Ben's Bellflower Brownies
By Ben Carsley, our wonderful summer associate!
For most folks born in the States, especially those from East Coast families that swear on Betty Crocker like the Bible (I speak from experience here, folks), the brownie calls to mind such a bevy of childhood memories as to rival that whole big fuss Proust makes out of madeleines.
Sifting single-origin cocoa powder. Like the cacao it’s derived from, single-origin cocoa powder has equally distinctive flavor notes. Photo by Callie Neylan.
For just that reason, I find it hard not to step on toes (and repressed emotions) whenever advising the home baker about brownie-making: the subconscious image of their gran’s homey, doting, and (most of all) rich chocolate brownies compels many of us to perpetuate an unalterable, aged recipe that rests above scrutiny. I have followed Bellflower’s essentialist philosophy concerning good food, however, and I provide to you a humble template — utilizing only the best examples of the necessary ingredients — to produce the modern-classic brownie.
There will be no chocolate chunks or cream cheese frosting (though go ahead, be a rebel, I exhort you!). This guide focuses on celebrating the power of cocoa powder, just like the originary brownies of yore. There are no real culinary frills or frippery here, no attempt to reinvent the past. The only improvements I offer your fond brownie memories are precise ratios, modern culinary techniques, and superior ingredients (sorry Nestle and Hershey, not sorry).
Single-Origin Cocoa Powder from Tanzania. Photo by Callie Neylan.
So here’s where the secret culinary theory behind brownies begins: the ineffable quality of your gran’s brownies depends upon a careful balancing of cocoa’s decadent taste with its ideal texture. Many a brownie glues your mouth shut with melty filling; others maroon you in a desert of crumbs, only to be finished after many a palate cleanse. The goal here is to attain the mean of these mouth-feel extremes. Chunks of dark or milk chocolate, while a seductive thought, will quite often leave you in a Catch 22: either overbake the batter or forfeit your original expectation of gooey chocolate rivulets. Hence, my cocoa powder only approach, though one must really trust their cocoa powder to create more than a one-note chocolate treat.
Obviously, the fruity and tart notes of Kokoa Kamili (our choice of bean for cocoa powder) is well complemented by a coarsely chopped selection of Washington state nuts, but, as always, to each their own.
I hope the results of your home bakes are enjoyable, and if you’re apprehensive, try these very brownies — baked by yours truly in Bellflower Kitchen — at the next Queen Anne Farmers’ Market.
Bellflower Single-Origin Cocoa Powder Brownies
10 tablespoons (145 grams) browned butter
2 tablespoons room temp water
A heavy cup (225 grams) granulated sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (80 grams) unsweetened single-origin cocoa powder
About a 1/4 teaspoon salt (of your choice)
A smidge of vanilla extract
(combine one half of a whole vanilla bean with 1/4 c. brandy or armagnac, let sit indefinitely, voila, vanilla extract)
2 large eggs, duck or chicken
A heavy 1/3 cup (45 grams) all-purpose flour
2/3 cup (75 grams) chopped walnuts or pecans
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit
Mix sugar, salt, and vanilla extract in a large, non-reactive mixing bowl.
Brown butter at medium low heat in a small saucepan. Once darkly browned (attaining a maple or chestnut hue), reserve from heat and allow to cool slightly, but only slightly.
Combine browned butter into sugar mixture while butter is still warm enough to de-crystallize sugar, though the mixture can remain somewhat gritty and still yield pleasurable results once baked.
Add room temp water immediately after the browned butter has been completely incorporated into the dry ingredients — mix.
Crack the two eggs (preferably at room temperature) into a small bowl. Pour eggs into a small well in the middle of the butter-sugar mixture, whisk immediately and vigorously for at least two minutes, as the introduction of sugars to raw egg can cause micro-scrambling without sufficient agitation.
Once incorporated, add cocoa powder, incorporate, then add the flour, incorporate, and finally your roughly chopped walnuts or pecans.
This recipe anticipates the use of an 8x8 inch square baking dish, and a dish of similar surface area will yield the best bake for these ratios.
Line your baking dish with a greased sheet of parchment, foil, or a silpat if you desire to remove the entire batch from its dish after baking.
Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes. Aim to take your brownies out of the oven while there is still some moisture and gooey-ness in the center, leaving it to bake the rest of the way in the baking dish, where it will solidify fully to a perfect fudgey consistency during its ~20 minute cool off.
Now fully cooled, enjoy your brownies as you like, perhaps with Bellflower’s salted caramel sauce…cheers!
Setting the mise en place with single-origin cocoa powder. Photo by Callie Neylan.
