I've been looking for a cocoa power based recipe for a long time. In the past, I've tried melting chocolate but although the brownie is great fresh, after a few days, it gets rock hard. I still recall my brownies of childhood came off a Hershey Chocolate box. That recipe was perfect, and the brownies came out cake like and stayed that way for days (as long as no one consumed it up of course!) Sadly, I no longer have that recipe and couldn't locate it on the Hershey website either.
This seems to be the best recipe, all it requires is melted butter. I've avoided recipes that require a stove top because it's one more pot to watch, but since I don't have a big enough microwavable bowl and would need to transfer here and there (washing!), I decided to use the stove top instead. I also substituted some butter for oil ostensibly because it's healthier (but in reality, it's because I ran out of butter!)
Ingredients
10 tbsp butter (140 g, I used 100g butter and 40g veg oil, anything neutral tasting, NOT olive oil!)
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temp
1/2 cup regular flour
2/3 cup chopped cooking chocolate or chocolate chips (or nuts as the original recipe asked for, but I'm not a fan of nuts! Raisins would probably work well too)
Method
1) In a large pot, melt the butter and the oil.
2) Once melted, add the sugar and cocoa power and stir till well combined. You'll get a gritty mixture. Leave it aside to cool as you don't want scrambled eggs.
3) When warm, add the vanilla, then beat in one egg at a time. I had to beat rather vigorously otherwise the oil would separate.
4) Sift in the flour and here, the original recipe called for beating 40 strokes. I settled for half beating, half folding. Here, a thick batter is produced. Add the chocolate chips or whatever additions and fold in gently.
5) Pour into a parchment lined pan, mine is 9*7". Bake in a preheated oven for 25 to 35 minutes (check after 25 mins) at 160 deg C. The top should have tiny bit of wobble and a inserted skewer should come out with a few crumbs. The sides have pulled away from the pan. It's tricky getting it cooked and still fudgey yet not over cooked that it becomes a cake.
6) Let it cool complete in the pan. I tried removing it and it nearly fell apart despite baking for 45 minutes, so I think it is meant to be like a lava cake and has to 'set' after it gets cool! The recipe even suggests letting it cool in the fridge. If you want clean lines when cutting, it has to be completely cool.
7) Original recipe says it should be out out of the fridge for up to 3 days outside in an airtight box.
Recipe feedback: I probably won't be substituting oil again, the taste is quite strong. It is too sweet for my liking but oh oh oh so unbelievably fudgey! See the picture, so fudgey they can't hold their shape and are falling down!
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