Guinness brownies

There has been a complaint about my baking. Or rather: not baking.

You see, my husband had the nerve to bring a shop bought cake to work on his birthday. Moreover, two of his closest colleagues were not at work that day. And so they rebelled, shouting that someone whose wife writes a foodblog should be ashamed to even have considered not bringing something homemade. And so, to restore peace, I baked.

Those guys, my husband’s colleagues, they are guys. They talk about football. A lot. They like beer. A lot. But because (in the Netherlands at least) you can’t treat your colleagues to a glass of beer during office hours, I wrapped the beer in some chocolate.

I found this great recipe on the Bon Appétit website. There’s stout in the batter and then some more in the glaze. I reduced the sugar by a third and the butter too. Nobody noticed: they are still very rich. If anything, it makes them more “grown up” (and more suitable for guys). The beer in the batter is not really recognizable as beer, but adds a depth and richness.

Chocolate-stout brownies
Adapted from Bon Appétit
Makes 16

Batter:

• 1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
• 330 g (12 ounces) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 150 g (1 1/3 sticks) unsalted butter
• 175 g (1 cup) sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 100 g (3/4 cup) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoons salt

Glaze:
100 g (3,5 ounces) chocolate
25 g (2 tbsp) butter
¼ tsp salt

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 23 square (9x9x2″) metal baking pan with foil, leaving a 5 cm (2″) overhang. Bring stout to a boil in a medium sauce pan; cook until reduced to about 125 ml (1/2 cup), about 12 minutes. Let cool. Reserve 60 ml (¼ cup) stout.
• Stir chocolate and butter in a medium metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until melted and smooth.
• Whisk sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in chocolate mixture, then 125 ml (1/4 cup) stout from pan. Fold in flour and salt. Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Bake brownies until surface begins to crack and a tester inserted into center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 35–40 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool for at least 20 minutes. Make the glaze by stirring remaining chocolate in a medium metal bowl set over a sauce-pan of simmering water until melted and smooth. Add reserved reduced stout, remaining butter, and 1/4 tsp. salt; whisk until well blended.
• Pour warm glaze over brownies. Let stand at room temperature until glaze is set, about 40 minutes.
• Using foil overhang, lift brownie from pan; cut into squares. To slice brownies perfectly, use a long serrated knife, dipping the blade in very hot water and wiping it on a paper towel between each slice. Cut with long, slicing strokes.