Rich Chocolate Brownies

Rich Chocolate Brownies
Home Cooking



We were planning to make a lemon meringue pie for Australia Day but... I forgot. I literally forgot that it was already decided upon and spent hours trawling through online recipe sites trying to find a good dessert.



What I ended up with was a recipe from Vogue Forums. The original thread was actually about Jamie Oliver's brownies (which I've made before) but someone posted up what they thought was the best they've tried. I read it and thought it sounded promising.


This is the recipe I followed. The photos on that site are irresistible. I was so keen on reproducing their success that I followed the recipe to a T without ANY alterations (though it did involve converting US units to metric).

Rich Chocolate Brownies
Makes ~ 12 large or 24 small ones

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/4 cups plain flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp dark unsweetened cocoa powder
• 330g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup (225g) unsalted butter, cut into 2cm pieces (room temperature)
• 1 tsp instant espresso powder
• 1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 5 eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9×13-inch glass or light-colored baking pan. Line the pan with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and cocoa powder together.3. Put the chocolate, butter and instant espresso powder in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth(I just melted it straight in a non-stick sauce-pan... you can do that but you have to be careful).4. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined, then remove the bowl from the pan. The mixture should be room temperature.
5. Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.
6. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture. Using a rubber spatula (not a whisk), fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just a bit of the flour mixture is visible.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.8. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Let the brownies cool completely, then lift them out of the pan using the parchment paper. Cut into squares and serve.

 
Note: Store at room temperature in an airtight container or wrap with plastic wrap for up to 3 days.


I've followed many, many brownie recipes before and I have to say, these were by far the best.

Texture shot

I know people are divided in what they like in a brownie but for someone like me who likes a dense, moist and rich interior with a slightly meringue-like, cripsy exterior, these completely fit the bill.


These brownies are the extremely decadent - they simply cannot be eaten on their own. Cream, ice-cream or creme fraiche are necessary accompaniments. I liked them slightly warm out of the oven or even chilled and firm from the fridge.