Rich, fudgy brownies topped with a smooth semisweet chocolate ganache make for a delicious finale for afternoon tea.
Stout Brownies
Serves: 16 squares
While the alcohol does bake out of the batter, Irish dry stout beer adds interesting flavor notes to this upscale brownie.
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ cup whole milk, room temperature
- ¼ cup Irish dry stout beer, room temperature*
- Chocolate Ganache (recipe follows)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray. Line pan with parchment paper, letting excess extend over sides of pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together sugars and melted butter until smooth and well combined.
- In another medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Add eggs to sugar mixture, one at a time, whisking until combined. Whisk in vanilla extract. Add flour mixture in three additions alternately with milk and beer, beginning and ending with flour mixture, stirring just until combined after each addition. Spread batter into prepared pan.
- Bake until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes. Spread Chocolate Ganache onto warm brownies. Refrigerate until ganache firms up, 20 to 30 minutes. Using excess parchment paper as handles, lift brownie from pan and onto a cutting surface. Using a sharp knife and wiping knife clean with a damp cloth between cuts, trim and discard approximately 1-inch from edges. Cut remaining brownie into 16 equal squares. Store in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Notes
*We used Guinness.
Chocolate Ganache
Serves: approximately 1 cup
Easy to make, this smooth ganache is a great topping for our Stout Brownies and is equally good slightly warm on something as basic as vanilla ice cream.
Ingredients
- 2⁄3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 (4-ounce) bar semisweet chocolate*, finely chopped
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, heat cream over medium-high heat until just hot but not boiling. Remove pan from heat and add chopped chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute, and then stir until chocolate melts completely and mixture is smooth. Use immediately.
Notes
*We used Ghirardelli 60% chocolate.
