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Dark Chocolate and Cayenne Brownies
Dark Chocolate and Cayenne Brownies
"With left-over easter chocolate in the pantry, and a hubby complaining that I never bake anything that he eats, I hit the kitchen on a mission to create the best chocolate brownies possible. Not too cakey, not too fudgy, not too sweet and most definitely no add-ins! When baking for hubby it's strictly no fruit, no nuts, not even additional chocolate chunks! I know... But despite the limitations, I think I may have done it! A simple, but great brownie, and it wouldn't have been possible without the help of my new favourite thing, The Bircher Bars Cayenne 5 Spice Cacao Blend. The cayenne pepper in this cacao blend has lent these brownies the perfect amount of heat, not enough to taste like chilli, but just enough to leave a beautifully warm feeling behind... like drinking hot chocolate!"
NotesMY TIPS FOR MASTERING THIS BAKE
#1 The double boiler is easily the most complicated part of this recipe. A double boiler is a setup where you set your mixing bowl atop a saucepan of roughly 2 inches of boiling water to allow the steam to gently heat up and melt your ingredients together. For this reason, a glass or metal mixing bowl is required, a silicone or plastic mixing bowl just won't allow for the heat transfer required for a double boiler to work.
#2 To ensure that your eggs are mixed through your batter evenly, whisk them lightly with a fork before adding them to the batter! This way, you won't end up with streaks of egg white through your batter and avoid eggy chunks in your finished product.
#3 Like your brownies a little more on the cakey side? Add 1/4 tsp of baking powder to the batter at step 5 to achieve a little more lift and a 'cakier' texture.
#4 The baking time for these is a little lenient, but I recommend 17 minutes to get brownies the same consistency as the ones pictured, however, if you like them SUPER gooey, keep a close eye on their progress from the 15-minute mark, utilizing the skewer test method to ensure they come out just how you like them!
#5 Because these brownies include melted dark chocolate, if kept in the fridge they will go a little solid. For this reason, it's best to warm them up slightly before serving.
Yields16 Brownies
Preparation Time20 min
Cooking Time20 min
Cooking Vessel Size20cm x 20cm slice tin
Ingredients
- 1 cup The Bircher Bar Cayenne 5 Spice Cacao Latte Blend
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 250 grams unsalted butter (chopped into small cubes)
- 1 cup plain flour
- 4 eggs (3 whole + 1 yolk)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 150 grams melting dark chocolate
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Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.
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Line a 20cm x 20cm slice tin and set aside.
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Place your dark chocolate and 100g of unsalted butter into a large mixing bowl (either glass or metal) and place it over a medium saucepan with 2 inches of water. Bring water to the boil and mix the chocolate until melted. Set aside.
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Place 150g unsalted butter and 1/2 cup of sugar into a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir continuously until the butter has melted and browned very slightly and it smells slightly nutty.
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Sift 1/3 of a cup of The Bircher Bar Cayenne Cacao, 1/4tsp salt and 1 cup plain flour into the melted chocolate and whisk to combine.
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Add your browned butter and eggs to the mixture and whisk together thoroughly.
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Pour your batter into the pre-prepared tin, tap gently on the benchtop to dislodge any large bubbles, and place in the oven to bake for 15 - 20 minutes (depending on how fudgy you want your brownies)
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