These brownies can be made two ways. This photo shows the cakier version…
I have the sugar shakes.
Quite badly, actually. But they’re worth it, because these new brownies are, to use the vernacular of Hollywood, amazeballs.
They came about because I suddenly found myself with a glut of 100% cocoa mass. My friend Christina had decided to use Callebaut 70% in her chocolate blend rather than the 100%, so she gave me her unopened two and a half kilo bag…
I went searching and found the most wonderful recipe in the most wonderful chocolate cookbook, Alice Medrich’s Bittersweet…
Not only did Alice’s classic brownie recipe use unsweetened chocolate, but it also provided two methods of cooking, one of which would result in a gooey brownie and the other in a slightly cakier version.
Naturally, I had to try both. And since there was so much cocoa mass, I doubled up both batches. Which explains why our house is now awash with brownies. I changed the methodology just a little, halved the salt, and have included metric measurements below…
- 230g (8oz) 100% cacao chocolate (unsweetened chocolate), chopped
- 250g (1 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 550g (2½ cups) white sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used homemade)
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 4 large (59g) free range eggs (cold from the fridge)
- 150g (1 cup) plain (AP) flour, sifted
1. Preheat oven to either:
- 200C (400F) or 180C (360F) with fan for gooey brownies (bottom photos)
or
- 175C (350F) or 160C (320F) with fan for slightly cakier brownies (top photo)
2. Line a 23cm x 33cm (9″ x 13″) metal baking pan with parchment paper.
3. Combine the butter and chocolate together in a large pyrex mixing bowl. Melt the mixture in the microwave until smooth, using 30 second bursts on high, stirring frequently.
4. Using a wooden spoon or silicon spatula, stir in the sugar, vanilla and salt. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then stir in the sifted flour. Once the flour is incorporated, give the batter a good hard beating with your wooden spoon or spatula for a couple of minutes, until it is smooth and shiny and has stiffened up a little. Because I’ve doubled the quantities, this is quite hard work – you could use a handheld mixer if you prefer (I did for the cakier batch).
5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top.
Baking instructions:
1. Gooey Brownies: Bake the batter in the preheated 180C fan forced oven for 20 minutes. The brownies will look set on top, but will still be moist when tested with a skewer.
Before the brownies are done, create a shallow ice bath in the sink with a little cold water and ice cubes. Take the cooked brownies out of the oven and immediately (and carefully!) sit the pan in the ice bath. Allow to cool completely before removing from pan and cutting up.
2. Cakier Brownies: Bake the batter in the preheated 160C fan forced oven for 30 minutes, until a skewer comes out almost clean. Allow to cool on a rack.
Both versions are very good. Pete is undecided and really likes both of them, but I prefer the gooey ones. Please note that these quantities result in a lot of brownies. The original recipe uses a 20cm/8″ square tin and half the ingredients of my version (baking times remain the same) – a good option if you’d rather not be gorging yourself on brownies for days.
Neighbours, if you haven’t already done so, please come and get brownies!
*Bittersweet is now out of print, but a revised edition is on its way.
*If you don’t have 100% cacao chocolate, you might want to try our fudge brownies or chestnut brownies instead. The latter are Pete’s favourites!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
I’m with you, gooey would be my favorite way to go. With a scoop of vanilla ice cream? Or maybe whipped cream … now you’ve got me going!
I like them straight, Judy, with a nice hot cup of tea! :)
Ooooooh, they look scrumptious! Can I ask a silly question? Why is it necessary to have unsalted butter if salt is then added?
Lois, that’s not a silly question, it’s actually a really good question! I’m going to bore you with a looong answer! :)
The main reason to use unsalted butter is so you can control the amount of salt in the brownies. The original recipe specified twice as much salt as I used, ie. half a teaspoon for 250g (1 cup) unsalted butter. Now if I was to use salted butter instead and just not add any salt, the salted butter would have contributed 3/4 teaspoon of salt to the dish, which is 50% more again. So by using unsalted butter, I have complete control, and can fiddle with the salt content as I wish – I always like less salt in my cakes and sweets than most US recipes specify.
Apparently, it’s also good to use unsalted butter because salt can be used to hide a lack of freshness, although I’m not sure whether that’s really relevant with commercial butters, as they all have such long expiry dates anyway!
I had a glaring example of this recently – I inadvertently use salted butter (we keep it for savoury dishes) instead of unsalted in a batch of supernatural brownies. Even though it was only an extra half a teaspoon of salt in the whole batch, Pete and I couldn’t eat them!
Thanks… what a great reply – it makes perfect sense now you’ve explained it! When I make cakes and it says add a pinch of salt I usually leave it out – is it there for flavour or is salt some sort of aid in the cooking process? I know when I make pastry I always put salt in because it tastes horrid otherwise.
Lois, I think it’s to balance out flavours. It also helps to have a little bit of salt with chocolate, I’ve been told, as it helps bring out the full flavour of the chocolate. But I’ve never been a big fan of the really salty choc combos like salted caramel etc. Personal preference – most people love them! :)
You’re so right, Celia, balance is everything!
They both look great- but gooey with a scoop of vanilla- please!
I need to get some chocolate.
Heidi, I hope you love these. I think the method of cooking them on a higher heat for a short time and then chilling them in an icebath works really well!
Love that you have given two versions of the recipe Celia. I can just imagine the baking aroma in your house!
Lizzy, we were sending boxes of brownies out the door – honestly, there were so many of them! There’s something fabulous about being able to experiment! :)
Dear Celia. These brownies look wonderful.
I have been going through your archives this morning, enjoying the ride. Your blog is packed full of good things, and it’s so helpful the way you have ‘filed’ the posts under the headings.
Jean, thank you so much! The filing is mostly for me – I use the blog as a recipe archive, so I had to be able to find things! :)
I love a gooey brownie and these look nicely gooey. Thought I’d settled on my own favourite recipe but I really want to try these now with 100% cacao. Too sunny here for baking at the moment (very unusual) but the next rainy day I have will be a good excuse to give these a go.
Andrea, we thought we’d found a fave recipe too – the chestnut flour ones I’ve linked at the bottom of the post. Pete still prefers those, but these have really caught my fancy! I tried them with 70% chocolate as well (with adjustments given by Ms Medrich’s book) but they turned out too sweet for me!
Oh to have friends like yours! They do look amazeballs. Kate is making pancakes and English muffins this morning.
I’m very lucky! :) I tried telling Pete I was young because I knew words like “amazeballs” and “totes adorbz” and “chillax”. He’s still pissing himself laughing at me. :)
What a problem! To be given such a weight of excellent cooking chocolate. I need to move in on your friends. I think the gooey version would be my preference but they both look very good and I bet by now your neighbours have beaten down your front door and there’s nothing left xx
Charlie, such a great gift, eh! Every single brownie is gone now, sadly. I’ll have to bake some more! :)
Chuckle- this exchange reminds me of an Arnold Lobel story in Frog and Toad together- Toad bakes choc chip cookies and they just can’t leave them alone- no will power. So Frog offers the cookies to the birds – who eat every last one. Frog says “Now we have lots of will power” to which Toad replies, ” I’m going to make some more cookies!”
Celia, I love you. That is all.
Ha! I love you too, A. :)
That’s so fascinating how the temperature can really change the consistency of the brownie! Which one did we try? The cakier ones?
Lorraine, yours were the cakier ones. The flavour was the same, only the texture was different!
What a wonderful windfall indeed Celia! I love the sound of the gooey brownies best-they seem richer and more decadent that way :) I just might have to have a bake off of my own to see if they’re better than the chestnut brownies… Decisions, decisions! Xox
Becca, Pete thinks the recipe might work with the chestnut flour…
I imagine the sugar shakes are an occupational hazard with you… you are so unperturbed… I hate the sugar shakes. The gooey brownies do seem to have that edge, and yes with a cup tea – perfect :)
ED, they don’t actually happen very often, but these were potent. But so good that they were worth getting the shakes over! :)
Gooey is def my fave too :) Now I feel like brownies :( lol
They’re quite to make, Nic! :)
I prefer gooey as well!
Tandy, definitely my favourite as well! :)
The brownies look great. Just a strange question….won’t the pan break if placed in ice cold water ditectly from the oven? I usually use glass and am afraid they might crack.
Aah sorry Manuela, I couldn’t advise you there. I only ever bake in metal pans! But thank you for the headsup, I’ll amend the post accordingly.
I’ll be right over! Maz.
I’ve got the kettle on! :)
Ooh yes goey warmed up with vanilla icecream and berries. Please may I have one! Then I’ll have another a little cakier dusted with icing sugar for breakfast dessert. Now I want brownies!
Of course you can have one! Or two! Or three! :)
So now I have to decide which to cook or else drown myself in a sea of chocolate? Where is my snorkel?
It was a bit like that, Rose! A sea of brownies.. :)
i’m already with your lovely company! i’ll try them all !
every friday morning at our technical staff meeting i prepare a sweet treat for our male colleagues (since i’m the only female engineer!). now i know what i’ll prepare as sweet treat for next friday meeting…!
since i adore brownies, i’ d love if cookie monster had also ‘B’ for BROWNIE! :D :D http://youtu.be/vtb2EKGBNr8
✿◠‿◠) gina
Gina, I hope you love them! Thanks for trying them! :)
I’ll have to try these soon, they look soooo good. I’ll have to re-stock my bittersweet chocolate bars when they go on sale. I used 12 oz (all that I had) on a 9″ chocolate truffle tart last week. I love Alice Medrich cookbooks. I already have a small paperback one that I love, I’ll have to put Bittersweet on my must acquire list. I always seem to come up w/ an excuse to buy another cookbook whenever we order from Amazon:)
Mel, it really is the most amazing cookbook! I think I’m going to buy the revised edition when it comes out because I like this one so much!
You are too much, Celia. Not only do you make brownies two ways but you doubled the recipes, too! Smal wonder you’re awash in brownies and hope that your neighbors come visiting. As much as I would need a few of each kind to make an accurate comparison and critique, I am already leaning on the side of the gooey brownies. The chocolate seems more decadent, to me, when it isn’t quite set. Who am I kidding? I’m sure I’d devour both if set before me. :)
John, not for the first time do I find myself wishing that Chicago was closer to Sydney. I would have loved to have shared these with you!! :) xx
Brownie always give me the sugar shakes…probably because a tiny sliver isn’t possible and a man sized wedge is always eaten instead. But where’s the fun in eating tiddly bits of the good stuff I ask you? And this does indeed sound like the good stuff dear Celia :-)
Thank B, they really WERE very good – I think they might be my new favourites!!
I wish I was your neighbour.
I wish you were my neighbour too, darling.. x
I imagined a string of people queuing at your front door all nodding vigorously to assure you they were indeed neighbours – new neighbours, but most definitely the most brownie entitled neighbours – amazeball, Celia!
Jan, the brownie love spread far and wide this time – there was so much to go around! :)
MMMMM,…these brownies of yours do look amazing but every recipe that you have made on this blog amazes me & is very tasty, every time! So, I need to make them because they look freaking & fingerlicking tasty, Celia! xxx
Sophie, that’s so kind, thank you! I was very taken with this particular recipe – ate far too much of it! :)
I made them yesterday & my husband Peter, my mom & dad & I loved them so much too! I can relate to that! ;) xxx
Sophie, I’m so glad you liked them! Thanks for trying them! xx
Oh Celia! How I wish I was one of your neighbors…I’d happily consume your brownie surplus. Thanks for including both versions. I often go back and forth between cakey & gooey. These look awesome :)
Em, the cakey ones are still quite gooey, but the gooey ones are almost fudgy. I’m hooked on them! :)
What a predicament to be in. An excess of chocolate! Those brownies look fantastic. I do own Bittersweet but thanks for the conversions. And thanks for the heads up on the new version, which may also make it onto my must own list.
Tania, it’s an amazing book! I always find it best to buy the book in its original form and then do my own conversions – I’ve found if I buy metricised versions of imperial cookbooks, the recipes never work out quite as well! :)