Monday 28 May 2012

Secret Recipe Club: Dark Chocolate Espresso Chocolate Chip Brownies


I was assigned Food Babbles as my Secret Recipe Club blog this month. One of the great things about Secret Recipe Club is discovering new blogs in detail. The idea is simple - each month you are assigned a blog and you have to make something from that blog. Everyone posts on the same day at the same time. 

If you've never visited Food Babbles, I highly recommend a visit and be prepared to spend hours on her blog. It has lots of interesting recipes with beautiful photography. I'll let her tell you about herself in her own words:  "So… I’m just a girl with a passion for good food. I am a mostly stay-at-home-mom, part-time paramedic, baker, and amateur fotog. This blog combines three things I truly love… food, photography and writing. I love to cook and create. I especially love baking! I want to share my love of these things with you. It makes me a better cook and has given me a whole new perspective."

I had a hard time choosing which recipe to make as usual as there were so many to choose from. In the end I chose these amazing looking brownies especially when she mentioned that these brownies have been featured in O magazine and were awarded the honor of best brownie by America’s Test Kitchen and the Today show. Enough said.

These are one of the best brownies I've ever tried and trust me I've eaten a LOT of brownies in my lifetime!! They were really moist and fudgy and I really liked the kick of the espresso. It's any choc-a-holics dream. I've already made 2 batches of these and have been asked to make more. I'll be baking a few more batches for a charity bake sale next week. 



 sprinkling the flour mixture and chocolate chip over the cooked chocolate mixture 

 freshly baked 

 delicious!! 


Recipe adapted slightly from Food Babbles (I reduced the sugar amounts and they turned out great - please click on the link for the original recipe)

310g dark chocolate
225g butter
2 teaspoon espresso powder
150 plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon cocoa powder
80g brown sugar
200g caster sugar
5 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
100g chocolate chips


  • Preheat the oven to 180C. 
  • In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt and cocoa powder together.
  • Put the chopped chocolate, butter and instant espresso powder in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth.
  • Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add the sugar. 
  • Whisk until completely combined, then remove the bowl from the pan. 
  • The mixture should be room temperature.
  • Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. 
  • Add the remaining eggs and whisk until combined. 
  • Add the vanilla and stir until combined. 
  • Do not overbeat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.
  • Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture and sprinkle with chocolate chips. 
  • Using a rubber spatula (do not whisk), fold the flour mixture gently into the chocolate until just a bit of the flour mixture is visible. 
  • Do not over mix.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. 
  • Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Let the brownies cool completely, then cut into squares.

41 comments:

  1. Mmmm... Brownies. This is a combination of two of my favorite things - chocolate and coffee.
    Delicious!!

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    1. I love chocolate and coffee too and these were perfect :)

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    1. Indeed and so good that you can't stop at one :)

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  3. Boy, does THAT look good! I was lucky enough to get assigned Food Babbles in a prior month, and it was fun! (visiting from Group D)

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    1. Food Babbles is great! Thanks for dropping by.. hopping over to see what you've made :)

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  4. Wow, one of the best brownies - that's a compliment and a half! but I can totally see how fudgy and amazing they look. I will definitely be bookmarking these to try out!

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    1. I know and I wouldn't give it away lightly - I honestly think these brownies are in my top 5! If you try them, let me know what you think :)

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  5. I'm so glad you liked these brownies! I am such a brownie lover :) I could eat the whole batch myself. Great post!

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    1. I absolutely LOVED these brownies - they were so good I made them again and again!! Thanks for a great recipe :)

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  6. These brownies look amazing!! I can't wait to give them a try! :)

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    1. You really must try them - I promise you won't regret it :)

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  7. Love how the espresso really brings out the chocolate flavor!

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    1. It was chocolatey with a strong kick of coffee!

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  8. oh wow, these sound soooo good - love the addition of espresso + chocolate chips - i bet these taste just amazing!

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    1. They were absolutely amazing!! The espresso gave a really nice coffee kick and the chocolate chips added to the chocolatey-ness :)

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  9. These look like such fudgey treat. I love the combination of chocolate and coffee. I made your chocolate mousse with some coffee for this month's SRC and it was wonderful. I really enjoyed looking through all the sweet treats on your blog.

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    1. Chocolate and coffee is amazing - I'm so pleased you liked the chocolate mousse and I'll have to follow in your footsteps and add coffee next time!

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  10. FABULOUS looking brownies Ros and I was partnered with Food Babbles once! Those brownies look so MOIST and gooey.....just lush!

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    1. Thanks they were amazing brownies - I'm making them again tomorrow! Food Babbles is a great blog - tbh all the blogs on SRC are amazing!

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  11. thiese chocolate expresso brownies are amazing!

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  12. These do look delicious, Ros. I'm always amazed at the sheer number of different kinds of brownies out there - and the different methods for making them. I love a good moist and fudgey brownie, so these would be right up my way :)

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    1. These are definitely in my top 5 favourite brownies. If you like moist and fudgey then you MUST try this - I promise you won't regret it :)

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  13. I just love it when a brownie recipe calls for espresso powder...it makes the brownies taste SO good! LOVELY recipe pick for SRC this month! :-)

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  14. Espresso powder makes every chocolate dish taste better!!

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  15. I LVE Brownies especially with Expresso!!!

    Thanks for sharing, Ros...

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  16. These brownies look so deliciously decadent! I love how you made them slightly healthier by using less sugar! (Anything to justify something so delicious!) ;)

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    1. They were very decadent indeed and sweet enough with the reduced sugar amount.

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  17. Mmm, those look seriously rich. I'm not a fan of brownies in France... they seem really too heavy... almost like a fudge, but these seem to have a much more "cakey" consistency. Right up my street :)

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    1. These are very rich and fudgey indeed. You have so many other tasty delights to enjoy in France :)

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  18. These look SO good! I haven't made brownies in SUCH a long time, I should really try it out again!

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    1. You should definitely try this recipe then - seriously amazing!

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  19. Ros they look seriously good, but as you know I'm a sucker for brownies. Might even be a good way of getting me to like coffee in cake. These would have been a good entry for June's WSC. Like the idea of this Secret Recipe club.

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    1. Thanks - they are seriously good brownies!! I have something in mind for WSC already :)

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  20. SIGHHH you're brownies look SO damn good :) Compared to mine...sighhh i have never managed to make nice brownies i think i've never made a nice brownies sighhh i need to follow your recipe and try again :)

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    1. Thanks Daisy! Do give these a try especially if you like fudgey brownies - remember not to over mix the batter.

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  21. What a fantastic idea to discover new blogs and new friends! I love the espresso taste in this brownie, yum!

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    1. Yes the secret recipe club is really good fun! I really like the espresso kick in this brownie too :)

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