Peppery tales: Cocoa brownies

Im back with another recipe of a sinfully delicious brownie. It has been a while since I baked anything with chocolate in it but was warding off this (EVIL ) thought ever since I dumped off yet another set of clothes since I couldn’t fit into them. Well, thats another sad story….Sigh !!

Yesterday, we had a friend and her husband drop over to invite us home for dinner. How I beamed ear to ear at the thought…No, not of the feast that lay ahead but that I now have an opportunity to bake something as a gift when I visit them. Also, this would be such a guilt-free trip. I get to have that heady feeling on baking something and also I don’t necessarily have to eat it : )…Yes, I surprise myself quite often nowadays by being just happy baking and not wanting to lunge at my bakes…hope this continues till the discarded set of clothes reappear in my wardrobe…OK , I promise I am not going to talk about my sob story anymore.

So finally I decided to make some brownies since the friend and her husband are both lovers of brownies. I searched and searched for a good brownie recipe and found it here. What struck me about this recipe is that it is purely made out of cocoa powder…yes, no chocolate bar here !! I definitely wanted to try this since I had baked one using melted chocolate before ( Check out the Mocha brownies recipe )…So try I did and it baked wonderfully. I gave in to my temptation and bit into just a teeny weeny piece and I had to resist the urge to take another…So addictive they were !!

One note of caution…If you want neat pieces of brownies, please please please refrigerate for a while and then cut the chilled block . I didn’t and the pictures say it all !! So don’t be like me unless of course you don’t care how they look :)

The recipe ?? Here goes….I have given both the volume and weight measurements …but I personally prefer the weight measurement since they are more accurate.

Credits : Alice Merdich's recipe from FOOD52
Makes 16 large or 25 small brownies

Ingredients :

10 tbsp OR 1 1/4 sticks (140 gms ) of unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups ( 250 gms ) granulated sugar
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp ( 87 gms ) of unsweetened cocoa powder ( natural or Dutch process )
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cold large eggs
1/2 cup ( 65 gms ) all purpose flour
2/3 cup ( 75 gms ) walnut or pecan pieces ( optional )

Method :

1. Preheat the oven to 325º F or 165º C . Line the bottom and sides of 8 x 8 inch square pan ( I used a 9 x 4 inch loaf pan ) with parchment paper leaving a little to overhang on two opposite sides ( makes it easier to lift the brownie when done ).
2. Take the butter, sugar, cocoa and salt in a heat proof bowl. Place this bowl over a pot of simmering hot water and keep stirring while the butter melts. Once the butter has melted completely and you get a shiny dark mixture, turn off the flame and keep the mixture to cool until it is only warm.
3. Now, add in the vanilla extract and the eggs , one at a time. Stir vigorously until well blended.
4. Then stir in the flour and mix well so that no traces of the flour remain. Beat the batter vigorously for 40 strokes. The author mentions this so as to straighten the batter.
5. Lastly stir in the nuts and spread the mixture evenly into the pan.
6. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean with a few moist crumbs still sticking to the toothpick. It takes about 20 - 25 minutes ( depending upon your oven ).
7. Remove and cool completely by placing on a wire rack. Refrigerate and then cut if you desire neatly cut pieces.
8. Serve with a glass of milk or a dollop of vanilla ice-cream. Enjoyyy !!!

Linking this recipe to Shruti’s ‘Sweet Celebration’ Event