Dark Chocolate Brownie Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is it better to use cocoa powder or chocolate in brownies? ›

As compared to those made with just chocolate or a combination of the two, cocoa brownies are reliably superior in terms of texture and flavor.

They give brownies a lighter, drier, and more cake-like texture. If you prefer this over the chewy variety, then go ahead and crack in that additional egg. On the other hand, too many eggs will yield brownies that are hard, heavy, and tough.

One change is to use milk or heavy cream instead of water. This change will make brownies more moist and gooey since milk is more fatty and flavorful than water. A second change is to use butter instead of oil. For similar reasons to using milk, butter adds a rich and more decadent quality to the batter.

A splash of vanilla and a dash of espresso powder are just two ways to make a box of brownie mix better. With these hacks, you'll have yourself a shortcut dessert that tastes like it's made from scratch.

Fudgy brownies have a higher fat-to-flour ratio than cakey ones. So add more fat—in this case, butter and chocolate. A cakey batch has more flour and relies on baking powder for leavening. The amount of sugar and eggs does not change whether you're going fudgy or cakey.

If you don't get rid of them, they can bake up into dry spots in your brownies. Take the extra few seconds to sift the amount of cocoa powder called for in the recipe with a sifter or a fine mesh strainer.

Note that while some brownie recipes do call for melted butter instead of oil, the butter can aerate the batter, altering the texture of the brownies and making them cakey rather than fudgy. So, while you can substitute butter for oil and vice versa, remember that it might alter the texture.

Milk. Most brownie mixes call for water. While water does the job, you can add some extra flavor and moisture by mixing some of that water with something richer, like milk. If you want to swap it out completely, be prepared for a more chewy and fudge-like brownie from the extra fat.

Getting the perfect crust for you means choosing a recipe with just the right proportions of granulated and brown sugars. More brown sugar leads to dense brownies with incredible depth of flavor, but the additional moisture can cause their upper crust to be more solid than delicate as a result.

Most recipes call for baking brownies at 350°. If a fudgy inside and crackly top is your goal, stick with that temperature. Brownies baked at 325° will take longer to bake and will become chewier in texture.

What is the best oil to make brownies with? ›

Canola oil is often one of the most predominant oils in vegetable oil, and it's a great substitute for vegetable oil. This is a taste-neutral oil, which means that it won't add any additional flavors. Canola oil also doesn't change the texture of your brownies.

Lots of chocolate recipes, like cake, homemade brownies, and even our chocolate cobbler, call for coffee or instant espresso, which enhance and deepen the flavor and richness of the chocolate. In fact, even the queen herself, Ina Garten, partners these two ingredients together.

Boxed brownies can be their own blank slate for just about any snacks, sweets, or baking scraps you've got in your pantry or fridge. Add a teaspoon of instant coffee or espresso powder. Throw in a handful of nuts—pecans, walnuts, macadamia, whatever you have on hand. Scoop in a palmful of dried or frozen fruit.

Ah, vanilla extract! It's the key to making almost every baked good taste homemade. Adding a teaspoon of it to your batter won't make it taste like vanilla, but it will give your brownies an extra layer of flavor. You can also swap the vanilla for something more potent, like almond extract or mint extract.

The purer the chocolate, the better flavour and intensity it brings forth. Additionally, depending on the stage of roasting, the nutritional value too is affected. That said, cocoa powder is a slightly better form when you consider intensity and nutritional value.

Cocoa powder is lower in fat and higher in nonfat cocoa solids than unsweetened chocolate. That means it's more concentrated with cocoa flavor, so to get the same final chocolate flavor in a recipe, you'll need less cocoa powder than unsweetened chocolate.

How to substitute cocoa powder for baking chocolate. Use three tablespoons of cocoa powder and one tablespoon of butter or vegetable oil for each 30 grams of chocolate you're replacing. Cocoa powder has a more intense flavour than baking chocolate, less fat, and, in most cases, no sugar.

Saffitz's—and the BA Test Kitchen's—favorite high-quality brand for Dutch-processed cocoa powder is Guittard Cocoa Rouge. It has complex, bitter tasting notes and yields silky, fudge-like results when baked into desserts.