The Baked Brownie - Decadent, Rich, and Delicious
I know it's been ages since my last post. With the end of summer classes, a cross country road trip, and getting ready for the current semester, I haven't had much time to do anything. I hope these brownies may make up for it, though. This brownie has been making headlines all across the dessert world. The recipe comes from the famed bakery Baked, in the Redhook section of Brooklyn, New York. Specializing in a variety of "baked" goods, the bakery is really famous for their moist, chocolatey brownie. In 2008, they published their cookbook Baked: New Frontiers in Baking (which features this recipe), and more recently Baked Explorations. I'd had my eye on this recipe for a long time now, and I am so glad that I finally decided to make it. It was so good slightly warm and cakey but even better when it got a chance to fully cool. I can't even imagine how awesome it would be topped with some rich ganache or caramel. Yummm...
With many baked goods, it's super important to separate the dry and the wet ingredients. Here I whisked together the flour salt, and the cocoa powder.
To melt the solid chocolate and the butter, I used a technique called double boiling. Basically, a double boiler is a double pot contraption that has hot water in the bottom pot and whatever you are cooking in a pot above the water. It's excellent for delicate foods, things that would normally burn or scorch over regular heat. I used a large metal bowl over my pot of water, but lots of different types of bowls and pots can be used as long as they can stand the heat and are bigger than the mouth of the bottom (water) pot.
It's really important, when using this technique to make sure that the boiling water in the bottom pot doesn't touch the bowl/pot on top. Usually a few inches of water will do (make sure to keep an eye on the bottom pot, so all the water doesn't evaporate out).
Whisk the solid chocolate, instant espresso powder, and butter over the double boiler until it's smooth.
Turn off the heat and whisk in the brown and granulated sugars.
Slowly incorporate the wet and dry ingredients. To prevent over mixing, mix the batter until it is barely combined. There will be some white clumps, but it all bakes out.
Pour the batter into a well greased pan and bake. Warning: The smells are intoxicating. Ice cream is strongly recommended.
Rich, fudgy, chocolatey goodness...
The Baked Brownie (recipe courtesy of Brown Eyed Baker)
Makes 24 brownies
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
- 11 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 5 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Place a sheet of parchment paper over the butter (this helps to get the brownies out more easily).
2. In a bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, salt, and cocoa powder). Set aside
3. In a large bowl, place the chocolate, butter and instant espresso powder and set it over a pot of simmering water. Stir the lovely mixture occasionally, until the chocolate, espresso, and butter are completely melted and smooth. Once melted turn the heat off, but keep the bowl over the water and add the granulated and brown sugar. Whisk the mixture until it is completely combined, then remove the bowl from the pan (it may be hot). The mixture should be room temperature.
4. Add 3 (room temperature!! to prevent scrambled eggs brownies) eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the remaining 2 eggs and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla extract, stirring until combined. To prevent cake-y brownies, make sure not to over beat the brownies
5. Combine the wet and the dry ingredients. Sprinkle the flour-cocoa mixture over the chocolate mixture. With a rubber spatula, slowly fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. A little flour may be visible in the batter, but that's okay because it will disappear upon baking.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth the top with the spatula. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Once baked, let the brownies cool completely (you must resist). Lift the brownies out of the pan with the parchment paper, cut, and serve.
7. The brownies may be stored for up to three days in an airtight container or in plastic wrap, if they last that long.