Fudgy Brownies
This recipe is adapted from Genius Desserts’s Best Cocoa Brownies recipe. It makes a LOT of brownie. Honestly it doesn’t look like a lot since they’re so thin, but they’re so rich that I can only eat a little bit at a time.
Tools
- 1 big metal or ceramic bowl for mixing
- 1 pan
- 1 rubber spatula
- Approximately 64 square inches of pan. 8x8 square pan, 7x9 rectangular pan, 9 inch round pan, etc. lined with parchment paper.
- Measuring devices
- 1 fork/toothpick to check doneness
Ingredients
- 0.5 cup plus 2 tablespoons (140g) unsalted butter
- 0.75 cup plus 2 tablespoons (80g) unsweetened cocoa powder. Some bags may say "cocao" powder. I've decided that it's the same thing.
- 1.25 cups (250g) fine sugar. I tried using larger-grained sugar once and didn't dissolve properly.
- 0.25 teaspoon fine salt
- 0.5 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cold large eggs
- 0.5 cup all-purpose flour
- Flaky salt to garnish. This is VERY IMPORTANT. It adds so much texture and flavor to the brownies.
Directions
- Fill a pan (pot if you don’t have a pan, but that will take longer) with water and leave it to simmer on the stove.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line your 64 square inches of baking surface with parchment paper, letting some fall over the sides for easy removal later.
- Put the butter, sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a metal or ceramic bowl and set it in the simmering water. Let sit and stir occasionally while holding the bowl with a towel/oven mitt until the butter is melted, the mixture is well-combined, it’s just hot enough that you want to pull your finger out right away when you touch it. It will still be gritty. Take the bowl out of the pan and let it cool until it’s no longer hot enough to cook the eggs.
- Stir in the vanilla and beat in the eggs. You can add the eggs one at a time if it makes you feel better but I don’t think this actually does anything haha. When the batter looks well-mixed, add the flour. Stir until well-mixed, then beat vigorously 40+ times. This takes some effort but it really does help build the structure of the batter. Once you’re done, scrape the batter into the pan and smooth over the top. It will look like the butter is separating from the batter, and it’s supposed to do that! After you’re done baking the butter absorbs back into the brownies and makes them nice and shiny.
- Bake for 23 minutes, or until a toothpick/fork comes out with a couple moist, delicious crumbs. It may not look done at 23 minutes, but it probably is. Do the stab test!!
- Let them cool completely, then cut into squares and sprinkle with flaky salt. Enjoy!
Tips!
- Microwave for 15 seconds (pre-salt) before eating. Warm brownies really just hit different.
- WAIT FOR THEM TO COOL. This lets the butter absorb back in and also makes them easier to cut. If you don’t, cutting them is such a pain. The crumbs stick to your knife and you have to wipe them off between cuts.
- Don’t skimp on mixing time in the simmering water! If you do skimp, the cocoa won’t incorporate properly with the butter and your brownies will be bitter.