What I really love about baking is that even if you don’t get the exact result you are going for, you sometimes get a nonetheless marvelous different result. That’s what happened with these brownies, which I intended to be the epitome of chewy chocolate YUM.
Well, they aren’t one bit chewy, unless you count the beautifully shiny, crackled top crust. That has some lovely chew to it. However, as I was bemoaning the unfortunate overall unchewiness, I noticed that I was also going back to the baking pan for my third, my fourth, and then my fifth brownie–just to “make sure I don’t like them.”
Ha! Of course I like them! The truth is, I say I’m NOT a fudgy brownie lover and usually that’s true. But maybe I should amend that now to say I’m not a HEAVY fudgy brownie lover. I don’t like brownies or cake that feel like sodden paste in my mouth. Do you know the texture I’m talking about?
MauiJim says these brownies have the flavor of dark chocolate fudge with the texture of the truffle-like chocolate confection known as Frango Mints. Interesting description. It’s true that these brownies are surprisingly light and melt-in-your-mouth. Plus the balance of flavors is divine. The creamy, bittersweet chocolate flavor is given needed dimension by the inclusion of unsweetened, acidic, natural cacao. A generous hit of espresso powder deepens the flavor further, vanilla lends a creamy floral note, and salt keeps the taste buds at full attention through every bite.
The mixing method used here may strike you as unusual. You will find it used as well in Bittersweet Chocolate & Toasted Walnut Cookies Perfecta Mundo!, which is my adaptation of the Flourless Chocolate Cookies inChocolate Epiphany, by Francois Payard. Basically, it involves beating the egg whites with cacao and sugar for 5 minutes, which results in a marvelously chewy cookie with a cracked, meringue-like crust. In a brownie, however, with its inclusion of butter, bittersweet chocolate, and flour, the result is silky, light, and moist, rather than chewy.
Although these silky, mouse-like brownies are not produced with the classic dump-and-bake method, I think you will agree that the result is worth the little extra effort.
LunaCafe OtherWorldly Silky Fudgy Brownies
This is the chewy brownie flop that converted me, after decades of fudgy brownie aversion, to fudgy brownie LOVE. The different between this fudgy brownie and most other fudgy brownies I have sampled over the years is that this one is ethereally light, almost mousse-like in texture. While this may not be the ultimate CHEWY brownie that I was attempting to create, it’s a winner in its own right.
TESTING NOTE Because the flour amount here is minimal, it’s important to actually beat the flour into the brownie batter for a full minute to activate just enough of the gluten to create some structure. No delicate folding needed! Also, you will note here that egg yolks are not specified. I tested with and without egg yolks and found the without version to be just a bit lighter.
2 teaspoons unsalted butter and 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour to coat the baking pan
¾ cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter
6 ounces best-quality 62%-72% bittersweet bar chocolate, roughly chopped or wafers (In tests, I used Scharffen Berger 70% cacao bittersweet bar chocolate and E. Guittard 72% cacao bittersweet chocolate wafers; both are excellent)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1½ cups superfine sugar
¼ cup premium quality unsweetened, natural process cocoa (not alkalized Dutch process( (In tests, I used Askinosie and Scharffen Berger, which are both excellent)
4 large egg whites, cool room temperature
1 cup King Arthur unbleached, all-purpose flour
- Set a rack in the upper middle of the oven and preheat to 375°.
- Lightly butter an 8- by 8-inch, light colored, metal baking pan and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon flour. Tap out the excess flour, making sure that all inner surfaces are evenly coated with butter and flour. Reserve.
- In a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter.
- Remove butter from the heat, stir in chopped chocolate until melted, and then stir in vanilla, espresso powder, and salt.
- Cool butter-chocolate mixture until lukewarm to the touch.
- While waiting for the butter-chocolate mixture to cool, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the sugar and cocoa powder. Mix to combine.
- With the mixer running, add the 4 egg whites. Mix on medium speed for a full 5 minutes, until the mixture is somewhat thickened, scraping the sides of the bowl a few times in the process.
- Add the lukewarm butter-chocolate mixture and incorporate.
- Add the flour and mix on slow speed until incorporated and then for 1 additional minute.
- Spread batter evenly into the prepared baking pan. Note that batter fills the pan to a depth of 5/8-inch.
- Turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for around 40 minutes. It’s better to underbake than to overbake. Here are a few indicators to help you determine if your brownies are divine perfection.
- The top will appear shiny and cracked.
- The edges will be cracking.
- The edges may begin to pull away from the pan.
- The center will no longer jiggle when you gently shake the pan. (But this occurs about 10 minutes before the brownies are fully baked, so use this indicator only with the others.)
- A thin skewer inserted halfway between the edge and center will show very moist crumbs, rather than completely wet goo, when removed.
- Cool to room temperature on a wire rack.
- To serve, cut into 2-inch squares with a serrated knife.
- To store, I prefer to keep the brownies at room temperature, tightly covered with foil. They taste wonderful on day two. They have yet to make it to day three.
Makes sixteen, 1–inch high, 2-inch square brownies.
Silky Fudgy Brownie Variations
LunaCafe OtherWorldly Silky Walnut Brownies
- At Step 9, add 1 cup chopped, lightly toasted walnuts.
LunaCafe Silky Spicy Orange Pecan Brownies
- At Step 4, eliminate espresso powder and add 2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar, finely grated zest of 1 large orange, ½ teaspoon orange oil, ½ teaspoon cardamom powder, and ¼ teaspoon cayenne powder.
- At Step 9, add 1 cup chopped, lightly toasted pecans.
More Chocolate Recipes from LunaCafe
- A Gift of Drinking Chocolate
- Bittersweet Chocolate & Cabernet Butter Cake
- Bittersweet Chocolate & Montmorency Cherry Morning Love Muffins
- Bittersweet Chocolate & Toasted Walnut Cookies Perfecta Mundo
- Bittersweet Chocolate Orange French Toast for Lovers
- Burnt Sugar & Rosemary Chocolate Tarts
- Caramelized Ancho Chile & Cinnamon Almonds
- Chocolate & Warm Winter Spice Butter Crisps
- Chocolate Almond Pound Cake
- Chocolate Shortcake with White Chocolate Crema, Strawberry Lime Sauce & Strawberry Lime Salsa
- Fried Banana Split with Mexican Chocolate Sauce & Strawberry Lime Salsa
- Heavenly Chocolate Beet Tea Loaf
- Heavenly Chocolate Crepes
- LunaCafe’s Ultimate Chocolate Pudding
- Luscious White Chocolate and Raspberry Rose Petal Cheesecake
- Mexican Hearts of Fire Cookies
- Mexicano Chocolate Ebelskivers (Aebleskivers)
- Naughty & Nice: Chocolate Toasted Coconut Bars
- Oh You Great Big Beautiful Blondie
- Pumpkin Spice & White Chocolate Cheesecake
- Pumpkin Spice Hot White Chocolate
- Quintessential Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce
- Rosalyn’s Toasted Coconut White Chocolate Dream Pie
- Spirited Mocha Crepes with Peanut Butter Caramel, Peanut-Cocoa Nib Brittle & White Chocolate Crema
- White Chocolate, Cardamom & Coconut Beignet
Cookin’ with Gas (inspiration from around the web)
Copyright 2010 Susan S. Bradley. All rights reserved.
I made these late last night having a huge chocolate craving that wouldn’t leave me alone. I was so very very close to deviating from the recipe and adding some semi sweet chocolate and reaching for my dutch cocoa but at the last moment I picked out all the semi sweet chocolate and pulled my hand away from that rich dutch cocoa and went on as the receipe instructed. I’m so glad I did. The texture is like an airy pure chocolate truffle that melts on the tounge. Its the kind of texture that I want to scoop out and add to a batch of ice cream. I’m trying your chewy recipe next so I can make my thighs jiggle a little more before summer. Thanks for that.
Did you try these with dutch processed cocoa? I don’t have any natural cocoa on hand and I was wondering if you tried it with dutch processed – how did they turn out?
I’ve been there, too, with a dessert that doesn\’t turn out the way you thought but it\’s still good. I take far too many bites of it trying to convince myself that it\’s a good thing! Your brownies look like amazing!
Great minds think alike, I posted a brownie recipe today too! I agree, I love the fudgy brownie but not the stick to your mouth fudgy brownies. These look fantastic!
These are gorgeous. I thought I would be bummed when January was over, but chocolate is probably the one theme that would get me over it!
Laura, All Asia All Month (January) and All Chocolate All Month (February) are my way of breezing through winter with nary a depressing thought. I’m so busy in January and February that when March hits, I’m surprised it’s spring already. 🙂
OH my, look at how moist they are!! I love all the techniques I learn from your recipes!
Pam, thanks so much, very nice to hear. 🙂
Brownies are my biggest weakness! I must, must, MUST try these!
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Would it be okay to reduce the sugar to 1 cup because my family has tastebuds that aren’t made for super sweet things. Will it affect the texture, cuz the one you have in your pics are fabulous.
You can certainly try it, but the chocolate specified is bittersweet and thus the brownies aren’t very sweet even with 1 1/2 cups sugar. Let us know how they turn out. Thanks!
What a fabulous recipe! I just made them recently and definitely had my doubts since the brownies only used egg whites and no yolks. However, I am now a believer! These were insanely fudgy and oh-so-awesome! Thank you so much for sharing this. 🙂
Eva, you have made my day! So glad you like these. Thank you! 🙂
Hi, sorry but in your recipe you say to add the egg whites to the powdered sugar and cocoa, and then in the next step you say to add the butter-chocolate-egg mixture and incorporate. To which do I add the egg whites? Does it matter?
Joel, thank you for catching this error, which is now corrected. Yes, it definitely matters. Best…Susan
Thanks! I realized when I looked at the photos that the order was clear. The brownies are in the oven and almost ready to come out, they smell delicious! Thanks for posting.
Joel
I don’t even like brownies that much; but, some in my family do, so I thought I’d give it a try & if I liked them, maybe I’d share (didn’t happen!) or make them for them later (I’m still considering)…I actually craved these a few days after I made them…good thing, lest I become big as a house before my Maui vacation the end of Nov….after that, I’ll be the “baking queen” with these…thank you sooo much!
Gypsybaker, so glad you tried these. They really are a departure from more typical brownies. As always, thank you for your kind comments. 🙂
Can I use melted chocolate in lieu of cocoa powder (by adding it to the earlier step)?
Emily, sorry, that will produce very different results. Also, the cocoa powder adds depth of flavor that is important I think. Good luck!
Is superfine sugar the same a powdered sugar?
Anonymous, no, not the same. Superfine sugar is often available in the grocery store these days though. Or you can process regular sugar to a finer texture. In a pinch, regular sugar will also work. Happy Baking! 🙂
Can I bake this in a 13 by 9 inch pan
HEAVENS NO. 🙂
Hey great recipe! I’ve been trying to find a recipe for brownies that has a shiny top layer and i finally found it. But if i want a more cakey but still fudgy version of this what do i do?
Thanks, Katie. For a cakey brownie, add a bit more flour and/or bake a little longer. Cakey and fudgy are at opposite ends of the texture spectrum, so you will need to aim for the middle. 🙂
hi,
Wanna know if i’m using “whole eggs” method, do i need to increase flour?
Thanks
.-= Simonne´s last blog ..Brownies =-.
Simonne, no need to increase the flour. Using the yolks will give you a somewhat different texture to the baked brownines though. Happy baking! 🙂
I have to commend your pictures. The brownies look delicious. Another recipe that I will have to try.
.-= Joseph Condron´s last blog ..About The Inner Limits Of The Solar System: The Terrestrial ‘Rocky’ Planets =-.
Joseph, thank you so much, very nice to hear. 🙂
Rebecca,
In addition, the recipient of them proclaimed them the best brownies he’d ever eaten and declared them the official brownie recipe. From him, that’s a great compliment!
I made these brownies last night and oh my goodness they are absolutely divine! So light and chocolatey! Excellent recipe.
Heidi, that’s fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing. 🙂
I am a chewy brownie lover as well (if I wanted a cakey brownie, I would just have a piece of CAKE). but these look like something else entirely. Something more akin to…heaven?
Joanne, we are soul sistas then. 🙂 But as it turns out it is very difficult to get a truly CHEWY brownie that is not simply FUDGY. And cake is great, but it’s not a brownie. I have tossed out more tests than I care to admit. The ultimate chewy brownie will post in a week or so. I hope you will try it and let me know what you think. Best…Susan
Ooooh!!! I cannot wait to try this recipe! I’m drooling already. Fabulous recipe, Susan. Keep ’em coming!
Dani, thank you! Have you tried them yet?
You have already made a brownie-lover out of me simply by posting this marvelous article!
Thanks for sharing and for posting!
Thank you, Adelina!
Excellent lovely & ooh so tasty looking brownies, my dear friend!
I so love that you stacked them up so highly!!! MMMMMMMMMMMMM,…georgous too!
.-= Sophie´s last blog ..Sophie’s quinoa, banana & pecan smoothie =-.
Thank you Sophie!