Recipes

Fudgy Triple-Chocolate Brownies

Editors at "Cook’s Illustrated"

"Cook’s Science: How to Unlock Flavor in 50 of Our Favorite Ingredients"

We wanted a brownie that was distinctly fudgy—a moist, dark, luscious brownie with a firm, smooth, velvety texture. It had to pack an intense chocolate punch and have deep, resonant chocolate flavor.

To develop a rich, deep chocolate flavor, we found it necessary to give our brownies a triple whammy of chocolate. Unsweetened chocolate laid a solid, intense foundation; bittersweet chocolate provided a mellow, even somewhat sweet flavor; and cocoa powder added further complexity. We found it best to cut these dense, rich brownies into petite 1-inch squares.

Ingredients

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (either Dutch-processed or natural cocoa powder work well)
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

Method

Adjust the oven rack to lower–middle position and heat the oven to 350°F. Make a foil sling for an 8-inch square baking pan by folding 2 long sheets of aluminum foil so each is 8 inches wide. Lay sheets of foil in the pan perpendicular to one another, with extra foil hanging over edges of pan. Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan. Grease foil and set pan aside.

Melt bittersweet chocolate, unsweetened chocolate, and butter in medium heatproof bowl set over saucepan filled with 1 inch barely simmering water, making sure that water does not touch bottom of bowl and stirring occasion- ally until smooth. Whisk in cocoa until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly. (Alternately, to melt the chocolates in a microwave, heat them at 50 percent power for 2 minutes. Stir the chocolate, add the butter, and continue heating until melted, stirring once every additional minute.)

Whisk sugar, eggs, vanilla, and salt in medium bowl until combined, about 15 seconds. Whisk the warm chocolate mixture into egg mixture. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the flour until just combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan; spread batter into corners of pan and smooth the surface. Bake until slightly puffed and toothpick inserted in center of brownies comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.

Let the brownies cool in pan on a wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours. Remove the brownies from the pan using foil, loosening sides with paring knife, if needed. Cut brownies into 1-inch squares and serve. (Do not cut brownies until ready to serve. Brownies can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

Excerpted from Cook’s Science: How to Unlock Flavor in 50 of Our Favorite Ingredients by the Editors of Cook's Illustrated (Cook’s Illustrated). Copyright © 2016. Photographs by Keller + Keller.