For Valentine's Day, I gave myself the gift of making brownies. That may sound weird, but I'd been on a bit of a brownie hiatus after making them way too often. But since Valentine's Day is basically a chocolate holiday, it was Malted Fudge Brownies. Yay!
This is a really easy recipe with a few steps that make the brownies "extra good". The cocoa powder gets bloomed in warm melted butter, which brings out a deeper chocolate flavor right from the start. The sugar is gently warmed to help it dissolve, which contributes to that shiny top, and the eggs are beaten well by hand to give the batter a glossy finish. As far as chewiness goes, these might be the chewiest brownies I've ever made.
Texture and Flavor
These are rich, thick, and chocolatey, with just enough structure to make them slightly to the left of "in-between". The malted milk powder adds background flavor and intensifies the flavor of the milk chocolate chunks and vanilla. Speaking of which, I bought a big jar of Watkins clear imitation vanilla and have been mixing tiny bits of it in with the pure vanilla just for a flavor boost. It's a little secret, and you don't want to use too much of it, but blending in a tiny bit makes the vanilla pop. And it has to be that brand.
When are Brownies Done
With all of the chocolate chunks (I used a mixture of Dove chocolate, Hershey's and Guittard) it can be tricky to determine when the brownies are done. My first batch of brownies was particularly soft and just would not firm up. I couldn't figure out why until I saw the ⅔ cup of flour still sitting on the counter. Duh. I made them again with loads of chocolate and it was more obvious they were done. I can't believe the flourless ones worked too, but were more truffle-like.
Microwave-Safe Bowl or Large Saucepan
I made my last batch of these in a big microwave-safe bowl, an old Pampered Chef Batter Bowl I bought when I was young and went to those sorts of parties. However, lately I've been mixing a lot of batters in a large easy-to-clean saucepan. But in the past I always liked the convenience of microwave-safe bowls.
Recipe
Malted Fudge Brownies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cut into chunks (114 grams)
- ⅔ cup Dutch process cocoa powder (65 grams)
- 2 tablespoons malted milk powder
- ¾ cup brown sugar (150 grams)
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar (130 grams)
- 2 large eggs, cold
- 1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour (85 grams)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder, scant
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus an extra pinch (Morton kosher)
- 5 ounces milk and dark chocolate, mixed (140 grams)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Lightly grease an 8-inch square pan and line with parchment paper. If you want to skip the grease, you can crinkle up the parchment, then uncrinkle and press it right into the pan.
- In a large saucepan or in a microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. Remove from heat and add the cocoa powder and malted milk powder. Stir until smooth, then add both sugars.
- Return the saucepan to the stove and heat on low for about a minute, just to warm the sugar and help dissolve it. If using the microwave just heat on high for about 25 seconds. Remove from heat, give the now very thick mixture a stir and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Not only will it be thick, but it should be a little grainy from the sugar, which will slowly dissolve from the warmth.
- Add each cold egg one at a time, beating by hand for 30 seconds with a heavy duty scraper or a whisk after each addition. Beating by hand takes some elbow grease at first, but the batter will loosen up as you add the eggs. Beat in the vanilla.
- Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together separately, then add to the batter and stir until blended.
- Make sure the batter is cool enough not to melt it, then add the chopped chocolate.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, spreading all the way to the edges. Tap the pan on the counter lightly to help level the batter.
- Bake at 350 degrees F. for 25 to 30 minutes or until brownies appear set and internal temperature is somewhere around 185. Unfortunately even with a probe thermometer this is hard to gauge because of all the melted chocolate pockets. The brownies will still be very soft and the melted chocolate may appear batter-like on the probe or a toothpick. I have been pulling mine at 28 minutes.
- Let cool completely at room temperature, then chill the brownies before lifting from the pan and cutting. They're even better on day 2.
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