Polka-Dot Brownies

These brownies get their incredibly fudgy texture from a technique you’d normally see in a genoise or sponge cake: beating eggs and sugar at high speed for a full seven minutes until they triple in volume and turn pale yellow. That aerated egg mixture gives the brownies lift and structure without loading them up with extra fat.

Melted semi-sweet chocolate and reduced-calorie margarine fold into that cloud of whipped eggs, and then just enough flour to hold it all together. The restraint here is the point. Less flour means a denser, more truffle-like center.

Pull them from the oven when a knife comes out almost clean, not fully clean. That slight underbake is what separates a fudgy brownie from a cakey one. They’ll continue setting as they cool on the rack.

A dusting of powdered sugar or cocoa on top is where the “polka-dot” name comes in, giving them a pretty, bakery-style finish.

Kitchen Tips

• Use room temperature eggs. Cold eggs don’t whip to the same volume, and you’ll lose that airy structure that makes these brownies special.
• Melt the chocolate and margarine over barely simmering water, not boiling. Too much heat can scorch chocolate and make it grainy.
• Cool the melted chocolate to room temperature before folding it in. Hot chocolate will deflate the whipped eggs and kill all that volume you just built.
• Fold the flour in by hand with a spatula. An electric mixer at this stage develops gluten and toughens the brownies.

Variations

• Fold in white chocolate chips before pouring into the pan for visible “polka dots” throughout.
• Swap semi-sweet chocolate for bittersweet for a darker, more intense brownie.
• Add a teaspoon of espresso powder to the melted chocolate for a mocha-fudge version.