The Baked Brownie

The Baked Brownie - 9 October 2010

This is supposed to be the famed The Baked Brownie loved by Oprah and America's Test Kitchens. Wow...two big names loving it and this piqued my curiosity. Of course I want to have a try baking it too, especially since I love chocolates. Got the recipe from BrownEyedBaker's blog.

The ingredient list calls for 11 oz of chocolates! A whopping 11 ounces!

After melting the chocolate on a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering fire, sugars are added into it with the heat off.

Then adding of eggs to the chocolate mixture.

Lastly, the flour mixture is mixed into the chocolate mixture.

The batter is then poured into a baking pan covered with aluminum foil.

This brownie is not supposed to be cakey, therefore there is no calling for any leavening agents. Thus, no baking powder nor baking soda. And also I like that some coffee powder is added into it, giving the brownie a nice chocolate-y coffee aroma.

Surprisingly, the height is still there although no leavening agents is being used. Maybe due to the large amount of chocolates used, plus additional flour and eggs which makes a bigger batter.

I think there is no need to tell you that this is a dense and rich brownie. Not cakey, but dense and rich. How could it not be when this recipe consists of 11 whopping oz of chocolates, cocoa powder and 5 eggs. All these spells RICH! Chocolate-y rich!
Therefore this is definitely another brownie strictly for chocolate lovers!

I think this brownie lived up to its fame. It is indeed delicious.
It has a thin layer of crispy crust and the inside is moist and fudgy - the way I love it!

Recipe: The Baked Brownie (copied from The Brown Eyed Baker's blog)

Yield: 24 brownies

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Bake Time : 30 minutes

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder - (as usual, I use Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder)
11 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped - (I used a mixture of couveture dark choc & Van Houten's baking choc)
1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 ½ cups granulated sugar - (I reduced it to 1 cup)
½ cup packed light brown sugar
5 eggs, at room temperature (I used medium-sized eggs)
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. Line the pan with parchment paper.

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 lift them out of the pan using the parchment paper. Cut into squares and serve.

7. Store at room temperature in an airtight container or wrap with plastic wrap for up to 3 days.