Triple Chocolate Miso Brown Butter Brownies

Umami, fudgy, and as chocolatey as you can get.

This is my third brown butter miso recipe -- I think at this point, it qualifies as a series? In that case, welcome to the third installment of my brown butter miso recipe series! 

This week, we’re taking on brownies. Brownies are a deeply personal food. Whether a person prefers a fudgy or cakey brownie is like the baking equivalent of a zodiac sign. This recipe is for the fudge lovers -- in fact, this brownie is like a mini molten lava cake. It practically dissolves in your mouth completely, in the best way. 

This brownie also features that coveted paper-thin, shiny top due to a lengthy process of mixing the eggs and sugar. Doing so dissolves the sugar granules, resulting in that glossy, crackly surface. 

And of course, our main flavor characters are brown butter and miso. The brown butter imbues the brownie with nutty, caramel notes; while the miso imparts an extremely complex umami flavor that you simply cannot get with just salt. These are not your mother’s brownies -- they are sweet, salty, and about as dense and fudgy as a brownie can possibly get.

Then, we have our chocolates. Yes, chocolates plural: this is a triple chocolate recipe. We’ll use Dutch process cocoa powder, melted dark chocolate, and semisweet chocolate chips to make these brownies richer than you can even imagine. 

Read on for the fudgy, umami dessert of dreams!

FAQ: 

Why miso? 

Miso is a Japanese fermented soybean paste (meaning if you have an allergy to soy, this recipe is not for you!). It has an extremely unique umami flavor that is neither just salty or sweet. Adding it to your brownies (instead of salt) yields an extremely complex flavor you can’t get anywhere else. If you’re wary of using a savory ingredient like miso in your baking, cut the amount down to two tablespoons. 

Why brown butter?

Browning the butter evaporates its water content and toasts the milk solids, offering your cookie a far more complex depth of flavor by imparting a sweet, nutty aroma and taste via caramelization.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup (168g) unsalted butter

• 1/2 cup (50g) Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted 

• 7 ounces (two 3.5 ounce chocolate bars) dark chocolate, chopped

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 

• 1/2 cup (100g) brown sugar 

• 1 1/4 cup (250g) granulated sugar 

• 3 large eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 3 tablespoons (45g) white miso paste 

• 3/4 cup (94g) all purpose flour 

• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F. 

Begin by browning your butter by first slicing it into tablespoon sized pieces (you don’t need to soften it or even bring it to room temperature — straight from the fridge is fine), and then melting it over medium heat in a saucepan. Whisk the butter continuously, about 5-8 minutes, until you see brown specks at the bottom of the pan and the butter develops a nutty aroma and a deep caramel hue. As soon as it reaches a deep golden brown color, immediately transfer to a heat safe bowl. Add the sifted cocoa powder to the hot brown butter, and whisk. This step is called “blooming” the cocoa powder -- adding hot liquid to draw out the cocoa powder’s deep chocolate flavor. Set aside and allow to cool slightly. 

In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the chopped chocolate and oil in 30 second increments until just melted. Whisk together with the cocoa/butter mixture and set aside. 

In a separate bowl, combine your eggs and sugar. Using an electric hand mixer (or a stand mixer with the whisk attachment) whisk for 6  — yes, SIX — minutes. Mixing for such a long period will allow the sugar to completely dissolve, resulting in that ultra thin crackly top. When done mixing, whisk in the chocolate mixture, vanilla, and miso until combined. 

Tip in your flour and fold with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until just combined. 

Fold in the chocolate chips until combined. 

Prepare a 9 x 9 baking dish by greasing it with baking spray or butter and lining it with parchment so the parchment sticks.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is shiny and the center of the brownies is just barely set (a tiny bit of jiggle is ok), or an instant read thermometer reads at 165F. 

Cool completely before slicing.