Cakey Brownies

Jun 9

Written By Erin McDowell

MAKES

9 large brownies

TAKES

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Total: 55 minutes

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✻ ABOUT THIS RECIPE

Cakey brownies are still rich and chocolatey, but with a lighter, softer texture. A few things contribute to the cakey texture in my recipe: the use of cocoa powder instead of melted chocolate, a higher ratio of flour, plus some lift assistance from baking powder. Best of all, they’re so easy to make - truly the hardest part is waiting for them to cool. See the Notes below the recipe for ways to dress up your brownies.

INGREDIENTS

113 g / ½ cup unsalted butter

60 g / ¼ cup neutral oil (such as vegetable, canola, or safflower)

43 g / ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

297 g / 1 ½ cups granulated sugar

170 g / 3 large eggs, at room temperature

10 g / 2 teaspoons vanilla paste or vanilla extract

150 g / 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour

3 g / ¾ teaspoon baking powder

2 g / ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

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METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C with an oven rack in the center of the oven. Lightly grease a 9 x 9 inch / 23 x 23 cm with nonstick spray, and line the pan with parchment paper, aiming to have about 2 inch / 5 cm of excess on two opposite sides (to help lift the brownies out of the pan after baking and cooling).

2. Heat a medium pot containing about 1 ½ inch / 3 cm of water to act as a double boiler. Place the butter, oil, and cocoa powder in a medium heat-safe bowl, and place it over the pot of simmering water. Heat, whisking until the butter is fully melted and the mixture is well combined and smooth. Remove the mixture from the heat, and let it cool slightly.

3. Add the sugar to the cocoa mixture and whisk vigorously to combine, 1-2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking until each one is fully incorporated before adding the next. Whisk in the vanilla until incorporated.

4. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt to combine. Add to the cocoa mixture and whisk to fully combine - but do not over-mix. Switch to a silicone spatula and scrape the bowl well to make sure the mixture is homogenous.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 25 to 27 minutes, turning the pan around halfway through the baking time. Cool the brownies completely in the pan.

6. Use the parchment paper overhang as handles to lift the brownies out of the pan, and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 9 even squares. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

NOTES:

There’s lots of ways to dress up your brownies:
- A sprinkling of flaky sea salt on top of the brownies immediately upon coming out of the oven is a delicious contrast to these brownies.
- Inclusions: to add more flavor or texture to your brownie, you can add up to 295 mL / 1 ¼ cups of bite size or chopped inclusions. Some of my favorites include: chopped milk, white, or dark chocolate (or chocolate chips), toasted chopped nuts, dried fruit, candies, chopped cookies or pretzels.
- Frosted Brownies:
  - Place 226 g / 8 ounces of chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate and 118 g / ½ cup heavy cream in a medium heat-safe bowl. Place the bowl over a medium pot of barely simmering water and stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is evenly combined.
  - Pour the ganache over the cooled brownies and spread into an even layer.
    Let the topping set completely before slicing.
- Swirls: adding a swirl can add visual and flavor contrast to the brownies. You can transfer your chosen swirl to a pastry bag to pipe random swirls over the surface of the brownies (or you can spoon dollops all over the surface). Use the tip of a paring knife or a skewer to swirl the mixture into the brownies.