The Baked Brownie
The Baked Brownie! Totally famous and for good reason – they are rich, dense, fudge-like brownies; you’ll never need another brownie recipe!
The famed Baked brownie. Oprah says it’s one of her favorite things. America’s Test Kitchen claims it’s their favorite brownie.
I don’t put much stock in Oprah, but America’s Test Kitchen is pretty much like the bible to me when it comes to all things kitchen. I check their reviews before any other recipes, and before I buy any kitchen equipment or new ingredients. So, if it’s their favorite brownie, I need to take a serious look.
If you haven’t treated yourself to the beauty that is the Baked cookbook, run, don’t walk, to Amazon and order it immediately. The Baked series is one of my most coveted groups of cookbooks – they have incredibly wonderful recipes, many that have a cozy, homey feel as well as some that have unique tweaks. I could go on about all of the amazing recipes in this book, but for now, let’s focus on these brownies. Because they deserve it. They are one of my favorite things. And I usually need to hide them from myself.
There is a great explanation in the book about how the Baked brownie recipe came to be, which is a great read. The key is that they don’t want it to be cakey, so they use no leavening agents (no baking powder or baking soda). With 11 ounces of chocolate, additional cocoa powder, lots of butter and sugar, and 5 eggs, you don’t need me to tell you that these babies are R-I-C-H.
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This is quite possibly the most perfect brownie. Now, if you like cakey brownies you won’t think so. But, if you like honest-to-goodness, rich and dense brownies, you will have found your Eden when you bite into these.
They have a good bit of height given that they don’t have any leavening agents, so they aren’t thin, gooey and smooshed like some brownies (this is a good thing). They have substance and heft when you bite into them, and they boast the ever-elusive and much sought after thin, crackly brownie crust that seems to be the calling card of amazing brownies.
Now, get thee into the kitchen and make these! Then pour yourself a tall glass of cold milk and enjoy bite after decadent bite.
Three years ago: Toasted Almond Fudge Ripple Ice Cream
Four years ago: Coconut Cream Pie
The Baked Brownie
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups (156.25 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, natural or Dutch-process will work
- 11 ounces (311.85 g) dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder, optional
- 1½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (110 g) packed light brown sugar
- 5 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9x13-inch glass or light-colored baking pan. Line the pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and cocoa powder together.
- Put the chocolate, butter and instant espresso powder in a large heat-proof bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined, then remove the bowl from the pan. The mixture should be room temperature.
- Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.
- Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture. Using a rubber spatula (not a whisk), fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just a bit of the flour mixture is visible.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it, about 30 minutes. Let the brownies cool completely in the pan, then lift them out of the pan using the parchment paper. Cut into squares and serve. Store at room temperature in an airtight container or wrap with plastic wrap for up to 3 days.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
This recipe was originally published on October 8, 2010.
I did this recipe for a friends birthday and EVERYBODY loved them i chopped them into mini brownies so there were like a bite of heaven, they were so good, so moist and NOT overwhelmingly sweet that I did another batch this weak and kept half for myself (6)
Thank you so much, this will be my go to brownie recipe for now on.
I’m off dairy and usually replace butter with coconut oil. However in cakes I found coconut oil to be heavy. Is it ok tho in this brownie as it is more of a furgy brownie???
Hi Chaya, I’m honestly not sure, I’ve never used coconut oil in place of butter in baked goods. If you give it a try, let me know how it turns out!
EXCELLENT PERFECTION!
Just had to say that I made these today, and they came out EXACTLY like the picture! Everything was spot-on, including the baking time. I noticed in some previous comments that some people had problems with it, but these brownies were perfect at exactly 30 minutes. Also, I’m obsessed with Mexican chocolate flavor, so I added some cinnamon to the dry ingredients mixture. To die for! This is now my go-to brownie recipe, so thanks for sharing it.
hi,
i want to make a big batch of brownie for about 60 people. would you recommend doubling or tripling the recipe and make one big batch at one go?
thanks.
I’m not sure you could find a pan large enough to adequately double or triple this recipe, but you can certainly mix it up all at once and bake it in batches.
Just made these yesterday and they were AMAZING! So moist, rich and not cake-like at all! I didn’t have a 9×13 so made them in a 9×9 using the exact same ingredients (didn’t half it at all), baked it for 45 minutes at 350 and they were perfect!
Tried your recipe today and I was so thrilled! I nailed it! So rich and moist.
From one brown-eyed baker to another…thank you!
Oh WOW! That looks like the best brownie ever! You know a brownie recipe is good when it needs no frosting! Yum! :)
Wow–these are completely amazing! I made them last night and brought them to work and they’re going fast! Love the richness and fudgy-ness!
I love your brownie recipe. They are the best, so far, from the recipe’s I’ve already tried. I’ve made these baked brownies many times following your instructions and recipe. But I want to try baking it without the chopped dark chocolate bar and instead just use dark cocoa powder. How much dark cocoa powder should I put as substitute?
Thanks very much Michelle. :)
Hi Aice, I’m not sure I would recommend that, since there is such a large amount of chocolate, the melted state contributes quite a bit of liquid/moisture to the recipe. Using just cocoa powder would make for a much drier recipe.
Thank you very much. :)
I also have this Baked cookbook and have made these brownies several times. They are fantastic! Definitely one of my favorites! So rich and fudgy!
These babies are too die for! I have replace the cocoa with melted chocolate and it was heaven. my husband and friends totally love it! thanks for the recipe!
These are by far thee best brownie I have ever tasted! I have been making them since I read the recipe on your blog long ago. I have tried so many brownie recipes in my years, but this blows away the competition. The only thing I change is that I don’t always have espresso powder on hand, so I use a small packet of decaf instant coffee instead- the flavor is out-of-this-world!
I’m not much of a fan of cakey brownies so these sound perfect to me! I’ll definitely be saving this and making it in the future!
Aleeha xXx
http://www.halesaaw.com/
I am not a chocolate fan but I love to bake for friends and family. My dad has been requesting brownies and I was about to make your better-than-box brownies and saw this recipe posted. What is the difference between the two? Which one do you think is better?
Hi Rita, They’re both fabulous and my top two brownie choices! I would call the better-than-box brownies more of your “everyday” brownie – you might grab one (or two) for a snack. The Baked brownie is much more rich and decadent, making one enough for a dessert.
Michelle, I’m disappointed in your comment about Oprah. Why isn’t she entitled to have a favorite brownie? What if someone said “BEB loves these but I don’t put much stock in her opinion”? If you’re going to disregard someone’s opinions, why even mention their name?
Oh for crying out loud. Get a grip.
Oprah is entitled to have a favorite brownie. I know a lot of people love her and pay attention to her “favorite things” lists, which is why I mentioned it. However, for all things food-related, I trust America’s Test Kitchen’s opinion way more, which is why I included THEIR opinion.
These Baked brownies are exceptionally good, but as a connisseur of the ultimate chocolately, gooey brownies, I actually prefer the texture of Alice Medrich’s Best Cocoa Brownies.
http://food52.com/recipes/21007-alice-medrich-s-best-cocoa-brownies
I wouldn’t turn down either of them.
Hi Jane, I’ve never tried those, thanks for sharing, I’ll bake them up soon!
You can’t go wrong with Alice Medrich. She has devoted years of her life to chocolate. I trust her implicitly and I’ve never tried a chocolate recipe of hers that wasn’t devastating.
The brown sugar in this recipe caught my eye as I scanned the ingredient list. I don’t think I’ve ever seen brown sugar in a brownie recipe. Very interesting! Maybe I’ll make a batch these today to celebrate the Pens :))
YES! THEY DID IT!!!
Oh man. These just finished cooling. I’ve just cut them and had one. Seriously. Best brownies ever. My life has been changed because of these brownies. So moist! So chewy! So chocolatey! I didn’t use parchment paper, instead I just greased and floured. I divided the pan into fourths, took the first fourth (the “ugly fourth”) and cut it for me and my husband. The rest came out of the pan quite nicely. Using a bench scraper, I slid each quadrant onto a cutting board, and used the bench scraper to cut perfect pieces. The perfect pieces are going to my father as today is his 59th birthday and brownies are his favorite treat! I’m delighted. He will love them.
As always, thanks Michelle!
This has been on my to bake list for years. Finally made them yesterday. I’m usually a healthy baker so I didn’t have all-purpose flour. I used 3/4 c whole wheat and the rest brown rice flour. I also only used 9 oz dark chocolate instead of 11 as I didn’t want any extra in the house to only use 1/3 more of the extra chocolate bar I would have had to buy. ??? end result: YUMMY!!
Does the Dutch Cocoa -meaning it’s alkalized- act as a leavening agent? There are certainly enough other basic ingredients for it to interact with.
Yes, depending on the interaction with other ingredients, it can act as a bit of a leavening agent.
Just finished eating these warm with some vanilla bean ice cream. I feel VERY satisfied!
I made these brownies last night and they are THE BEST I’VE HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!! My husband seconds that. :)
While I’d love to eat a whole 9×13 pan of brownies it’s probably not the best idea. Is there a way to make a half batch of these in an 8 or 9 inch square pan? The thing I’m not sure of is the eggs, if I would use 2 and a yolk or what. Also wasn’t sure of baking time and how much to reduce it. Has anyone tried?
sorry for some reason it did not let me directly reply but i just wanted to say that i ended up trying it and it worked. i just had to double the amount of white chocolate to be able to cover the whole surface (the original recipe is for an 8×8 brownie). i actually liked it better with this frosting but i like it with ice cream the most. but i just have to ask, is it just me, or does this brownie taste way better the next day? if i try it right after it has finished cooling off and it’s at room temperature, it tastes like it has too much sugar and not enough chocolate but the next day you get the full deep chocolate flavor. because of this, i always make it the day before.
i love this recipe, thanks for posting. i had also been meaning to try cook’s illustrated’s white chocolate and peppermint brownie, but do you think i could just use that white chocolate and peppermint frosting on top of this brownie?
Hi Jose, I have not made those brownies, but I looked them up quickly and it looks as though they use a sturdier brownie recipe than this one. It may still work, but I can’t guarantee.
I made a few mistakes with the recipe (eggs straight out of the fridge, left the heat on the burner while mixing) and they still turned out to be the best brownies I have ever consumed in my life. I can’t wait to try again and see what happens when you follow the recipe correctly. If you are trying to decide whether or not to make these, MAKE THEM. :)
EuZEKT http://www.FyLitCl7Pf7kjQdDUOLQOuaxTXbj5iNG.com
are you using baking chocolet 100 percent cocoa?
Hi Jessica, I used Dutch-process cocoa powder and 60% cacao chocolate.
baked it!ate it!loooved it!!!!!!!amazing