I have a number of projects that I have photographed, but not found the time to post. This recipe falls into that category. I made these brownies last Summer, if you can believe that, but it wasn’t until now that I was able to write them up. Sorry to make you wait so long because they are fantastically delicious…especially if you love malted desserts like I do.
I am a lover of all things malt and all things chocolate, so it should come as no surprise that these brownies are high on my list of deliciousness. When I found myself with an occasion to make a new non-pie-related dessert, these outrageously delicious Malted Chocolate Brownies came into existence. They are more sweet than bitter and more soft and fudgy than cakey…pretty much exactly the way I like them.
When I made these, I had been playing around with the recipe for this malted chocolate frosting for quite a while, tweeking here and there. Once I had it the way I wanted it, my plan was to pair it with a slightly modified recipe from Ina Garten. Fast forward to me finding Whoppers on sale. Done and done.
So on to the brownies. I’ll be the first to admit that I may have overdone the ratio of brownie to frosting a little bit…maybe. Or maybe not, because this frosting is the bomb!
BROWNIE
Adapted from Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies
- 1/2 pound unsalted butter
- 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped or chips
- 10 ounces of malted milk balls (like Whoppers), divided
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
- 1/4 cup malted milk powder
- 1 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
FROSTING
Adapted from a recipe by Bakergirl
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup malted milk powder
- 3-4 cups confectioners’ sugar
MAKE THE BROWNIES
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line a 9X12 pan with aluminum foil. Butter the foil
Melt together the butter and semisweet chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool to just above room temperature. This chocolate is about to go into eggs and you need to make sure it isn’t hot or the eggs will scramble. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, coffee granules, 1/4 cup malted milk powder, vanilla, sugar and salt. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.
Add 1/2 cup flour and the baking powder to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss 1/2 of the whoppers (I chopped mine in half) with the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter.
BTW, this is my version of food porn. Looking back at this photo now, I feel the physical urge to put my finger in this bowl for a taste. Anywho, pour what you don’t eat out of the bowl into the greased baking pan.
See all of the yummy Whoppers swimming in the batter. Yummm.
Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 15 minutes more, until a toothpick comes out relatively clean. Some wet crumbs are OK, what you don’t want is a toothpick covered in wet batter. Do not overbake! For that is a sin.
Allow to cool thoroughly and refrigerate.
MAKE THE FROSTING
Oh yeah baby! This is the stuff! Mix together 1/2 cup whole milk and 1/2 cup malted milk powder until dissolved. Cream 1 cup (aka 1/2 pound) room temperature unsalted butter in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment. Add the melted and cooled bittersweet chocolate and mix to combine. Then add 3 cups of the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt and mix. Then add the malted milk mixture and continue to beat until it is creamy. Add additional powdered sugar if needed to get the consistency you want.
Then frost the brownies silly and garnish with Whoppers as desired.