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.
Very nice pics, thanks a lot for this sweet post.
Hi,
I tried to make these tonight and I followed the recipe to a T, yet for some reason they came out very dry and nearly bitter. I’m worried I over baked them, but they were in the oven exactly 30 minutes. I used a glass pan, and I’m wondering if leaving them to cool in it was a mistake? Or maybe I burnt the chocolate–how would I be able to tell?
Thanks for any help you can offer.
Hi Annie, Sometimes glass can be a greater conductor of heat than something like an aluminum pan, so that could have been it. If you don’t particularly like dark chocolate, you could try semisweet if you found the brownies to be too bitter.
I made these yesterday and they are the best brownies I have ever made in my life. They were rich and chewy and so delicious. I had them today and they are even better the next day. Simply amazing…going to make these all the time.
Tried these brownies and they were horrible. The pictures you display look completely different from how mine looked and how others looked using the same recipe on different blogs. Are you sure those are the baked brownie in the picture, because all the other blogs i checked out that have tried this recipe all looked like how mine did and were pretty consistent with look.
Yes, I am SURE that those are the Baked brownie, that I made from the book. I have made them countless times and they look as the picture depicts each time. I cannot speak to other people’s photos.
Hey !
I’m glad I found this awesome website with so many good recipes .
I want to try this one out tomorrow, but I got a small problem.
You see, I’m from Finland, and here we use ‘dl’ instead of ‘cup’, so I tried to search on the interent how much is 1 cup actually, but then there were 2 different results: 1 US cup (8 oz) = 240 ml and 1 UK cup = 2,8 dl .
So I just wanted to make sure that when you use one cup of something, I have to use 2,8 dl of that, not 240 ml.
Sorry I might sound stupid (and maybe it doesn’t matter if I use 240 ml or 2,8 dl) , but I really need to do this right so I just wanted to make sure :) Thank you .
Hi Elysia, the 8 ounces = 1 cup is only relevant for liquid measurements (and butter). All other ingredients have different weights for a 1 cup volume measurement. You could start with this chart and convert the ingredients you need: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipe/master-weight-chart.html
Would these bake well in a mini muffin pan? Do you have any suggestions on cooking time, using mini cupcake liners, etc?
Hi Sara, I’ve never tried making them in a mini muffin pan, so unfortunately I don’t have any insight on cooking time or anything like that, but if you try it, let me know how they turn out!
My brownie tasted great but I don’t know why the centre of the brownie is still not cooked. What is wrong?
I made these brownies last night and they are fantastic! The only change I made was to add some chocolate chips because I love them in everything. I followed the directions exactly and these brownies came out super chocolatey and rich! My sister took some of them to class with her and everyone loved them. I’m going to add this recipe to my recipe binder!
Hi, can i use white sugar instead of brown sugar??
Also could you please specify the flour and sugar in ounces as Im not sure of the right cup measurement here (India). Thanks alot… Im hoping to try it this weekend.
I use this weight chart as my master guide: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipe/master-weight-chart.html. It converts to ounces, and from there you can convert to grams.
For this particular recipe, you would need:
151 grams all-purpose flour
298 grams white sugar
106 grams brown sugar
Hi Bianca, No, I would not substitute white sugar in place of brown sugar – it will significantly affect the texture.
I’ve been looking for a good brownie recipe for a while and am planning on trying these out! Just one question before I do so. You said that you use a 60% bittersweet chocolate for baking. Would using semi-sweet in this recipe change the consistency of your results? Would it still work with part of the chocolate being semi-sweet? I find that I’m not a fan of chocolate when it is too bitter. Thanks! :)
Hi Rachel, I think you would be just fine using the semisweet chocolate. Enjoy!
Awesome! I can’t wait to try these. :)
I made these brownies and I can say that they turned out perfectly and were very much appreciated.
Hi! I don’t have a glass baking pan. Does it ruin the brownies if I bake them in an aluminum baking pan?. Thank you!!!
I think that would be just fine.
Made these brownies tonight… they turned out lovely. The only problem I will have is not to eat them all myself! Thanks for the recipe
Is it okay to use dark brown sugar?
Hi Althea, I think that would be okay.
I followed these brownies to the letter and although they have the crackly top they are nowhere near as dense or gooey as your pictures portray. They came out cake-like, I have almost given up finding the gooiest and chewiest brownies :(
Perfection! Every now and again i order a brownie when i’m out to dinner, and help but smile as they don’t quite match up to this!
*cant help
I have baked this exact recipe at least 20 times by now since I first found it, they are unbelievable, the praise and requests I get for them are never ending! The coffee hit just really pushes them over the edge and they are so easy and foolproof to make, perfect every time. I just wanted to thank you so much for posting the recipe as it has made me, the kids, and everyone I share them with very very happy!
I stumbled across your blog a few weeks ago and have very much enjoyed sifting through the wealth of recipes and techniques here! I am a natural cook, so to speak, as in I am somehow a very good cook with no formal or childhood training (I spent all my time as a little girl in the shop with dad working on motors and carpentry). This site has given me lots of new ideas to try out and I’ve really enjoyed experimenting with brownie recipes! Last attempt was a meld of this and the Outrageous Brownies (from Ina or Ira?). Anyways!
I’ve noticed something as I’ve browsed through dozens and dozens of recipes of all types, including these brownie recipes. And that is – butter. Every single recipe calling for butter (and I think so far all of them have =) specifically call for unsalted butter…
So perhaps it’s been asked or there’s a really simple reason that just escapes me. But – why unsalted?? And will regular butter devastate the recipes if I adjust the measured salt back some?
Hi Kaz, Unsalted butter because different butter manufacturers can include varying amounts of salt in their butter. By using unsalted butter and adding the salt separately, we have complete control of how much salt is going into a recipe. You can greatly reduce or omit salt if all you have to use is salted butter, but sometimes the flavor can be affected.
Thanks for the reply, Michelle =) That does make perfect sense.
These look good! I have been using the recipe on the back of the cocoa can for brownies, but will try this one with this kids this weekend:)
These are absolutely the BEST brownies I have ever eaten. Better than brownies in cafes too. My husband enjoys these brownies very much too. I came to this verdict after the first batch I made ….after having overwhelmed the eggs, overcooked the brownies AND used a pan waaaaaayy to big for them! So yes, I messed that batch up but they still tasted like amazing but were cakey. Then I made another batch (which I managed to not screw up) and they are heavenly.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! :)
This will be my third time making these brownies. Can I just say – AY CARUMBA!!
These brownies are amazing. The only thing I do differently is leave out the espresso powder. I really dislike any coffee flavoring with my chocolate.
These brownies are dense but not heavy. They are so rich and fudgy… they make my thighs cry with mercy (because that’s where they end up!). These are perfection. I adore them. Thank you!
I used Cadbury Cocoa. It didn’t say dark or unsweetend on it. I couldn’t find dark unsweetened cocoa. Did this alter the taste?
I used Cadbury cocoa too and mine were delicious!
I was wondering what could i do differently in this recipe to have chunks of chocolate in them?
Hi Dominique, You could fold in chocolate chips before pouring the batter into the pan.
I’ve baked so many different brownies and baked these last night. Halved the recipe and dolloped some chunky peanut butter and swirled it.
Happy with the nice height, good recipe. Will attempt the rest!
Enjoy reading your blog.
I’ve baked so many different brownies and baked these last night. Halved the recipe and dolloped some chunky peanut butter and swirled it.
Happy with the nice height, good recipe. Will attemp the rest!
Enjoy reading your blog.
Hi Michelle,
I’d love to try this brownie recipe. But I don’t Have an oven, I only have oven toaster and microwave oven. Should this be recipe compatible using oven toaster and microwave? Or should it be possible to be baked in microwave or oven toaster? :)
Hoping for your response, Thanks you :)
Hi Anna, I definitely don’t think this could be made in a microwave, but if your toaster oven is large enough and has actual bake settings, then that could work.
I made these brownies exactly as stated in the recipe and they were great! I like the idea of using parchment paper. it was easy for me to pull the brownie out of the pan; I let it cool then i cut off the edges and cut perfect brownie bars. The parchment paper also made it easier for me to clean the pan. I used a mixture of Godiva and Dove dark chocolate. I strongly recommend that anyone who is making these for the first time to follow this recipe to a T to get the best results. Thank you for posting this recipe!
Should the butter be room temperature as well?
Hi Linda, It doesn’t matter, since you’ll be melting it with the chocolate. Enjoy the brownies!
I’ve been wanting to make these for ages, and finally tried them on Friday. The first day, I thought they were okay…but the second and third days they were amazing. Perfect texture and flavor profile! Halfway through baking, I topped half of the pan with little dollops of homemade caramel and sprinkled with fleur de sel and it resulted in THE BEST brownies I’ve ever had. (And I have eaten way more than my fair share of brownies!)
Oh that’s awesome I’ve been baking these for ages and love them but I’m definitely going to try with your additions, that sounds amazing! Thanks so much for posting that!
Wow! these brownies look to die for! I can’t wait to try this recipe out. Thanks!