Deep Dark Chocolate Brownies

I knew I was in trouble when Annie Rigg used the word "squidgy" to describe her brownies.

Squidgy. YES.

I also belong to the "brownies should be fudgy, not cakey" camp, so I couldn't wait to give Ms. Rigg's recipe for Deep Dark Chocolate Brownies a try. My absolute favourite dessert, for those who don't know, is a warm-from-the-oven brownie, fudgy and almost pudding-y, with some softly melting vanilla ice cream over top. So rich and squishy and chocolatey it borders on the pornographic -- my friend O and I bonded over one very much like this at Garde Manger in Montreal, read all about it here.

I shouldn't be surprised that Annie bakes a tasty brownie -- she's devoted a whole cookbook to the subject, called Fabulous Brownies. My friend B baked the Salted Caramel Swirl version not too long ago and added bacon to the mix. Divine. I wanted to try her basic recipe, as many of the other varieties in the book stem from this one. It didn't disappoint. Rich. Fudgy. Sticking to the teeth. Licking the last bits off the spoon. And oh yes, most definitely squidgy.


Deep Dark Chocolate Brownies
Makes 16 squares

225 g/ 8 oz dark/bittersweet chocolate, chopped
150 g/ 10 tbsp butter, diced
125 g/ 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar
125 g/ 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp light brown sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
125 g/ 1 cup all-purpose flour
A pinch of salt

A 9-inch square baking pan, greased and lined with greased baking parchment

Preheat the oven to 325F.

Put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir until smooth and thoroughly combined. Leave to cool slightly.

Add both sugars and mix well. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract. Sift the flour and salt into the bowl and stir until smooth.

Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan, spread level and bake on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the brownies are set and have a light crust on top.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely in the pan before removing from the pan and cutting into 16 squares to serve.


Source: Fabulous Brownies, Annie Rigg, Ryland Peters & Small, 2011