The Best Brownie. Ever.

I think I found it.

And I tell you, it was a long delicious road from here...

... to the final fabulous non cakey Brownie.

I freely admit I did not create the Recipe of Awesomeness.

I've mentioned it before, a blog I love, Lemonpi. She gave me the recipe but didn't actually create it either.

The original recipe is from Baked which is now officially on my Christmas wish list. 

In fact when Lemonpi does Brownies she does them with bacon. How cool is THAT? 

I'm not brave enough to do bacon when I've only just met this Brownie, maybe someday soon.

Just to demonstrate my commitment to this challenge (best Brownie evah) I think I'm up to 5 recipes. This one being the sixth. And I've made it twice. The first time is the photograph at the top, and I added white choc chips which you can see in the middle. 

They don't need them.

The white choc chips added crunch and texture variation but tip the balance on the sweet stakes. This Brownie, with its teaspoon of salt, is a perfect perfect balance of killingly sweet and rich and not too much so. 

So I've made them again without the rogue chocolate and they're cooling in the kitchen as I type, making the house smell amazing. 

Before I give you the recipe, allow me to give you the photographic back-story to the photo at the top of this post.

Trying to take photos of cake-related items without small hands in the frame can be hard.

Dum-de-dum, I'll just clean up this crumb, then?

Oh. You can see me?

I'm just going to see if these Brownies fit into my bag, OK?

No? Just a little poke?

Well then, I'll just keep my eye on them and check they don't run away while you're taking their photo.

BROWNIES

(Makes 24. Original recipe from Baked by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. This one from Lemonpi.)

1 1/4 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
311g dark chocolate (60 – 72% cacao), coarsely chopped [I used Lindt 70%]
226g unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 176′C. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9-by-13-inch glass or light-colored metal baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt and cocoa powder together.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Tightly covered with plastic wrap, the brownies keep at room temperature for up to 3 days.

As if they'll last that long.

xxx