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The Batter Thickens

A food blog balancing sweet treats & healthy eats.

The Baked Brownie

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These back-to-basics brownies mean business. Rich, decadent, fudgy, and everything a brownie should be. The simplicity of this recipe gives chocolate the chance to shine, so make sure you’re using the good stuff. The Baked Brownie - this back-to-basics brownie is the best of all time. #brownies #chocolate | www.thebatterthickens.com

If you remember earlier this year, we posted about cutting sugar out of our diets. It’s been wonderful. I feel less lethargic, I’ve stopped craving sweets at every hour, things taste stronger, fruit tastes sweeter, my skin cleared up, and I’ve lost weight. Honestly, I don’t really miss eating sugar. But, that makes me kinda sad.

However, I do miss the joy of baking. My sugar-addicted brain, with all it’s cravings, was really good at swirling around ideas for new baked goods. My thought process would go something like: Brownies? Hmm, too basic. I should add peanut butter. In a frosting. But I need more salty. I need pretzels. Momofuku pretzel crumb is really good. And while I have the Momofuku cookbook out, why don’t I add some of their other crumbs. Just, for fun. That’ll be good. Okay, so I need to go buy a bag of sugar and two pounds of butter, then I can get to work.

Brainstorming new ideas for bodacious desserts is really fun. Massive baking projects are one of my favorite ways to spend a day. But, after cutting out sugar, a lot of my inspiration is lost. I still eat dessert, on special occasions. But that means that when I have dessert now, it has to be Really Good. Like, capital R capital G, Really Good. If I’m eating sugar, it can’t be sub-par. This makes me even more of a dessert snob now. Deal with it.

It also means that the crazy, bodacious, overflowing desserts are less appealing. My taste buds are more sensitive, and I want to enjoy and savor the flavors. Now that I’m not eating sugar every day, a simple bar of chocolate can be savored and dissected and I can taste the difference between high and low quality ingredients. For instance, Hershey’s chocolate has little flavor other than sugar, and fancy dark chocolate tastes sweet and has a new depth flavor now. Did I mention I’m a bit of a snob?

The Baked Brownie - this back-to-basics brownie is the best of all time. #brownies #chocolate | www.thebatterthickens.com

Anyways, the dilemma is: I want to bake, because it makes me happy, it’s fun, and I’ve missed it. But, I’m lacking inspiration, and I don’t want to go back to eating my weight in sugar every day. 

This dilemma led to three things:

  1. Going back to the basics and making things really high quality. 
  2. Freezing desserts. I eat them one night, but then don’t hover over the pan with a fork eating three in one night. (Although, this is a different story if you have people to do this with – then it’s a social event and totally acceptable.) Then, you can bring out the extras next time there’s a special occasion. (Also, don’t bake too many! If you have three people in your house, then only bake like 10 brownies, not a 9×13 pan.)
  3. Enjoying dessert more fully. Cutting sugar out my daily diet has made me enjoy the sugar I do have about 100x more.

So, I went all the way back to the basics: brownies. With chocolate frosting.

Brownies are the greatest of all baked goods. (Cutting out sugar has also made me very opinionated about it.) Also, they were the second baked good that I felt I’d mastered, after banana bread. And, after the countless brownies (including all those slivers and I’ll-just-make-this-look-neater bites I’ve taken straight from the pan), I can say that the Baked Brownies are, in fact, the greatest brownies ever.

Molly and I have made the Baked Brownies so many times. I don’t know how we’ve never done a post devoted solely to them. Probably because before, we always jazzed them up. And those were always good. But, this is a post devoted to appreciating the baked brownie, in its purest form.

The Baked Brownie - this back-to-basics brownie is the best of all time. #brownies #chocolate | www.thebatterthickens.com

If you’re lacking baking inspiration, go back to the basics. Return to the staples, the simplest form possible. You might be surprised how well they stand on their own, when you give them special attention.

Don’t forget to savor. 

 

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Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9x13-inch glass baking pan. Line the pan with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and cocoa powder together. Place the chocolate, butter, and instant espresso powder in a large saucepan (or using a double broiler) over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat, but keep the and add the sugar and brown sugar. Whisk until completely combined, then remove pan from stovetop and allow to come to room temperature. Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the remaining 2 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. 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 still visible. 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 lift them out of the pan using the parchment paper. Cut into squares and serve. Store at room temperature in an airtight container or wrap with plastic wrap for up to 3 days.

The Baked Brownie

  • Author: Audrey
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Description

The Baked Brownie, from Baked Bakery in Brooklyn

Ingredients

1 1/4 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

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

5 eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9×13-inch glass baking pan. Line the pan with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and cocoa powder together. Place the chocolate, butter, and instant espresso powder in a large saucepan (or using a double broiler) over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat, but keep the and add the sugar and brown sugar. Whisk until completely combined, then remove pan from stovetop and allow to come to room temperature.
  3.  Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the remaining 2 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.
  4. 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 still visible.
  5. 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.
  6. Let the brownies cool completely, then lift them out of the pan using the parchment paper. Cut into squares and serve. Store at room temperature in an airtight container or wrap with plastic wrap for up to 3 days.

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