The Very Best Brownies from Cookie and Kate
I must say, it was the pictures that drew me in. The gorgeous, crackly top--the signature feature of an outstanding brownie--were key in convincing me to try this recipe. As well, were the number of positive reviews. I had read some depicting how "perfect" it came out, and so had high hopes. Claims that it was rich, fudgy and just the right amount of chewy were an added bonus as truthfully I just wanted the crackly top.
This recipe has no melted chocolate in it, with the flavour stemming only from cocoa, which is what I was searching for in a brownie recipe. I rarely have "good quality bittersweet chocolate" on hand and so I specifically look for recipes without it for convenience. I've tried many recipes like it and so far have not found one that has achieved a crackly top.
I've read many tips on how you must beat the eggs with the sugar for a while in order to attain a crackly top. I tried it once, and I think I overbeat it because it ended up forming a hard meringue surface on top of the brownie as it was baking, deforming its shape. This recipe stated that the key to the top was dissolving the sugar in the hot melted butter. I whisked for 10 minutes and hardly any sugar dissolved. If I try this recipe again sometime in the future, what I might do is beat the sugar with the eggs to dissolve it first, then add the butter. I would also make sure not to overbeat it.
Though this recipe did not yield a crackly top, the flavour was very good as was the texture (fudgy and chewy, as promised) and surprisingly sweet considering the low amount of sugar compared to the amount of cocoa powder.
My search for a crackly topped cocoa brownie continues. I will say the only time I've had a crackly top was one that had melted chocolate in it, so perhaps it is key to the texture, but I really hope it isn't.
INGREDIENTS:
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch slices
1 ¼ cups cane sugar
¾ cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon espresso powder or very finely ground coffee (optional)
2 cold large eggs
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
⅔ cup white whole wheat flour or flour of choice
2 ounces dark or semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped, or ⅓ cup chocolate chips
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit with a rack in the lower third of the oven. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with two criss-crossed pieces of parchment paper, making sure that the paper is long enough to go up the sides a couple of inches. Grease the parchment paper.
- Brown the butter: Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter, while whisking constantly, until it’s a pale golden brown and the particles suspended in it are reddish brown. This usually takes me about 10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from heat and stir in the sugar. Then add the cocoa powder, sea salt, baking powder and espresso powder. Stir until the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating vigorously with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula after each one. When the mixture looks thick, shiny and well blended, add the vanilla extract and the flour. Stir until you no longer see streaks of flour. Then beat vigorously (put those arm muscles to work!) for 50 strokes with the wooden spoon or spatula.
- At this point, the mixture should be no more than slightly warm (if not, let it cool for a few more minutes). Fold in the chocolate chunks or chips.
- Spread the batter in the lined pan, then use a knife to make light swirls in the top of the batter. Bake on the lower rack for about 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Cool the brownies in the pan on a baking rack.
- Once the brownies are completely cool, lift the edges of the parchment paper and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Use a sharp chef’s knife to cut the brownies into 16 or 25 squares.
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