Guinness brownies

One of the great things of having a blog for so long is that after all these years you and I have bonded in such a nice way that I no longer feel ashamed to tell you things like my caipirinha fiasco (no judgmental comments so far). :D I like me some booze occasionally, either for drinking or for baking.

Just like the cake I posted the other day these brownies are a great way of enjoying a beer without having to deal with a headache the morning after: they are chocolatey, very fudgy – to the point of being creamy – and delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

Guinness brownies
slightly adapted from the delicious and foolproof Tate's Bake Shop: Baking For Friends

5 tablespoons (70g) unsalted butter, chopped
250g milk chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (80g) all purpose flour
½ cup (45g) unsweetened cocoa powder – I used Dutch-processed
pinch of salt
3 large eggs
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (112g) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons (40g) brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
225ml Guinness or other stout beer
¾ cup (125g) semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line 20cm (8in) square baking pan with foil, pressing foil firmly against pan sides and leaving 5cm (2in) overhang. Butter the foil.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and let stand for 1 minute. Stir until chocolate is melted and smooth, cool slightly.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa and salt. In the large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs, granulated sugar and brown sugar on high speed until well combined. Beat in the vanilla. On low speed, mix in the chocolate mixture and scrape the sides of the bowl. Still on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients, then the stout. Finish mixing with a spatula, then transfer to prepared pan. Smooth the top and sprinkle with the chocolate chips.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies comes out with moist crumbs, about 50 minutes. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Lift up the brownies using the foil and cut into squares.

Makes 16