Brownies (Dear Joe, everyone is pouring)

Brownies that quack like a chocolate mousse

Dear Joe

A friend reminded me yesterday of that saying, ‘if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck’. While this was helpful to hear, my brownies would say otherwise - they are powerful squares that look, smell, and feel like a brownie but quack like a chocolate mousse. Safe to say, with this recipe, I am incredibly pleased with myself.

All my interactions this week have felt like an exchange of liquid – not in that way – but that everyone is a cup of liquid, and you either pour into someone or get poured into. Sometimes the cup overflows. Sometimes it’s an equal exchange - that’s lovely. Making these brownies involves different stages of chocolatey liquid mixing, pouring, and tipping; it’s honestly a meditation in chocolate. I like a lot of pouring, hence the weighty proportion of eggs and chocolate. I also like a slightly bitter brownie; if you don’t, you could swap 80g of the dark chocolate for milk chocolate. You could also stir through some chopped-up chocolate before pouring the batter into the tin to bake. Now, I won’t give any more suggestions, for fear of overfilling your cup.

Grease and line a 19cm / 7.5inch square tin. Preheat the oven to 180/160 fan. Chop 180g dark chocolate and 150g unsalted butter into chunks, and place in a large glass or metal bowl. Fill a small saucepan with a little water. Set the bowl of chocolate over the saucepan making sure the bottom of the bowl does not come into direct contact with the water when rested over the pan. Heat on a stove top on low/medium, stirring the chocolate mixture occasionally. Meanwhile, whisk together 240g light brown sugar, 3 medium eggs, a pinch of salt, and a splash of vanilla extract. When the egg mixture is a bit frothy and lighter in colour, pour in the melted chocolate and butter – whisk until you feel the glossy mixture become thicker. Now whisk in 60g plain flour and 30g cocoa powder. Stir through a handful of chopped chocolate if you want, then pour the batter into the prepared tin. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, or until the top of the brownies are set but there is a wobble underneath. Allow to cool before slicing. If you can wait, these brownies do well left in the fridge covered tightly with clingfilm overnight.

Love Caitlin xx