Brownies
I haven't always had the best experience with Tasty recipes, but this one "The Best Brownies You'll Ever Eat" is actually pretty incredible. All credits for this recipe go to them. These brownies turned out fudgy, rich, and intensely chocolatey. The only thing I might have done is add a bit more flour - I generally prefer my brownies a little more chewy and I think that might achieve it. Such a comforting dessert.
Active Time: 45 min
Total Time: 1 hr 30 min
Ingredients
> 8 ounces chocolate (I prefer 60% cacao or so)
> 3/4 cup dutch process cocoa powder
> 1 tbsp espresso powder
> 2.5 sticks unsalted butter, melted
> 2 cups granulated sugar
> 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
> 2 tsp vanilla extract
> 1.5 tsp kosher salt
> 6 eggs
> 1 cup all-purpose flour
> topping salt
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prep a deep 9x13 baking tin by greasing the pan with butter, lining with parchment paper, and greasing the parchment paper with butter.
2. Making the chocolate ganache: chop the chocolate into small chunks. Combine with 1/4 cup of cocoa powder and espresso powder in a bowl. Melt the butter on a saucepan over medium heat, swirling occasionally, until it starts to bubble vigorously. Pour the butter into the chocolate. Wait a few minutes, then whisk until all the chocolate is melted, incorporated, and smooth.
3. In a separate (large) mixing bowl: combine granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and eggs. Using an electric mixer, thoroughly beat the mixture. I beat it for 10 minutes to incorporate as much air into the batter as possible.
4. While mixing, slowly pour in the chocolate ganache. Mix until fully incorporated.
5. Sift in the flour and remaining 1/2 cup of cocoa powder into the batter. Gently fold into the batter as quickly as possible.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared baking tray, and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and drop it on a hard surface for a few times. Afterwards, sprinkle some topping salt on top (I used fleur de sel).
8. Return to the oven and continue to bake for another 25 minutes.
9. Let cool and remove from the pan using the parchment paper. Cut, serve, and enjoy!
Notes/Tips:
> This recipe is a very all-purpose, general recipe for brownies. Feel free to customize it to your liking. Some ideas include: using different chocolate (less cacao for a more mellow flavor, and vice versa), toppings (like more chocolate chunks, salted caramel, nutella, cookies, chips, etc).
> Espresso powder might seem like a strange ingredient, but it really helps make the chocolate flavor more pronounced. You can probably detect its presence but I promise the brownies will not taste like coffee.
> As the author of the Tasty video mentions, "beating the living crap out of the egg and sugar mixture" is a great way to incorporate more air into the mixture. This prevents the brownies from being overly dense or too rich, and gives a nice airy texture. You could probably achieve a similar technique using chemical leaveners like baking soda/powder, but it does not seem to work as well.
> Make sure to be gentle when mixing the dry ingredients with the batter, to avoid deflating the mixture (after we just incorporated all that air into it!)
> Dropping the tray on a hard surface a few times creates a few cracks on the surface and all-around smooths out the batter.
> Topping the brownies with a bit of flaky sea salt like fleur de sel gives a nice texture on top. If you don't have this this is entirely optional.
> It's tempting to eat them right as they come out of the oven, but they will be very hard to cut when they're hot. It's best to let them cool first. Also as another tip: clean off your knife every time you make a cut - the resulting cuts will be much cleaner.