These brownies are dense, chocolatey and extra-fudgy. It took me a number of attempts to perfect this brownie base, but it was completely worth the effort. Trust me. The brandy-spiked ganache and spinkle of sea salt make them over-the-top delicious.
Brownies with Salted Brandy Ganache
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 16 brownies 1x
Description
These brownies are dense, chocolatey and extra-fudgy. The brandy-spiked ganache and spinkle of sea salt make them over-the-top delicious.
Ingredients
Scale
Brownies:
- 1 stick cold, unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 5 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup flour
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder (preferably Dutch processed)
- 2 tsp instant espresso powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup sugar
Ganache:
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 4 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 tsp brandy
- Pinch of salt
- Fleur de sel (flaky sea salt), for sprinkling
Instructions
- Heat oven & prep pan: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan, line with parchment paper (making sure it goes all the way up the sides of the pan) and grease again.
- Melt chocolate: Set up a double boiler. Fill a small pot with 1 inch of water and bring to a simmer. Place a bowl on top of the pot which fits without touching the water. Add chocolate and butter to bowl, stirring frequently, until melted. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and let cool slightly.
- Mix dry ingredients: Combine flour, cocoa, espresso powder and salt in a small bowl.
- Mix wet & dry: Using an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar together over high speed until pale and creamy, about 1 ½-2 minutes. Stir in chocolate mixture. Fold in dry ingredients until just combined.
- Bake: Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake 20-25 minutes or until tester inserted into the center comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs attached. Allow to cool over a wire rack for at least an hour, or until room temperature.
- Make ganache: Place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream to a simmer over medium heat. Pour cream over chocolate and allow to sit for a few minutes. Whisk to combine and stir in brandy and pinch of salt. Pour ganache over the brownies in pan and spread evenly with a rubber spatula. the When ganache is almost set but still slightly soft, sprinkle with sea salt. This way, the salt will stick to the surface without melting into the ganache.
- Set & serve: Refrigerate brownie pan until cool and ganache is completely set. Remove from pan by lifting up, remove parchment paper and cut into 16 squares. Enjoy.
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 brownie
- Calories: 218
- Sugar: 17g
- Sodium: 71mg
- Fat: 13g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Carbohydrates: 23g
- Protein: 2g
Keywords: brownies, ganache, salted
I’m a sucker for boozy desserts, especially when chocolate is involved. These look fantastic!
Thank you!
Hi Sabrina! I enjoyed checking out your blog. I bet the brandy adds such a nice touch to these! so fun!
Thank you, Emily!
YUM! I love salted desserts, these look incredible Sabrina!
Thanks, Manali!
These brownies are a chocolate lover’s dream! Love how fudgy and delicious they are and the brandy ganache totally takes these over the top!
Thanks so much! I really appreciate that 🙂
Oh wow.. Looks like I know what I’ll be making next weekend! Thank you Sabrina
I’m so glad to hear that :). Let me know how they turn out!
You had me at Salted Brandy – oh my!
Thanks 🙂
Send me some!! These brownies look absolutely scrumptious…reminds me of the fudge on the beach boardwalk..YUM 🙂
Thanks so much, Linda!