Chocolate brownies are a classic American homemade treat. Typically cut into squares or rectangles, brownies may be prepared with the addition of nuts, such as walnuts or pecans, caramel, chocolate chunks, dried fruits, or marbled with other flavors such as cream cheese or raspberry preserves. See Notes below for the equipment list.
Chef's notes
Equipment:
Digital scale
Oven: convection, electric or gas
Microwavable bowl, small
Thermometer
Tray, 9 in (23 cm) x 13 in (33 cm)
Parchment paper, trimmed 8¼ in (21 cm) x 1 3/8 in (29 cm)
Pastry brush, medium
Sifter
Parchment paper
Mixing bowl, large
Rubber spatula, large
Whisk, medium
*Store caramels, wrapped, in a dry and cool place for up to one month. Never refrigerate or freeze caramels as they would get sticky due to the condensation.
Steps
1
Prepare the Ingredients
Ingredients
Unsalted European-style butter, 82% fat, for brushing pan, as needed
170 g Dark chocolate couverture, 67%, or other high cocoa content dark chocolate, melted
150 g Cake flour
45 g Cocoa powder, 20-22% fat, or other high-quality Dutch processed cocoa content
5 g Baking powder
190 g Unsalted European-style butter, 82% fat, melted (keep warm)
150 g Granulated sugar
150 g Light brown sugar, brown sugar, or sugar in the raw
2.5 g Fine sea salt or fine table salt
15 g Vanilla paste or vanilla extracte
190 g Whole eggs
80 g Walnuts or other preferred nut, chopped, optional
100 g Optional - Caramel, prepared cut into 3/16 in (0.5 cm) cubes (see Task 218).
Prepare caramel cubes if desired and set aside.
To begin scale all of the ingredients precisely and bring to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 340ºF (170ºC).
Apply butter to the baking tray. Insert parchment paper and brush again. Set aside.
Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder and set aside.
2
Preparing the Brownie Batter
Place the melted butter in bowl and whisk in the sugars, salt and vanilla to incorporate.
Whisk in a small amount of the eggs at a time. Allow the melted chocolate to cool to 122ºF (50ºC). Then add it to the mixture.
Whisk in 1/3 of the dry ingredients. Then fold in the remaining dry ingredients. Add the walnuts.
Transfer half of the batter to the baking tray. Then scatter half of the caramel. Cover with the remaining batter and finally, scatter the rest of the caramel.
3
Bake, Cool and Cut
Ingredients
Confectioners’ sugar, As Needed
Bake for 10-12 min for a fudgy center or 12-14 min for a cakey texture.
Place the baking tray on a cooling rack. When cooled, place it in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hr. Gently release the sides from the tray and flip onto a cutting board. Remove the parchment paper.
Trim the edges.
Score and cut into the desired size.
Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.
Storage: Brownies are best fresh or have a one day shelf life at room temperature or refrigerate for 2 to 3 days. Freeze baked brownies tightly wrapped in plastic or in an airtight container for up to 1 month. To defrost, place them wrapped in the refrigerator overnight.
