January 3, 2021
I’ve made a lot of brownies in my life. Some good - thank you Ina Garten. Some not so good - those ended up in the garbage. I’ve also made boxed brownies - can you say delicious and addictive? But I do prefer to make them from scratch. It’s much more fun that way.
Recently I’ve been experimenting with the fudgy brownie. I hope you just thought “yum”, or even accidentally said it out loud. If you did, you are my kind of brownie person. I do know there are cakey brownie people out there. And if you must know I do get along with them because I’m married to one! But I’m sorry. That’s another recipe.
Don’t be scared off by this recipe because in addition to using the mixer, you have to use the stove to melt the butter and chocolate. Yes, it uses a lot of pots and bowls. And yes, you kind of have to multi-task. But I know you want the brownies to turn out fudgy. And they will. And the clean-up afterwards will be worth it. Fudgy brownies are worth it.
The Fudgy Brownie
Adapted from Sara Kieffer 100 Cookies
For the Brownies:
3 large eggs plus 3 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (100 grams) packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (225 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup (50 grams) Dutch process cocoa powder
2 tablespoons instant coffee
1/2 cup (71 grams) all-purpose flour
Directions:
Adjust an oven rack to the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350º F.
Grease an 8” x 8” brownie pan with baking spray and line with a parchment sling.
In the bowl of a standing mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the eggs, egg yolks, both sugars and salt on medium high speed for 5-6 minutes. The mixture should be light in color and will have doubled in volume. Add the vanilla extract.
While the egg mixture is beating, melt the butter and the chocolate on a low flame in a 2 quart saucepan. Stir frequently so the chocolate does not burn. Continue cooking until the mixture is smooth. Take the pot off the heat and add the cocoa powder and the instant coffee, whisking until completely combined.
Next, add the warm chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and mix on low speed until combined. Using a rubber spatula, mix the flour into the batter. You will find that a lot of the chocolate mixture did not combine. Mix until both the flour and the chocolate are fully combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes, until the sides of the brownies have set, and the top is starting to crackle. Loosely cover the brownies with a sheet of tin foil and continue baking for another 25 minutes. This will keep the brownie edges from getting too crisp and will allow the center to cook while remaining fudgy. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out with a few crumbs clinging to it. It should not be wet, but it doesn’t have to be completely dry either.
Transfer the pan to a wire rack, and let cool completely Use the parchment sling to lift the brownies out of the pan. Cut them with a pizza cutter or knife.