We found the best little Euro market today. Along with Suho Meso, Russian chicken dumplings, and interesting Deutsch chocolate bars we discovered this Croatian espresso. Chocolate and coffee go together like, well, coffee and chocolate so we decided to make brownies!
We have never had good luck making fudgy brownies with a crackly top in other words, “The Perfect Brownie”. It has always seemed to be more of a happy accident when it does happen. The recipe below, however, is now our go to recipe for the best fudgy crackly top brownies.
Croatian Espresso Crackly Top Fudgy Brownies
Recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma Dessert
Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter
1/2 Cup Semisweet/Bittersweet chocolate chips
3/4 Cup Sugar
Pinch of Salt
2 Tbsp. Croatian Espresso (or any ground espresso)
2 Large Eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup + 1/8 Cup Flour
3/4 Cup Semisweet/Bittersweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 8-inch square baking dish.
Setup a double boiler, or set a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water. Add butter, cut into 8 pieces. Add 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Stir butter and chocolate until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and immediately add sugar* and salt. Once cooled slightly, so as not to scramble the eggs, add both eggs and the vanilla, stirring until blended. Add the flour, stirring just until blended. Fold in the remaining 3/4 cup chocolate chips.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes. Do not overbake. Cool completely before cutting. Overnight in the fridge will make these easy to cut and still have the crackly top and fudgy center.
* We suspect that dissolving the sugar is what helps create the crackly top. Would love to hear in the comments below if anyone knows for sure. Do you prefer your brownies crackly and fudgy or more cake like?
Enjoy!
Red Kitchen Adventures 