Brownie Cake

The town I grew up in was small. Half-way through high school, we moved from the downright rural outskirts to the hoppin' town center whose main attractions were an old one-room movie theater and a Starbucks. Like the cool teenagers we were, we frequently met at Starbucks to not drink coffee because we didn't like it yet but to have very sugary non-coffee drinks and eat the pastries. One such pastry was a mint-chocolate brownie that I described at the time as tasting like it had all the love in the world baked into it.

Fast forward 10 years (oh goodness) and I'll take my Starbucks as plain as you please except sometimes with caramel because my young heart likes to honor my 16 year-old self's obsession with the stuff. Starbucks doesn't have that mint brownie anymore but I was reminded of it as I made this brownie cake in a heart-shaped pan. My pan selection has greatly diminished since moving abroad but it means I make due with what's available. Realistically, the brownies were going to be cut up anyways so a heart-shaped pan worked just fine.

This recipe is from Joy the Baker's second cookbook, Homemade Decadence. I happened to have all the ingredients except for chocolate chips so I skipped those. Otherwise, I relished the fact that my kitchen is officially stocked with all the requirements for baked goods on a whim. It even looks like butter has been conquered!!

As always, the sugar and butter are creamed together in one bowl. The eggs are then added to this mixture. The recipe calls for two large eggs but I had mixed size British eggs. One of them had two yolks so I decided it was alright to just use two and also good luck?

In a separate bowl, the dry ingredients are mixed together. I still don't own a whisk so I used a fork to incorporate all that cocoa powder. Slowly, the dry ingredients are added to the wet and stirred well. The batter should be nice and glossy, no flour streaks!

The batter is then spooned into the greased pan, whether it's a heart or a square, and baked until chocolatey and delicious. Although I didn't add chocolate chips, the brownies were still nice and fudgy. So think of good things, good vibes while making these brownies so they'll taste extra good.

Recipe

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch round pie dish or a square or a heart. Set aside.
2. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.
3. In medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, melted butter, eggs and vanilla.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, folding until combined. You can also add chocolate chips or nuts at this point, folding in to combine.
5. Pour the batter into the baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes until cooked through.
6. Allow to cool before removing from pan (or serve from pan). Serve with ice cream or whipped cream for extra love!