Reliable Brownies

Brownies – much more fussy, like cookies – than anyone would care to admit. Developing a recipe for reliable brownies has been a years-in-the-making process. Reliable brownies are great, even excellent brownies for my preference of a fudgey, but just slightly cakey edge! Brownies toe the line between baked-good and confection, relying on both sugar content and particle size, fat and proper aeration to achieve a decent texture. That means yes, you’ll need a mixer for this recipe (or a hand mixer). Frankly, any brownie recipe that promises a crackly top without adequate aeration of eggs and sugar is, well, dubious at best. And yes, you must sift your dry ingredients and cocoa. I realize everyone has a favorite brownie recipe – and this is mine. Like a go-to cardigan, this is a classic that you rely on.

A “good” brownie can be achieved with hand-mixing, but if you are after a specific texture and appearance, you need to use the right ingredients and the tools. Following specific steps with the right tools and good ingredients will result in a reliable brownie outcome – a comfort in life we all should be able to turn to when the moment calls for it (which recently, is….often). The super-fine sugar, thanks to refining and conching, found in higher-quality dark chocolate along with adequate dissolution and aeration during whipping with eggs are key to ensure that hallmark semi-matte, crackly top. Box mixes rely on super-fine sugar – which is…fine – but I don’t stock that in my pantry.

I do have a mixer, and I do regularly stock high-quality dark chocolate – both things I urge you to have if you’re remotely “into” baking. I used some of my Dengo stash, and Guittard 70% chocolate chips in this recipe. A chocolate with 60-70% cocoa mass works best. You will also need a high-quality cocoa – either alkalized or natural work here since there are no chemical leaveners. You can play around with the flours you use in this recipe as well – using all AP flour is fine, too.

This recipe is hybrid between Alice Medrich’s classic brownie recipe, as well as Alaina Taylor Toblin’s brownie recipe in her book, Alternative Baker, with a few mods to suite my pantry and taste.

Brownies make an excellent make-ahead treat for yourself during a hard week, or for a snack to accompany yourself on a plane ride to a trial for work (my case). These also make a great treat for the holidays, and in a pinch, if you find yourself needing a quick but elegant dessert, bake this recipe in a 9″ or 10″ pan. You can even swap-in almond or hazelnut flour for the flour, for an even more “torte-like” experience, almost a cheater’s Queen of Sheba. Serve slices with unsweetened whipped cream, for a “chic” dessert.