The BAKED Brownie

There are children living next door to me.

I know that's not really a rare experience.  However, my neighborhood is filled mostly with people my parents age or older, meaning their children are all old and have moved away from home, visiting only on holidays or, like me, when they come home for summer break.  It's been a while since we've had young people in our neighborhood, so it always comes as a bit of a shock to me.  For example, a few days ago I was sitting in our family room, reading, when I heard the unmistakable thuds of a basketball coming from the court in our backyard.  Naturally, I assumed the ghost of Wilt Chamberlain or Air Bud had come to challenge me to a basketball game.  I figured that I could take Wilt, but Air Bud is way out of my league. Maybe I could distract him with a bone or something.  As I searched for a spare ham or squirrel-shaped chew toy, I glanced outside to see tiny arms hoisting a very patriotically colored basketball toward the hoop.  Clearly I jumped the gun on the Air Bud assumption.  In reality, my parents, being the good empty-nesters that they are, told the neighbor kids that they could use our court since we don't really have a use for it anymore.  My dreams of finally defeating Air Bud were dashed.

That evening, our neighbor brought over cookies on this dish.



Cute, right?

Pinned to the top was a note that read "Thak You" (Yes, I understand that it's not spelled correctly. Children wrote it.  It's cute.) and had a flower drawn on it.  It was adorable.
There's something you should know about me.  I'm obscenely competitive.  Even about the smallest, most insignificant things.  So when a neighbor sends over baked goods, I'm not about to send back some half-assed cookies that are left over from some other occasion.  No.  I'm making you something impressive.  What's even worse is that there is absolutely no way that I can compete with the cute factor that came with these cookies.  This is going to take something really special.  Something that doesn't betray the fact that I'm secretly competing either.  Something simple, yet delicious.  Something extraordinary.

The BAKED brownie is just that - extraordinary.  The recipe hails from BAKED's new cookbook BAKED: New Frontiers in Baking. It's without a doubt the best brownie recipe I've ever made.  And what neighbor doesn't love a good brownie?  When you've accidentally burned down the neighbor's fence by throwing your still hot coals from last night's bonfire into the bushes, these are the brownies that you want to bring over. (Yes, that's a true story. Unfortunately, I didn't know this recipe at the time.  Fortunately, they were out of town, giving us time to replace it before they got home.)

What makes the BAKED brownie so good?  It's dense, rich, and full of sweet, chocolately depth.  Make sure you use high-quality chocolate and cocoa for this brownie - trust me, it's worth the splurge. 

Start by preheating your oven to 350 and buttering a 9 by 13 inch glass or metal baking pan. Whisk together 1 1/4 cup of flour, 1 tsp of salt, and 2 tsp of cocoa in a medium sized bowl.  Like I said, make sure you use high-quality cocoa for this.  I don't buy into the hype for dutch-processed cocoa powder, but I do believe in a dark-colored unsweetened cocoa powder.  If your cocoa powder is light or grey-ish, I'm sorry, but it's just not going to be the same.  I used Ghirardelli cocoa and chocolate for this recipe, and I love the way it turned out.  Set flour mixture aside.


Coarsely chop 11 ounces of dark unsweetened baking chocolate (I used 70% Ghirardelli chocolate, but others would work so long as it's 60-72% chocolate).  The added benefit of Ghirardelli chocolate here is that it's easy to break, so you can just break with your hands instead of chopping.  Cut 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter into about 1 inch pieces.  I would recommend room temperature butter, as it'll speed up the melting process.  

 


Look at all that chocolatey goodness. And the butter doesn't hurt either.



Put the butter, chocolate pieces, and 1 tsp of instant espresso powder (NOT the same as ground espresso or instant coffee - look for Medaglia d'Oro brand) into a large metal bowl, and place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (I used medium heat, but adjust as necessary to melt without burning the chocolate).  Stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are completely combined.  By this time, your kitchen should smell like a chocolate crack den.  Be careful not to slip into a sugar coma.

Turn stove off, but keep the bowl over the saucepan.  Add 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar, and whisk until thoroughly combined.  Take the bowl off of the saucepan, and add 3 room temperature eggs.  Get the italics?  It's important that the eggs are room temperature.  Whisk eggs until combined, but no farther.  Add 2 more room temperature eggs, whisking until combined.  Make sure you don't overbeat the eggs here, or your brownies will be too cakey.  Now put that whisk away.  You don't want it anymore.  Seriously, throw it in the sink or something.


Stir in 1 tsp of vanilla with a spatula (don't take that whisk back out!), then add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture and stir until just combined.  Pour into your prepared pan, and set in the oven.  Lick bowl clean.  This brownie batter is too good to waste.  Cook for 30 minutes, checking a few times before it is done.  You don't want to overbake this brownie.  I would say to wait for it to cool to cut, but I know that I can't expect that kind of restraint from any of you. 

We cut ours fresh out of the oven... and they were delicious.

There you have it. The BAKED Brownie.  Take that, children.



Finished product!



For good measure, here's the full recipe:

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
11 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
5 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9×13-inch glass or light-colored baking pan.

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. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. 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 cut into squares and serve.

7. Store at room temperature in an airtight container or wrap with plastic wrap for up to 3 days. (Yeah, right).