Mexican Hot-Chocolate Brownies
Yield: 15 Brownies (I cut rows of 5x3)
Active Time: 30m
Total TIme: 1h 30m
INGREDIENTS:
3 sticks of butter (12oz)
6 oz high quality dark chocolate (72%), finely chopped
14 oz sugar (2C)
2 oz brown sugar (1/4C)
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp cayenne (double up if you’re feeling daring)
6 eggs, nice and cold
1Tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp instant espresso powder (Medaglia d’Oro or Cafe Bustelo are nice)
4.5 oz all-purpose flour (1C) or 1 c. gluten-free flour + ½ tsp xanthan gum
4 oz cocoa powder, Dutch process (see note)
RECIPE:
PREP YOURSELF: Place oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 350F. Spray down a 9x13x2 aluminum pan (see note!) with non-stick spray or butter, and fit with a trimmed sheet of parchment paper (not wax paper, unless you want your brownies to taste like crayons) to create a sling. The paper should stick to the spray.
BROWN THE BUTTER: Melt butter all at once in a medium saucepan. Once melted, simmer and gently stir until bubbles subside and you’re left with a deep golden yellow dream, but be careful not to burn. Add chocolate to make a thin syrup.
WET INGREDIENTS: Add sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and instant espresso in a large bowl (or if you’ve recently gotten married, the bowl of a stand mixer). Mix at medium speed, adding eggs in one at a time and dropping in vanilla. Keep whipping until it’s thick and hard to mix, and smells heavenly, 8-10 minutes. Get that workout!
DRY INGREDIENTS: Sift flour and cocoa powder into a medium bowl to break up any clumps. This is important!
COMBINE: Add cocoa syrup from step 2 to wet ingredients and mix well with a whisk. Using a rubber spatula, slowly fold in dry ingredients just until no visible lumps remain. Pour batter into your prepared pan and tap gently on the counter to smooth it out.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until you reach an internal temperature between 200-210F. The center will still be gooey, so a cake tester will not work! Edges should be crisp and there should be no wiggle if you shake the pan. Cool to room temperature in pan, before slicing with a pizza cutter and serving. Will keep for one week.
HELPFUL NOTES:
Espresso powder will not make your brownies taste like coffee…it will just make your chocolate more chocolaty!
Dutch process cocoa powder is important! It’s less acidic than normal cocoa powder. If not noted, check the ingredients for “processed with alkali”.
Aluminum is the best pan for brownies, and leads to a better crust in my findings.