Malted "forever" brownies
Dense, fudgy, chewy brownies with pockets of milk chocolate and a hint of malt. Chilling them before slicing is what makes them chewy.
Plus about 1 hr cooling and 1 hr chilling
Ingredients
- Butter, for the pan
- 20g Dutch process cocoa powder (¼ cup)
- 142g semisweet chocolate, preferably 64-68% cocoa, coarsely chopped
- 85g unsalted butter (6 tbsp), cut into pieces
- 56g neutral oil, such as vegetable or grapeseed (¼ cup)
- 100g granulated sugar (½ cup)
- 100g packed dark brown sugar (½ cup)
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- 100g plain flour (¾ cup)
- 18g malted milk powder (2 tbsp), optional
- 3g Diamond Crystal kosher salt (1 tsp), or about ½ tsp fine salt
- 170g milk chocolate, coarsely chopped (1 cup)
Method
- Heat the oven to 180C with a rack in the middle. Line a 20cm (8in) square tin, preferably metal, with 2 crossed sheets of foil pressed into the corners and up the sides. Lightly butter the foil.
- In a large heatproof bowl, whisk the cocoa with ¼ cup boiling water until smooth.
- Add the semisweet chocolate, butter and oil. Set the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water (not touching it) and stir now and then until melted and smooth. Take off the heat and cool until lukewarm.
- Whisk in both sugars. It will look grainy and may start to separate, which is normal. Add the egg, yolks and vanilla and whisk hard until thick, smooth and glossy.
- Add the flour, malted milk powder (if using) and salt. Whisk slowly until combined, then hard for a full 45 seconds until very thick.
- Fold in the milk chocolate, then spread the batter evenly into the tin, right into the corners.
- Bake for 25-30 mins, until the top is shiny and puffed and the centre is dry to the touch but still soft when pressed.
- Cool in the tin until no longer hot, about 1 hr, then chill until the bottom of the tin feels cold, about 1 hr more. This is what makes them chewy.
- Lift out using the foil and cut into 16 squares.
Variations
- Mint: leave out the malted milk powder, add ½ tsp peppermint extract to the batter, and swap the milk chocolate for 170g chopped Andes chocolate mints.
- Nuts: add 110g (1 cup) coarsely chopped toasted walnuts, hazelnuts or pecans along with the milk chocolate.
- Whole grain: swap 33g (¼ cup) of the plain flour for buckwheat, rye, wholemeal or spelt flour.
Notes
- No malted milk powder? Use 170g chopped Maltesers in place of the milk chocolate.
- No 20cm square tin? Double the recipe and bake in a 33 x 23cm (13 x 9in) tin, then freeze the extras.
- Keeps airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to 2 months with baking paper between the layers.
From Claire Saffitz, Book: Dessert Person (p. 139)