prevents the butter from popping and making a mess.) In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and add the sugar, flour, nuts and vanilla. Add half of the melted cocoa and butter, reserving the rest for the third layer. Mix. Spread evenly in a 9x13-inch pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 12-15 minutes until almost set. Remove from oven.

Then, for layer 3, simply remelt the remaining cocoa mixture and spread.

If someone out there tries this, let me know. I won't be trying it until I recover from my sugar rush. Unlike in 1981, I can't do that in a day. :)