Ruby Tandoh’s Fudgy Miso Brownies
I refuse to choose between salty and sweet. I like flakes of sea salt on chocolate, salted butter in pound cake, and handfuls of popcorn both savory and tooth-shatteringly sweet. I like salted potato chips shoved into my mouth while a square of milk chocolate melts on my tongue. I’m sorry, I’m gross, I know. But I will not choose. I suppose what I should really do, as a hungry bisexual, is play down the power of my fickle appetite. I should pick one or the other, or, if I must love both, I should do so with restraint. And I have tried to in the past — I really have. When I’ve loved men, I’ve tried hard to love only men. When I’ve loved women, I’ve worked overtime to prove that I am serious about it, that I won’t betray the queer cause. I have swung wildly from one allegiance to another, each time losing sight of what (or whom) I really crave, each time losing my center of gravity far outside of myself. But now, I refuse to choose. I want sweet, salty, sticky, crisp, buttery, fresh, heavy, featherweight everything. I hold all these contradictions within me. I am hungry for all things at once. These brownies, with their combination of dark chocolate and savory white miso, are the perfect example of enjoying all things at once.
This recipe is reprinted from Tasty Pride, a cookbook compiled by Jesse Szewczyk (one of our brilliant studio food editors!) and BuzzFeed’s Tasty. The book is a collection of delicious recipes that celebrates the vibrant queer food community.
Fudgy Miso Brownies
Makes 24 brownies
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 1 cup
plus 6 tablespoons (2 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter
- 10 ounces
dark chocolate
- 3 to 5 ounces
(1/3 to 1/2 cup) white miso paste, or to taste
- 2 teaspoons
vanilla extract
- 2 cups
sugar
- 4
large eggs
- 1 cup
all-purpose flour
- 1 cup
unsweetened cocoa powder
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Set a rack in the center of the oven. Line a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
Bring a small pot of water to a gentle simmer. Set a large heatproof bowl over the pot, making sure the bottom is not touching the water, and add the butter and chocolate. Melt, stirring occasionally, until smooth and glossy, about 5 minutes. (You can also do this in the microwave: heat the mixture in 20-second intervals, stirring between.)
Remove the bowl from the pot and stir in the miso paste, starting small and adding more to taste. (Remember that the saltiness will be muted by the addition of the sugar, eggs, and flour.) Stir in the vanilla.
In a separate large bowl, beat the sugar and eggs together with a balloon whisk (or an electric hand mixer) for about 5 minutes, until the mixture is densely foamy, thick, and almost doubled in volume.
Spoon a third of the beaten egg and sugar mixture into the chocolate mixture, stirring briskly. Slowly add the remaining egg mixture, folding it in with a rubber spatula to keep in as much air as possible. Once the batter is almost combined (there should still be a few streaks), sift in the flour and cocoa powder and gently fold until smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25 to 27 minutes, or until the brownies are barely set. They should still be soft and fudgy in the center, but no longer raw or gooey. Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the pan. They will sink a little, becoming pleasingly chewy and smooth. Once cooled, slice into 24 pieces.
Recipe Notes
Reprinted with permission from Tasty Pride: 75 Recipes and Stories from the Queer Food Communityby Jesse Szewczyk and BuzzFeed's Tasty, copyright© 2020. Published by Clarkson Potter Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House.