Black Cocoa

One day when I was browsing recipes on www.tastespotting.com I came across black cocoa in a recipe write up. I knew immediately I had to find black cocoa! Surprsingly it wasn't difficult. I typed black cocoa into Google and viola, black cocoa for sale at King Arthur Flour. Now I just needed to find a recipe or two that had black cocoa as an ingredient. Googled black cocoa recipes and several recipes came up. I chose to make Black Cocoa Brownies.

I wanted to see how black cocoa, in color, compared to your regular, high quality cocoa. I put the two cocoa's side by side. Yep black cocoa is black!

Ghiradelli Chocolate All Natural Unsweetened Cocoa on the left, King Arthur Flour Black Cocoa on the right

It has been a long time since I made brownies from scratch. Thinking about it, I don't recall ever making brownies from scratch. I was excited!

This recipe calls for lightly browned butter. Brown butter adds nutty flavor to the baked good.

Early stage melted butter

Melted butter, lightly browned

Melt the chocolate and combine with the brown butter. Cool to almost room temperature. You do not want to cook the egg mixture when combining the eggs and chocolate mixture.



Melted chocolate and brown butter

Whip the eggs and sugar until thick and pale yellow in color. Gently combine the cooled chocolate mixture with the whipped eggs; Gently mix the dry ingredients with the wet. Leave some of the dry ingredients showing if you want chewy brownies. Bake until a few crumbs stick to a toothpick. Cool and refrigerate. The texture is best straight from the fridge. But you may want to bring the brownie to room temperature to experience the full flavor of the brownie. Did I mention there is espresso powder in this?

Black Cocoa Brownies

Black Cocoa Brownies
Adapted from Brownie Points, by Lisa Slater

3 sticks unsalted butter
Scant 1/2 cup best quality cocoa powder
3 tablespoons black cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups white sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
or
1 tablespoon very strong coffee
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or fleur de sel

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Butter a 9"x9" square pan

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until it bubbles and browns. It will froth and then settle down, with the milk solids settling to the bottom. Be sure not to burn the butter.

Remove from the heat, cool slightly (about 5 minutes) and add the cocoa powders. Whisk until smooth.

Add the sugar, whisk until smooth, then cool for about 10 minutes.

Add the eggs, whisking until smooth and shiny until just combined. (Avoid overmixing this will lead to cakey brownies.)

Stir in the vanilla and coffee or espresso powder, then stir in the flour and salt, mixing until just combined and no further. Resist the urge to keep mixing! Flecks of flour showing are okay.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs stuck to it (check it after 30 minutes, then go from there).

Allow to cool completely, then refrigerate. Remove from the pan and place onto a cutting board, cut into 1"x1" squares. Brownies will keep in the fridge for a few weeks.

Their fudgy texture is best straight from the refrigerator, but the full flavor and the salty edge of the brownie is best at room temperature.