Cakey Brownies (Final Revision)

Author's Note: Due to a hard drive crash, this entry has been delayed, and as such, is no longer as "recent" as the text may indicate. Thankfully, the data has risen from its ashes completely intact, and thus the masterful creation is preserved. You may all rejoice.

After realizing it'd been a while since I had revisited my cakey brownies, I determined recently that it was time to finish the job. This version represents the completion of my master plan in that it incorporates the final ingredient (as borrowed from Paula Deen's brownie recipe--hers uses a box mix though) and turned out so fantastic that the next time I make them, I'll have to make at least a double batch in order to ensure that my coworkers don't inhale them all before lunch.

Ingredients:
1/2tsp baking powder
3/4c natural cocoa powder
2/3c butter, melted
1/2c cold milk
2c white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3c all-purpose flour
1tsp vanilla extract
1/4tsp salt
2 large milk chocolate candy bars

Note that this is basically the same recipe that I used in my last draft, with the small addition of candy bars on the end. Due to feedback from a couple friends (thanks Shari, Sharon!), I determined that the last recipe was close enough to what I wanted that the textural differences could probably be alleviated by simply mixing less. My last recipe mixed for several minutes after all ingredients were incorporated for no evident reason (this idea was taken from Good Eats; I don't feel it adds much to this recipe though), so I eliminated that and stopped the mixer whenever I could between ingredients.

Procedure:
Preheat oven to 350F and mix the eggs on low speed for a minute or two--just until the yolks and whites mingle. Slowly add the milk and vanilla and continue mixing until incorporated. Gradually add the dry ingredients, slowly enough that the batter never becomes a huge clump of powder clustered over a messy ball (hard to explain, but easy enough to see during the process). Note that a few clumps of dry ingredients are allowed in the batter; better that then over-aerating the batter by overmixing. Once the dry ingredients are mixed in, gradually add the melted butter in a slow trickle and mix until it is completely incorporated.

Pour about half the batter into a 9x9 pan (just enough to coat the bottom when spread with a spatula) and place the candy bars side-by-side on top of the batter. They should effectively cover most of the surface at this point:

Cover the candy with the remaining batter and smooth out until the bars are completely covered and the top of the batter is smooth.


Bake for about 40-45 minutes. Note that due to the candy bars, the standard toothpick test won't work here, so you'll have to eyeball or tap the top of the brownies to determine their doneness; mine came out slightly crisper on top than I might've liked, but not significantly enough that I cared much. If yours come out too crunchy, consider increasing the temperature and decreasing the time to 375F and 35-40 minutes, respectively (for the next batch, of course!).

Note that the final product comes out with a moist and almost-gooey brownie texture (especially in the middle brownies) with a molten chocolate-filled center. Be warned that you MUST let these things cool for longer than normal brownies (I'd recommend at least 30-40 minutes) before consumption, as that molten chocolate center, while delicious, is roughly the same temperature as the surface of the sun, and getting any on your tongue will result in your being unable to taste anything (including your brownies) for the next week or two.