I don’t have a particularly sweet tooth. Don’t get me wrong, I do like sweet things, but not tooth achingly sweet (I’m looking at you, chocolate chip cookie). I just don’t crave them. I am something of a chocaholic though. If you leave me unattended in a room with chocolate I cannot be held responsible. Just sayin’…! I can go long periods without chocolate but once I get a taste of it, well, like I said, I cannot be held responsible…

Now, who doesn’t love a chocolate brownie? Show of hands, please. OK, to those that do not I can only offer my sympathies. But seriously, the brownie is a perennial favorite and a fixture in coffee shop snack display cases. When it comes to brownies though, I am often disappointed. Yes, they are chocolate but I don’t care for their dense cakey texture and the flavor is often underwhelming. I mean, I get it. For retail the brownie has to be easily portioned and sturdy enough to survive the trip from the bakery to the display case. But if I’m ordering a snack to go with my coffee a brownie is my last choice.

If you make brownies at home I’d bet your family loves them and so they should. You cared enough to take the time to make them, whether from scratch or a box mix and well done you. There are tons of brownie recipes out there, some of which I don’t doubt are very good indeed. However, even with my love for chocolate I’m not going to bake my way through dozens of recipes to find out. I’ll stick with this one, thanks.

It’s probably fair to say that most brownie fans belong in one of two camps; cakey or fudgy. I am solidly on the fudgy side which is why I love these super fudgy brownies with a pronounced chocolate taste. I mean, what’s the point of a chocolate brownie if it doesn’t taste of chocolate? I ask you. I got this recipe from a little recipe booklet tied to the neck of a bottle of Kahlúa I bought many years ago for reasons lost to the dim and distant past. I still have the booklet in a recipe folder though.

These brownies are not difficult to make – you melt the butter and chocolate over a Bain Marie (AKA double boiler/water bath) and stir that into your eggs and sugar with the dry ingredients then bake. I mean, how hard can that be? I could proclaim these to be the best brownies you ever had but that’s a nonsensical thing to say because “the best” is so subjective. You know, the whole cakey/fudgy thing? They really are pretty damned good though.

Kahlúa:

As the title suggests, there is Kahlúa in the batter – 1/4 cup (60ml), in fact. Could you leave it out? Yes you could, but the brownies wouldn’t taste quite as chocolatey. And why is that? Well, it turns out that a little bit of coffee in chocolate baked goods intensifies the chocolate flavor. It doesn’t take a lot but if you do add enough to taste the coffee it becomes a mocha confection. Nothing wrong with that if that’s what you like. In this case though, since we are adding the coffee in the form of a coffee liqueur you wouldn’t want to add more than is called for in the recipe.

This recipe calls for brushing a tablespoon of Kahlúa over the cooled brownies. Some people don’t like the raw alcohol taste and certainly for a kid friendly brownie you would want to leave that out. There is no hint of alcohol in the baked brownie though. By popular demand I made these for my daughter’s school events many times.

Kahlúa Substitutes:

Is there a substitute for Kahlúa then? Yes there is. If you have an espresso machine at home you could pull a shot of espresso and use that in lieu of the Kahlúa. I’m going to go out on a limb here though and guess not many people do have an espresso machine. A much easier and more convenient alternative is to use a teaspoon of instant espresso powder to get the same boost of chocolate flavor. With the espresso powder you can add a touch more for that mocha flavor too if you like. I do sometimes.

OK, if we can use instant espresso powder, why not instant coffee powder? Because, although they are both coffee products they are not the same thing. Instant espresso powder is formulated for baking, not drinking. Sure you could stir a spoonful into hot water and drink it but trust me, it doesn’t taste anything like a shot of espresso!

Chocolate:

We are using unsweetened chocolate in this recipe. Could we substitute bittersweet or semisweet chocolate? The simple answer is yes, but… It would require some math to calculate how much more chocolate we’d need and how much less sugar, made all the more complicated because there is no real definition for the terms bittersweet and semisweet. Best to stick with unsweetened chocolate I think.

Bain Marie:

As I mentioned, the butter and chocolate are melted over a Bain Marie or water bath. If you have never done this before, let me explain:

• You want to chop the chocolate into small pieces – this lets it melt quicker and more evenly. Also, cut the butter into pieces for the same reason.
• Put these in a heat proof bowl and set it over a pan of barely simmering -not boiling- water. It is important that the bowl does not touch the water.
• Stir occasionally with a rubber spatula until the butter and chocolate are completely melted, smooth and glossy.
• Remove the bowl from the heat and let it cool a few minutes. You don’t want to add the hot chocolate to the eggs or they might scramble but at the same time the mixture should still be pourable.
• If you find you’ve left it too long and it has stiffened up too much, no biggie, just set it over the water bath for a minute or two to loosen up again.

The Eggs and Sugar:

You need to beat the eggs and sugar together “until light” which basically means the mixture is somewhat aerated and looks a little fluffy. A KitchenAid or hand held electric mixer makes this task easy. I do not recall that my mother ever had a kitchen appliance of any kind. For jobs like this she would use one of those old fashioned hand crank egg beaters. You make do with what you’ve got, right?

The Flour:

The original recipe calls for 1-1/2 cups of sifted flour. I have included a weight equivalent but it’s important to understand the difference between “1-1/2 cups of flour, sifted” and “1-1/2 cups of sifted flour” The first is measured before sifting and the second after sifting; one weighing 7-1/2 oz (212g) and the other 6-3/4 oz (190g). If you’re counting that’s a 10% difference which will make a big difference in the end product.

Walnuts:

Brownies are often made with nuts and particularly walnuts. In our house we are not big fans of most nuts and especially walnuts. I have included them in the ingredient list as an optional add-in so you can make your own choice.

Preparing the Cake Tin:

This recipe is for a 9″ (23cm) square tin. To make it easier to remove the brownies once they are cooled it is advisable to line the tin with parchment paper:
Butter your tin, sides and all, then cut a piece of parchment paper 9″ (23cm) square. Line the tin with the parchment paper and butter that too, even if it’s a non-stick pan. You’ll want that extra bit of insurance the brownies will come out in one piece!

How do you Know When the Brownies are Done?:

The original recipe says the top of the brownies should spring back when gently pressed with your finger tip to indicate doneness, just as most conventional cakes would. However, because there is quite a lot of sugar in these brownies, a thin brittle crust forms as it bakes. Pressing gently with a fingertip just cracks the crust and the soft, gooey middle will never spring back. All this makes me question who, if anybody, actually tested the recipe! Otherwise it can be a bit tricky to know when the brownies are done.

When you bake a cake the recipe instructions will often tell you to insert a skewer or toothpick in the center of the cake and if it comes out clean the cake is done. In this case if you baked the brownies until a toothpick comes out clean it would be way over baked. We are going to have to rely on sensory clues instead…

The edges of the brownies should just begin to show signs of shrinking from the sides of the cake tin. Not separated from the sides mind you, just hinting at it. You should not smell chocolate as it bakes. If you do, it’s over baked! Towards the end of the baking time, keep a good eye on it so it isn’t overdone.

Un-Molding the Brownies:

To unmold, make sure the brownies are cooled. Run a thin metal spatula around the edges to loosen the brownies, taking care not to scratch the tin if it’s non-stick. Place a cooling rack over the tin and invert it; the brownies should plop right out. Now peel off the parchment paper and place a cutting board over the brownies and invert them again, right side up. Cut into 16 pieces 2-1/4″ (6cm) square (or smaller if you prefer).