The Baked Brownie

I made these at home--I think this is the last recipe I'm posting that I made at home, the rest will be from my new kitchen. They were definitely very good brownies, probably my favorites, though a kid tried them and didn't like them and that may be because of the coffee flavor (everyone else loved them).

Okay so funny story, I had the chocolate melting over the stove and got out the instant espresso powder to make this recipe, only to notice that it was a solid block dried to the bottom of the container. Wow. And I couldn't make these brownies without a coffee flavor for fear that they would not turn out as good, since these brownies were supposed to be some of the best...so I looked online for a substitute, only to find really, none. So I decided to take out some coffee from a bag (It was ground, though not as finely as the powder...okay so I have nooo clue about anything coffee except that I like my skinny flavored lattes from Starbucks) and ground it with my mom's mortar and pestle. And it seems to have worked, though I don't know how the flavor will change when I try this recipe with instant espresso powder. I think they taste great, and I ground the coffee fine enough so that there was no textural difference.

The Baked Brownie
Recipe from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
Recipe found on Cakespy

1 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons dark cocoa powder
11 ounces quality dark chocolate (60-72%), chopped coarsely
8 ounces butter (2 sticks), cut into 1 inch cubes
1 tsp instant espresso powder
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
5 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter the sides and bottom of a glass or light colored metal pan 9x13x2 pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, the salt, and cocoa powder.

Configure a large sized double boiler. Place the chocolate, the butter, and the instant espresso powder in the bowl of the double boiler and stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and combined. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water of the double boiler and add both sugars. Whisk the sugars until completely combined and remove the bowl from the pan. Mixture should be room temperature.

Add three eggs to the chocolate/butter mixture and whisk until just combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until just combined. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not over beat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.

Sprinkle the flour/cocoa/salt mix over the chocolate. Using a spatula (DO NOT USE A WHISK) fold the dry into the wet until there is just a trace amount of the flour/cocoa mix visible.

Pour the mixture into the pan and smooth the top with your spatula. Bake the brownies for 30 minutes (rotate the pan half-way through baking) and check to make sure the brownies are completely done by sticking a toothpick into the center of the pan. The brownies are done when the toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.

Cool the brownies completely before cutting and serving.