Roses are red
Violets are blue
And chocolate is brown.
Poetry: I am bad at it.
Buuuuut Valentine’s Day is coming up! Or as I like to call it, Discount Candy Eve. And because Chris Evans still hasn’t shown up at my door bearing many treats in his big, strong arms (very rude, Chris, why do you hurt me), I guess I’ll be doting upon the next best Valentine’s Day date: myself. And if there’s one thing I know I like, it is chocolate.
Awww shucks, I shouldn’t have.
I got Einat Admony’s cookbook — Balaboosta — on a whim last year when I saw it on display at The London Plane, a trendy little shop and bakery in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood. The cover’s promise of “bold Mediterranean recipes to feed the people you love” had me sold. Mediterranean recipes? I like those! People I love? I like to feed them!
I have a bunch of things marked in there to try, but with Romancepalooza around the corner, it seems appropriate to first make Einat’s Turkish coffee brownies. I mean, we all know that chocolate and coffee go wonderfully together, so how could these go wrong?
Don’t worry, they can’t.
Now, these aren’t intense diner-style, fudge-cake-hybrid, sticky-sweet brownies. I like those too, but these ain’t them. These are delicate brownies. These are grown-up brownies. These are fluffy and light, though still incredibly aromatic thanks to espresso and ground cardamom. Look, just give it a go, okay? Granted, I did make some adjustments to make them more chocolatey. I can’t help it.
Also, you can cut it into a heart! Awwww.
Turkish Coffee Brownies
Adapted from Einat Admony’s Balaboosta
Yields: 9 pieces. Einat says it makes 16, but that’s if you cut very sad, small pieces.
Total Time: 40 minutes
8 tbs (1 stick) unsalted butter
3.5 oz 80% cacao chocolate
3 large eggs
1 1/4 tsp instant espresso powder
3/4 cup (175 g) sugar
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2/3 cups (100 g) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (25 g) cocoa powder
8″ square baking pan
Preheat the oven to 325F. Either grease the baking pan or line it with parchment (the latter is my preferred choice).
Melt the butter and chocolate together and stir until smooth. I do this by melting the butter in a microwave-safe bowl, then adding in pieces of the chocolate and giving it a good stir. Microwave for a further 20 seconds and stir again until the chocolate completely melts into the butter. Whisk in the 1 1/4 tsp espresso powder. Set aside and let cool.
Whisk the eggs and sugar together until it’s yellow and frothy. Whisk in the ground cardamom, vanilla extract, and salt until it’s well combined.
Slowly whisk the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until it’s completely combined. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and stir until it completely disappears into the batter, but be careful to not overmix.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, smooth out the top, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Use a cake tester in the center of the pan to see if it’s ready — if it comes out clean, you’re done! Cool the brownies in the pan on a wire rack. Serve dusted with cocoa powder or powdered sugar.
