brownies: so many stories because they're so good

75 grams bitter sweet chocolate - chopped

70 grams dark chocolate - chopped

8 Tbsp grams butter 

195 grams sugar

2 tsp instant coffee granules

1 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

15 grams cocoa powder

95 grams flour

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

100 grams milk chocolate chunks

(butter and flour for dusting the pan)

preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.  in a microwave safe bowl, place the bitter sweet, dark chocolate, and butter.  microwave for 30 seconds.  take bowl out and stir mixture.  continue 2-3 more times until butter and chocolate are a smooth melted mixture.  be sure to melt chocolate and butter in rotations of melting and stirring to make sure it does not burn.  

after 30 seconds 

after 30 more seconds

smooth after 30 more seconds

whisk in sugar, coffee granules, and vanilla.  add eggs and vegetable oil.  in a separate bowl combine cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and salt.  combine dry ingredients in chocolate mixture until just combined.  stir in the chocolate chunks until evenly distributed throughout the batter.  

good milk chocolate cut into chunks

cut a piece of aluminum foil long enough to cover the bottom and spill over the edges of the pan.  fold the sides under so the foil is only as wide as the bottom of the pan (eight inches for 8x8 or nine inches for 9x9).  put a pat of butter in the pan.  with your finger completely cover the aluminum foil covering the bottom and two sides.  also make sure to put butter on the sides with no aluminum foil.  place about a spoonful of flour in the bottom of the pan and shake it to cover the sides too.  pour out any extra flour.  pour batter in an 8x8 and bake for 35-40 minutes or 9x9 and bake for 30-35 minutes.  a toothpick should come out either clean or with little brownie crumbs (just not gooey brownie batter).  also you should notice the brownie has pulled away from the side just slightly.  let the brownie cool completely before cutting into it – it’s difficult to wait but totally worth it.

little crumbs after 30 minutes let me know it's done

the brownie has just pulled away from the pan another tell tell sign

This is one of the first recipes I realized that no recipe I find is set in stone.  The more I have altered recipes and had success the more I am eager to be adventurous and make changes I think are necessary.  While living in Moscow, I also started using a kitchen scale.  I partly did this out of necessity because butter is not delineated in tablespoons, chocolate only comes in bar form weighed in grams, and I have always heard that baking by weight is more accurate than by cups.  All in all it was fun to have a new way of cooking and baking.   

To make this recipe, I looked at lots and lots of brownie recipes.  I found a great fudgey brownie added a tad more chocolate and subtracted a little sugar.  Then mixed in complementary flavors to chocolate in order to boost the overall brownie flavor.  Finally, I changed the fudgey consistency to a slightly more cakey texture.  The reality is I do not like fudgey brownies because they always taste undercooked.  I start thinking of uncooked eggs, salmonella, and the enjoyment factor decreases as I inevitably drop the brownie in the trash.  Because this brownie has a thick chocolatey cakey texture (but still totally a brownie), it is easier to tell when it is done.  Important to note with this recipe, if it is overbaked the brownie loses the fantastic texture and becomes dry.  Bake until done and no more.


I tutored one of my favorite students in Moscow once a week at his grandparent's flat.  His grandmother served me a special treat and a cup of tea in the fanciest teacup I have ever seen.  The edge of the cup looked like lace.  Even after months of tutoring him, I was still fearful that I might break the delicate little teacup when ever I picked it up.  Because they took such great care of me, I took little treats to them whenever I baked something tasty.  While they liked the cookies and little cakes I brought, his grandmother only asked for this recipe.  She spoke English but when we began going through the recipe (and not going over the math and grammar lessons of her grandson) I realized that her English didn't cover brownie ingredients.  Somehow we managed to get through dark, bitter sweet, and milk chocolate but flour was where the understanding ended.  Now my Russian is about as extensive as "я не говорю по России."  Translation "I don't speak Russian."  But some how I remembered that the word for flour was close to the word for both fly and torture.  No matter where I put the stress or how I changed the word to be what Michael told me it was, I could not communicate it to her until I made a call to a bilingual friend.  That's how good this recipe is...  She did not want me to leave until she understood what flour was.


I believe that the Russians have fantastic desserts but they do not have brownies.  My sweet friend Alina was blown away by by them when she tried one at a party.  She immediately requested the recipe.  She made it successfully the first time.  While there are quite a few ingredients, you will be successful if you go step by step and do not overbake just like Alina was successful her first time ever making brownies!