Sinfully rich cakes mix three kinds of chocolate Food

Brownies are a contentious area for the chart: some love their cakes and are easy to taste – more of a snack than a rich dessert; some like them wet and chewy; and others, the greatest chocolate addicts, like to be purely decadent – almost as dense as fiction, and wonderfully dark.

We wanted to make sinfully rich cakes that would be the dream of chocolate lovers, so we started using three forms of chocolate: unsweetened chocolate for intensity, cocoa powder for complexity and bitter or semi-sweet chocolate for moisture and well-rounded taste.

The melting of the butter along with the chocolate was the key to the exquisite texture, and the generous three eggs contributed to the richness and texture. In addition to the pure sweetness, the granulated sugar gave the baked brownies a tender, shiny, crispy top crust.

We thought it best to cut these cakes into small pieces rather than large squares for baking – this is very important. Tasters preferred the more complex taste of dark chocolate over semi-sweet chocolate, but any type works well here, as do 5 ounces of dark or semi-sweet chocolate instead of chocolate bars.

FOODY BROWNY

Servings Per Container: 36

From start to finish: 1 hour

5 ounces of bitter or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

2 ounces of unsweetened chopped chocolate

8 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 4 pieces

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1¼ cup sugar

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon of salt

1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour

Set the rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 F. Make a foil for an 8-inch square baking dish by folding 2 long sheets of aluminum foil so that each is 8 inches wide. Place the foil sheets in the form perpendicular to each other, with the extra foil hanging over the edges of the form. Slide the foil into the corners and up the sides of the pan, smoothing the foil. Grease with foil.

Heat the bitter and unsweetened chocolate in the microwave in a bowl at 50 percent for 2 minutes. Stir in the butter and continue to put in the microwave, stirring often, until melted. Whisk the cocoa and allow the mixture to cool slightly.

Beat sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt in a large bowl until combined. Whisk the chocolate mixture with the sugar mixture until smooth. Sprinkle flour with a rubber spatula until there are no dry streaks. Transfer the dough to the prepared form and smooth on top. Bake until the toothpick, inserted in the center, comes out with a few moist crumbs, 35 to 40 minutes, turning the form in half baking.

Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan on the grill, about 2 hours. Using foil, remove the cakes from the pan. (Uncut cakes can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.) Before serving, cut into 36 squares.

Brownie Fudgy Triple-Chocolate Espresso Brownies: Whisk 1½ tablespoons of instant espresso powder or instant coffee powder along with cocoa.

Nutrition information per serving: 98 calories; 49 calories from fat; 5 g of fat (3 g of saturated; 0 g of trans fat); 25 mg of cholesterol; 38 mg of sodium; 12 g of carbohydrates; 1 g of fiber; 8 g of sugar; 2 g of protein.