Brownie Bake-Off: The Baked Brownie
There's a lot of buzz surrounding Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito's new cookbook, Baked, also the name of their four-year-old bakery in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn. The bakery is known for their updated, old-fashioned desserts such as Root Beer Bundt Cake and Black Forest Chocolate Cookies.
Their Baked Brownie, a favorite of Oprah, was also featured on the Today show. Al Dente reader sbz suggested I try it out for the Brownie Bake-Off. I think it may be the ultimate brownie. It has dark chocolate, and lots of it. It also has dark cocoa powder, brown sugar, and instant espresso powder for a deep chocolaty flavor.
When it comes to baking brownies, I want to dirty as few dishes as possible. For that, this recipe is the ultimate as well. It calls for one bowl to stir the dry ingredients, and another for everything else. I don't even need to haul out the electric mixer. A whisk, a spoon, and a spatula does it all. For an amazing brownie, proceed with haste.
The Baked Brownie
Ingredients:
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
11 ounces dark chocolate (60-72% cacao), coarsely chopped
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9-by-13-inch glass or light-colored metal 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 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 them into squares and serve.
7. Tightly covered with plastic wrap, the brownies keep at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Baked Notes: 1. Use a dark, unsweetened cocoa powder like Valrhona. A pale, light-colored cocoa does not have enough depth. 2. Make sure your eggs are at room temperature, and do not overbeat them into the batter. 3. Check your brownies often as they bake. An even slightly overbaked brownie is not a Baked Brownie.
Yield: 24 brownies
Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2008
--Tracy Schneider
CakeSpy on August 10, 2009 at 01:04 PM
Oh, YES! BAKED makes the best brownies, like, ever. They're so decadent and delicious. I am lucky enough to have tasted the original--I loved them so much I ordered them on their site and had them sent to family and friends as Christmas presents last year!
Justin Banks on August 10, 2009 at 03:35 PM
I don't doubt this recipe makes very tasty brownies just by looking at the ingredients. 2 sticks of butter, 2 cups of sugar, 5 eggs, and 11 ounces of chocolate!!! My god, that's almost three quarters of a pound of chocolate. No wonder it tastes good but I just can't eat this in good conscience nor pay for this undoubtedly very pricey treat. Most brownie recipes that I have come across that use a 9-by-13 inch pan call for only 3 to 5 ounces of chocolate, 1-1/2 cup sugar and 3 to 4 eggs which make sinfully delicious brownies already. I've recipes for Kahlua infused brownies which are to die for and use less of everything. America's Test Kitchen has a recipe for basic brownies that are nearly as good (the liqueur does give them a special kick) and it has a low-fat brownie recipe that uses only 2 Tb of butter. I made it a few weeks ago and yes, they were less scrumptious but amazing good for using so much less fat. I just think this is total overkill. (Full disclosure: I've no connection to Kahlua or America's Test Kitchen and not in the bakery business.)
Tracy Schneider on August 10, 2009 at 04:23 PM
Thanks, Justin. Share your favorite brownie recipe with us I'll put it in the Brownie Bake-Off!
Justin Banks on August 10, 2009 at 09:08 PM
Thank you Tracy for the invitation. I do want to point out the the recipes are not my own, so there might be copyright issues that I'm not well versed in at work here. The low-fat brownies recipe can be found at the America's Test Kitchen website so whoever want it will have to get it there. The Kahlua recipe I am happy to provide here as I got it from a promotional booklet that came with the bottle, so I believe it's a marketing material and intended to be distributed. I've modified the recipe to suit my taste (I don't like thing too sweet), so feel free to adjust to your taste.
Black Russian Brownies
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
12 Tb butter
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar (orig recipe 1-1/2 cup)
1/2 cup Kahlua (orig recipe 1/3 cup)
2 Tb vodka
1-1/2 ts vanilla extract
3/4 ts black pepper (this is an interesting twist, but can be omitted)
1-1/3 cup flour
1/2 ts salt
1/4 ts baking powder
1/2 cup roasted nuts (chopped walnuts and/or pecans, sliced almonds)
1) Make a sling out of parchment paper or tin foil to cover the bottom of a 9x13 pan and spray with cooking spray. Heat over to 350 degrees.
2) Melt chocolate and butter over saucepan or in microwave.
3) Mix flour, salt, baking powder, and nuts, if using, in another bowl.
4) Beat eggs with sugar, pepper and vanilla in a large bowl until blended.
5) Stir in cooled chocolate mixture, then Kahlua and vodka. Add the flour mixture and stir until blended. Of course, don't overmix. Turn into pan.
6) Bake for about 22 minutes depending on your oven. I would start checking at 18. There is nothing worse than overbaked brownies. Let cool on a rack to room temp, about 2 hours before lifting out of the pan.
It also comes with a Fudge Frosting but I've never tried it since it's sinful enough as is but for those sinners where no dessert is debauched enough for them, here is the piece de resistance:
1) In microwave, melt 2 oz unsweetened chocolate and 1 oz bittersweet chocolate with 2 Tb butter until chocolate turns shiny. Stir until melted.
2) Heat 3 Tb Kahlua and 2 Tb heavy cream for 45 seconds.
3) Combine chocolate and Kahlua mixtures with 2 cups powdered sugar. Beat until well blended and thick.
4) Frost room temperature brownies immediately, as mixture stiffens upon cooling.
Tracy Schneider on August 16, 2009 at 11:48 PM
Hey, Justin! Visit our ninth week of the Brownie Bake-off and your Kahlua-infused brownie recipe: http://www.aldenteblog.com/2009/08/brownie-bakeoff-kahlua-brownies.html. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Tricia on August 18, 2009 at 06:03 PM
BROWNIES
from American Heritage Cookbook and Illustrated History of American Easting & Drinking
2 squares (2 ounces) unsweetened chocolate (I use powdered unsweetened chocolate mixed with the appropriate amount of oil per the unsweetened chocolate container.)
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla (with a little oops)
1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour (I don't sift)
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I break nuts into chunks)
Melt chocolate over hot water. (Don't melt over hot water if you use powdered unsweetened chocolate and oil. The mixture will naturally be melted.) Work butter until soft, then gradually beat in sugar. When mixture is as smooth as possible, beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour, salt, melted chocolate, and chopped nuts (or broken nuts). Pour into a greased (with butter) 8 inch square cake pan and back in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes (brownies should remain soft). Cut in squares.
Tracy Schneider on August 24, 2009 at 09:39 AM
Thanks, Tricia, for this great recipe! The Brownie Bake-off continues with it as our featured recipe: http://www.aldenteblog.com/2009/08/brownie-bakeoff-american-heritage.html. Thanks for following along with us!
jeux ds on September 23, 2009 at 04:22 AM
Nice job Tracy! I've been enjoying your brownie reports.
I think I'd rather have a brownie than just about any other sweet treat.