Today I want to talk about brownies. This shouldn't really come as much of a surprise as I pretty much always want to talk about brownies. And then eat them.
Everyone seems to have their own idea as to what they want from a brownie.
In my mind, they fall into a number of distinct categories:
1. The dense, rich, chocolate truffle-like brownie. I believe there is a place for this kind of brownie in the world but it's not really an everyday brownie. It's something to be savoured in tiny little nibbles.
2. The cake-like brownie. This is probably the most pointless of all brownies. If I want to eat cake, I'll make cake and be done with it.
3. The sticky and gooey brownie. Although I have nothing against this kind of brownie in principle, more often than not, it seems to be code for undercooked. And there's only so much raw batter I can eat in one go.
4. The chewy brownie. This is, to me, the ideal brownie. Firm but soft at the same time with a satisfying texture in the mouth. Not so rich that you can't eat four in quick succession.
The basic components of a brownie are pretty straightforward - large quantities of butter, sugar, chocolate and egg with a touch of flour to bind everything together. It's really only the proportions used that determine which type of brownie you end up with.
A basic brownie should also stand up by itself. You shouldn't need to add nuts or chocolate chips or, even worse, frosting to enjoy it. It should be judged on its own merits.
A couple of weeks ago, I decided to devote my weekend to coming up with just such a brownie. I've made plenty of brownies in the past and plenty of them are catalogued on this site but I've never really got a basic recipe that I'm completely happy with. It took a while (and what seemed like several hundred blind taste tests) but I finally got there.
It may seem a bit of a faff of an ingredients list with three different kinds of sugar and both chocolate and cocoa powder but they all contribute to an overall roundness of flavour that I sometimes find lacking in brownies. The tiniest hint of coffee adds another dimension. I tried the recipe both with and without baking powder and I much preferred the brownies that had a touch of lightness from its inclusion; they scored much higher on the chew-factor which was an important consideration.
Yet another brownie recipe is hardly going to change the world but I have some grand plans for these here brownies. For now though, I think I'll just eat another one.
~
Simple chocolate brownies
Yield: A 23cm square tin of brownies (approx 25)
Ingredients
- 150g unsalted butter
- 125g dark chocolate (85% for preference), broken into small pieces
- 150g demerara sugar
- 100g caster sugar
- 50g dark brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 80g plain/all-purpose flour
- 40g cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon instant coffee powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Cooking Directions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Crease a 23cm square baking tin.
- Melt together the butter and chocolate in the microwave or in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.
- When melted, take off the heat and scrape into a large bowl. Add the sugars and stir with a wooden spoon to combine.
- One at a time, add your eggs and continue to mix with your spoon. With the last egg, throw in the vanilla.
- Finally, fold in your dry ingredients until just combined. Pour into a baking tin and bake for 25-35 minutes until the brownies are coming away from the side and feel set if you touch them gently on top. Allow to cool in the tin before cutting into squares.