American Chocolate Week: Brownies from Baked

Baked is a Brooklyn-based bakery. I haven’t visited it, but I discovered the recipe for their famous brownies from a friend. These brownies make me want to hop on a train to New York City and sample every sweet treat in the shop.

Let me preface the recipe by saying that Nick and I are big brownie fans. We’ve baked nearly every boxed variety, and our most recent favorite is Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate. I’ve tried a handful of homemade recipes, too, but found none that yield the consistency I can get out of the box. Until now.

Two types of dark chocolate and a teaspoon of instant espresso create a deep intensity of flavor. Five eggs yield a chewy bite, but leave the top just the right amount of crackly. And think they're good out of the oven? Just wait until the second day.

I baked a batch the night before Nick arrived home from three weeks of training for his new job. He’s a lucky man, isn’t he?

Do you have a favorite homemade brownie recipe?

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp dark unsweetened cocoa powder
• 11 oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tsp instant espresso powder
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 5 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Butter sides and bottom of a 9x13-inch baking pan. (I use Calphalon bakeware.)
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and cocoa powder.
3. Put chocolate, butter, and instant espresso powder in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water (or use a double boiler). Stir until chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth.
4. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add sugars. Whisk until completely combined. Remove the bowl from the pan. Cool mixture to room temperature.
5. Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add remaining 2 eggs and whisk until combined. Add vanilla and stir until combined. (Note: Do not overbeat the batter or your brownies will be too cakey.)
6. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture. Use a spatula (not a whisk) and fold together until just a bit of the flour mixture is visible.
7. 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 baking time, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Cool completely, cut into squares, dust with powdered sugar, and serve (with a tall glass of milk).

Notes
I used Hershey’s cocoa powder and dark chocolate chips. Gotta support local! For more Baked recipes, check out New Frontiers in Baking.