Monday, June 9, 2008

CHEWY BROWNIES AND FUDGY BROWNIES




CHEWY BROWNIES
ingredients
4 oz. (8 Tbs.) unsalted butter; more for the pan
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1-1/2 cups sugarScant
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
4-1/2 oz. (1 cup) flour
2 Tbs. natural cocoa (not Dutch-processed)
how to make
Position an oven rack on the middle rung. Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch square pan, line the pan bottom with parchment (or waxed paper), and then butter the parchment.
In a double boiler over simmering water, melt the butter and chocolate. Remove the pan from the heat; cool slightly. Stir in the sugar, salt, and vanilla. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, stirring each time until blended. Add the flour and cocoa; beat until incorporated and the mixture is smooth, 30 to 60 seconds. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the top is uniformly colored with no indentation and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out almost clean, with a few moist crumbs clinging to it, 35 to 45 min.
Set the pan on a rack until cool enough to handle. Run a paring knife around the inside edge of the pan and then invert the pan onto a flat surface and peel off the parchment. Flip the baked brownie back onto the rack to cool completely. Cut into squares with a sharp knife.
FUDGY BROWNIES
ingredients
5 oz. (10 Tbs.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
5 oz. bittersweet chocolate
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
3 oz. (2/3 cup) all-purpose flour
how to make
Position an oven rack on the middle rung. Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch square pan, line the pan bottom with parchment (or waxed paper), and then butter the parchment.
In a double boiler over simmering water, melt the butter and both chocolates. Remove the pan from the heat; cool slightly. Whisk in the sugar and then the vanilla and salt. The mixture will be somewhat grainy; this is okay. Whisk in the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, stirring each time until blended. Add the flour, beating until thickened and smooth, 30 to 60 seconds. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with moist crumbs (not wet batter) clinging to it, 35 to 45 min.
Set the pan on a rack until cool enough to handle. Run a paring knife around the inside edge of the pan and then invert the pan onto a flat surface and peel off the parchment. Flip the baked brownie back onto the rack to cool completely. Cut into squares with a sharp knife.

NOTE-
Start your brownies with melted chocolate, because of the varying amounts of chocolate, butter, sugar, and flour, the texture of each brownie is quite different.
A fudgy brownie is dense, with a moist, intensely chocolatey interior. I think of it as somewhere between a rich truffle torte and a piece of fudge. ADD an extra egg yolk
A chewy brownie is moist, but not quite as gooey as a fudgy one. ADD all purpose flour
Cakey brownies need cake-baking technique. Cindy Mitchell uses a whisk to aerate the batter.

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