Chocolate Guinness Brownies

Ingredients

For 9 servings

• •Cooking spray
• •12 ounces (355 ml) Guinness Extra Stout Beer (see notes)
• •4 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour (1 cup; 128 g)
• •1 ounce Dutch-process cocoa powder (1/4 cup; 28 g); see notes
• •1 /2 teaspoon baking powder
• •1 /2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume
• •8 ounces (228 g) bittersweet (70%) chocolate, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
• •4 ounces unsalted butter (8 tablespoons; 113 g), cut into 8 pieces
• •10.5 ounces packed light brown sugar (1 1/2 cups; 298 g)
• •3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• •1 c. à café (5 ml) vanilla extract
• •Coffee ice cream for serving (optional)

Method

1. 1.Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Grease an 8- x 8-inch baking dish with cooking spray and line it with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides.
2. 2.In a small saucepan, bring stout to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 1/4 cup, 25 to 30 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
3. 3.In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt, and set aside.
4. 4.In a large heat-proof bowl, microwave chocolate and butter on medium power, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth, about 90 seconds total.
5. 5.Using a spatula, transfer melted chocolate and butter to a large bowl and whisk in reduced beer and brown sugar until smooth. Let it sit to cool slightly, about 1 minute, then slowly whisk beaten eggs into chocolate mixture until smooth. Using a flexible spatula, fold in flour mixture until just combined.
6. 6.Transfer batter to prepared dish and bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached 30 to 40 minutes. (Be careful not to overbake; brownie will continue to bake as it cools.) Let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Using the parchment overhang, lift the brownies and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely for about 1 hour. Slice and serve with coffee ice cream, if desired.