BrowniesPrint Recipe

Here I am in New York City and it feels quite surreal. The flight over was brutal but we made it and are happy to be settled and not travelling from state to state in Australia like gypsies. This morning, after a long jet lag sleep-in I began to feel perplexed, wondering what I was going to bake for you in the confines of my oh-so-tiny temporary accommodation kitchen with the most minimal of utensils. Then it came to me – brownies, we are in the US afterall.

Brownies…where do I begin. I have made so many brownie recipes in my life and been very disappointed a lot of the time, too dry, too hard, too cakey, to bland, to crumbly etc. Living in America has also given me the opportunity to sample many brownies and decide which characteristics I think make the perfect brownie. Those are, moist and fudgy on the inside surrounded by a slightly cakey exterior, a thin crust on the top and most important of all, they must have a rich chocolate flavour.

I found this recipe in Baking Illustrated* and it is certainly one of the better ones, if not the best and it certainly fills all my criteria. Mr Man, on the other hand, prefers another recipe I use but I am currently trying to perfect the cooking time with that one and as soon as I do I will bake those for you too.

So, if you are a brownie lover, try your hand at these – they truly are a delicious piece of chocolately heaven.

141 grams/5 ounces of semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
56 grams/2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate, chopped
8 tablespoons of unsalted butter
3 tablespoons of good quality cocoa powder (Droste is my favourite)
3 large eggs
1 ¼ cups of sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
½ a teaspoon of salt
1 cup of plain (all purpose) flour

Heat the oven to 350f/176c with the oven rack sitting in the lower middle position.

Grease or spray an 8” square baking pan and line with foil or parchment paper. Ensure that the sides are covered and there is a slight overhang – this will help with the removal of the brownies when they are cooked. Spray or grease the sheets.

Set a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water – add the chocolates and the butter and stir occasionally until smooth. Whisk in the cocoa and set aside to cool down a little.

Whisk (hand whisk) the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt until combined. Then whisk the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, once combined stir in the flour with a wooden spoon until just combined (do not over stir at this point).

Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan and even out with a spatula. Bake for approximately 35 – 40 minutes, until slightly puffed and a skewer or toothpick inserted comes out with a few sticky crumbs attached. Cool on a wire rack until it reached room temperature – about 2 hours. Remove from the pan using the foil or parchment paper and cut as you so desire, although it is best not to cut them until they are ready to be served. Store in an air tight container.

Notes: Mr Man loves chunks of chocolate in his brownies so occasionally I will add a cup of chocolate chips just after I have stirred through the flour – cooking time will still remain the same.

To refrigerate or not to refrigerate – many people have asked me if I keep my brownies in the fridge or in the pantry and I opt for the fridge. This is a totally personal thing though – I prefer the added fudginess that comes with a refrigerated brownie – try both options yourself and see what you prefer.

* For those of you that have not come across Baking Illustrated, it is a great ‘go to’ book for baking. Full of tips, do’s and don’ts and some great step by step guides to the perfect pie crusts, cakes, slices and biscuits (cookies). It is written by a team of people who have slaved in test kitchens trialing and re-trialing recipes till they arrive at ‘the perfect’ recipe. It certainly is a bible for bakers.

Source: adapted from Baking Illustrated

© 2010, Michelle. All rights reserved.