Cocoa Powder Brownies (No-Chocolate)

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This is a kind of economy variant of the world-famous brownie dessert. The savings are achieved by using cocoa powder instead of chocolate. However, it is not only about savings. The brownies in this recipe are less sweet than the original ones. If you do not like it, try adding more sugar, but do not overdo it: increase it by no more than 10-15%.

Despite the fact that I have a sweet tooth (I put 5 teaspoons of sugar into a cup of tea!), the basic proportions are quite satisfactory for my taste.

The main thing in this recipe is that the final result is not inferior to the original brownies in their physical characteristics – cocoa powder brownies also have a baked top layer and a wet-soft middle.

Ingredients

• 150 (5,3 oz) g butter
• 250 g (8,8 oz) sugar
• 65 g (2,3 oz) cocoa powder
• 2 eggs
• 70 g (2,5 oz) cake wheat flour
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Cooking

Step 1. Oven up to 165 C/ 330 F and prepare the mold

The first thing to do is to heat up the oven to 165 degrees and put the grid on the bottom rack. Line a rectangular or square baking tin with parchment or foil. If you use parchment, grease the mold itself first with a thin layer of butter to avoid sticking. Leave 3-4 cm of paper to hang over the edges of the mold to make it easier to take out the brownies once they’re done.

Step 2. Put a pot with a little water on the heat. Cover. Melt and mix butter, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a water bath.

Pour water into the pot at a height of two fingers. Switch on the heat and lt the water come to the boil.

In a suitable, heat-resistant bowl, mix 150 g (5,3 oz) of butter, 250 g (8,8 oz) of sugar, 65 g (2,3 oz) of cocoa powder and a pinch of salt. It is better to cut the butter into 1-2 cm cubes beforehand. Put the bowl on top of the prepared pot and reduce the heat.

Check that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water.

Combine the ingredients into a homogeneous mass. This will take about 5 minutes of mixing.

Do not worry if the mass is dense and more like dirt, everything will fall into place when we add the eggs.

Step 3. Remove the bowl from the heat. Let it cool.

Before we proceed to the next step and add the rest of the ingredients, let the mixture cool down for 5-8 minutes. To do this, take it off the water bath and place it somewhere on the working surface. Turn off the heat under the pot – you will not need it anymore.

Step 4. Add vanilla extract and eggs

To the cooled mixture add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Next, add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Step 5. Add flour and mix. Place in the mold and place in the oven.

Add 70 g (2,5 oz) of flour and mix again well.

Mix the dough with a spatula for 2-3 minutes.

Pour the dough into the prepared tin, scraping it all in with the spatula.

Tap the tin gently to get a flat surface.

Put it in the oven heated to 165 degrees (top-down mode). Bake for 20-25 minutes.

After 20 minutes, check if your brownies are done by sticking a toothpick into the center. If it comes out dry or with a little oil on it, you can remove the tin from the oven. If not, continue cooking.

In some cases, it may be necessary to bake a little longer than the allotted time – no big deal. Just check once every couple of minutes using the above method and you’ll be fine.

Let the brownies cool down before slicing into squares.

Tip: to make cutting easier and to get beautiful, smooth edges on the squares, you can put the finished brownie batch into the freezer for 15-20 minutes before cutting.