"The" Baked Brownie

Apparently this is supposed to be the ultimate brownie. Sounds good. I really decided to make it because I wanted something sweet for a Memorial Day barbecue and this recipe was for a 9 x 13 pan, and I had most of the ingredients on hand! It's pretty simple!



I followed the recipe from Divine Baking who adapted them from somewhere where it was re-posted, etc. etc. And apparently it won't be a success unless you follow the very specific instructions exactly, cross your "t"s and dot your "i"s. Well, mine were a success, and I admit I skipped some of the details I felt were extraneous.

So I'll be re-posting the recipe below including my own notes in italics.

"The" Baked Brownie

1 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder (I had some Mexican cocoa on hand)
11 ounces quality dark chocolate (60-72%), chopped coarsely
8 ounces butter (2 sticks), cut into 1 inch cubes
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (I used Starbucks Via)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
5 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter the sides and bottom of a glass or light colored metal pan 9x13x2 pan.
   Or cooking spray works...
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, the salt, and cocoa powder.
4. Configure a large sized double boiler.
   
5. Place the chocolate, the butter, and the instant espresso powder in the bowl of the double boiler and stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and combined.
   
6. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water of the double boiler and add both sugars.
   So, my stove is electric, which means when it's shut off the burner doesn't really start to cool down for another few minutes. Plus the sugars would never fit in my double boiler, so I transferred the chocolate mixture to a stand mixer at this point
7. Whisk the sugars until completely combined. Mixture should be room temperature.
8. Add three eggs to the chocolate/butter mixture and whisk until just combined.
   
9. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until just combined.
   Uh...just add the eggs! Add the vanilla while you're at it
   
10. Add the vanilla and stir until combined.
    
11. Do not over beat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.
12. Sprinkle the flour/cocoa/salt mix over the chocolate.
    
13. Using a spatula (DO NOT USE A WHISK) fold the dry into the wet until there is just a trace amount of the flour/cocoa mix visible.
    Eh, I slowly added the dry ingredients with the stand mixer on low and stopped just a touch before it was all mixed in.
14. Pour the mixture into the pan and smooth the top with your spatula.
    
15. Bake the brownies for 30 minutes (rotate the pan half-way through baking) and check to make sure the brownies are completely done by sticking a toothpick into the center of the pan (I would check the brownies about 20 minutes in, because mine were done soon after that).
    Mine were still pretty raw after 30, they took closer to 40.
16. The brownies are done when the toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
17. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.