The Ultimate Chocolate Truffle Brownies

Two reasons to bake brownies:

After attending Purple Foodie’s first ever baking class, she’s got me hooked on to these brownies. I’ll admit I’m not a big fan of brownies. Sure, I’ve had them but nothing about them makes me crave them at all. This class, however, changed that. I now have a go-to brownie recipe! That’s one thing to cross off the bake list. This recipe is a strong contender for my chocolate hall of fame list!

I finally got a brownie pan! To me, there is something invariably exciting about purchasing some new equipment. It yearns to be used right away. And this gorgeous brownie pan was the ultimate sign – I needed to make a brownie and I needed to do it right away. Of course this recent heat wave had literally sent my oven packing (heat and humidity aren’t exactly ideal for baked goods or bakers) but these brownies just had to be made. Go on, make them. You’ll be glad you did.

A cautionary note about brownies though – they are very individualistic. Some people prefer the shiny crust, some love a cracked crust, some love firm brownies, some love gooey – you catch my drift. I personally love a soft centre, a few minutes into the oven and this becomes cakey but I remove it just in time. If you like yours a bit firmer, monitor them carefully and bake them for a few minutes longer. Theses babies continue cooking even after you remove them so little underdone is actually good news. Do cut them once they are cooled or even refrigerated for a while. It gives you an even square and a crumb less knife.

Chocolate Truffle Brownies

Adapted from: PurpleFoodie

Yields: 20 even sized peices

300g best quality dark chocolate (I used a mix of 70% dark chocolate and bittersweet chocolate)

400g caster sugar (I reduced the sugar by 20g because of the sweetness provided by bittersweet chocolate but you can add all of it if you prefer)

150g all purpose flour

225g butter

5 eggs

2 tbs cocoa powder (dutch processed)

2 tsp vanilla extract

Pre-heat the oven to 1750C. Grease and line a brownie pan with parchment paper. It is vital you grease it well and line it. Lining also makes transporting them a lot easier.

In a heat proof bowl, add chocolate and butter and over medium-high heat, microwave in short bursts of about 10 seconds. After each 10 second burst, stir chocolate and butter with a fork. After all the butter has melted, take it out the microwave and whisk to combine chocolate and butter. Alternatively, you could put chocolate and butter over a double boiler and take off the heat when the mixture has coagulated and melted completely. Set aside to cool.

In another bowl quickly whisk together the sifted flour and cocoa powder.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer, add 3 eggs and combine. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and add the remaining 2 eggs and extract.

Fold in the flour. Do not overbeat the mixture. A few streaks of flour here and there are nothing to worry about.

Bake for 30 minutes but I’d suggest checking them after 20. If you like them invitingly gooey, then I’d stop after 20 to 25 minutes. If you like them firm, then 30 minutes is ideal. If you insert a wooden skewer it should be clean.

Let them cool down at room temperature for a while and then (if not serving them right away) refrigerate till needed. They taste amazing, all cold and gnarly from the fridge but you could always re-heat them in the microwave for about 10 to 12 seconds before serving with oodles of vanilla ice-cream.