TASTE
Concocting the perfect brownie a labor of love
| • | Gourmet amigos |
By Leigh Lambert
Washington Post
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Baking is my language, my talent, my way of showing love.
I go on obsessive jags, baking batches and batches of an item until I think I've perfected it. I went through all that with brownies years ago. After much experimenting, I thought I had found the gold-standard recipe on the back of the Baker's chocolate box: simple, easy, dependable. But every now and then a nagging voice in the back of my head would wonder if it could be improved upon. So I went back to the kitchen.
First I have to define what makes a perfect brownie, starting with what doesn't. A brownie is not to be iced. Icing is for cakes. A brownie is not a confection. We call that fudge. A brownie has a crusty top hiding a thick, chewy center with a recognizable crumb and intense chocolate flavor. This glorious food is all-American, perhaps created by accident when a baker forgot a cake's baking powder. A recipe appeared as long ago as 1896 in the original "Boston Cooking-School Cook Book," but with molasses and no chocolate, it bears little resemblance to what we expect from a brownie today.
After cross-referencing many of the recipes I'd saved over the years, I developed a brownie that uses powdered cocoa in place of chocolate because it delivers a richer, deeper flavor. I replaced some of the white sugar with brown sugar, lending a moist chewiness. I raised the amount of vanilla extract to a bold 2 tablespoons to mellow the sharp edge of the cocoa. Finally, I always use kosher salt, the perfect foil for the sweetness.
At first I cut each 9-by-13-inch batch into 24 brownies. Now I don't think that's generous enough. In fact, sometimes I cut the same size batch into a mere 12 brownies. It makes people think they are practicing restraint when they take only half a brownie, even though it is still the size of an Altoids box. And that's the way it should be. Skimp on your salad, not your dessert.
I knew I had found the right balance when my friend Erica Waitman named the champion batch Leigh's Man-Catcher Brownies and included them in a collection of recipes as a wedding gift for her sister.
MAN-CATCHER BROWNIES
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-by-13-inch pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking oil spray.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat and add the cocoa powder, stirring to combine. Let cool slightly.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs together, then add the sugars and vanilla extract, stirring to combine. Add the cooled butter-chocolate mixture, then fold in the flour and salt until just combined; do not overmix. Spread the batter evenly in the pan, making sure the corners are filled. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a crust forms on the surface and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack; cool completely before cutting.
Makes 24 (2 1/4-by-2-inch) brownies.
