Mike Johnson: From the bar exam to brownies and bars
July 14, 2020
Live to Eat is back with another new episode! This week I chatted with Mike Johnson, of Mike Bakes NYC.
If you’re not following Mike Bakes NYC on Instagram, you need to get on it! Mike Johnson of Mike Bakes NYC is one of the hottest food bloggers around. His impeccable photographs of tantalizing desserts, dipped, dripped, or drizzled in chocolate or glaze are simply droolworthy. As a self-taught baker, recipe developer, and food photographer, Mike started his blog to get through law school, documenting his food adventures around NYC, and now his side hustle has become his full-time career. Mike’s decadent new cookbook, Even Better Brownies, comes out this December and features 50 delectable traybakes; and here’s a little secret — if you pre-order your copy now, you’ll get an e-book sneak peak of Mike’s amazing cookbook! Mike has mastered the trick to quarantine baking: Small Batch Baking! If you’re short on supplies, trying to save ingredients, or just can’t imagine eating an entire cake on your own, Mike has you covered!
- Tune in on this episode of Live to Eat to find out:
- :: The three secrets to success in the blogging world
- :: How to use Adobe Lightroom to improve your food photos
- :: The trick to getting chocolate chips to look shiny and melty in your photos
- :: Why it’s not too late to start a blog
Thanks for listening today!
Mike Johnson’s Ultimate Fudge Brownies
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 16 bars
Ingredients:
- 4 oz (115 g) 70% cacao dark chocolate, chopped
- 2 tsp (4 g) espresso powder
- 6 tbsp (30 g) unsweetened natural or Dutch-process cocoa powder, divided
- 1 cup (230 g) unsalted butter
- ¾ cup (150 g) sugar
- ½ cup (110 g) dark brown sugar
- 2 tsp (10 ml) vanilla extract
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup (60 g) all-purpose flour
- flaky sea salt for topping, optional
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease an 8x8–inch (20x20–cm) pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray and then line the pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on all sides. Grease the parchment with butter or nonstick cooking spray and then set it aside.
In a medium, heatproof bowl, combine the chopped chocolate, espresso powder and 2 tablespoons (10 g) of cocoa powder and set aside.
Add the butter to a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until the butter just comes to a vigorous simmer, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Immediately pour the hot butter over the chocolate mixture and let sit for 2 minutes. Whisk until the chocolate is completely smooth and melted, then set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or using an electric hand mixer, whisk together the granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, vanilla, salt and eggs for precisely 10 minutes.
With the mixer on, pour in the slightly cooled chocolate mixture and mix until smooth, about 2 minutes.
Sift in the flour and the remaining 4 tablespoons (20 g) of cocoa powder and use a rubber spatula to gently fold until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 20 minutes and then remove the pan from the oven and slam it on a flat surface two to three times (this deflates the brownies slightly, giving them a more even texture and encourages that beautiful crackly top). Return the pan to the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out fudgy, but the edges look cooked through, about 10 additional minutes. The center of the brownies will seem underbaked, but the brownies will continue to cook and set as they cool.
Allow brownies to cool completely in the pan. Use the parchment paper to lift the cooled brownies out of the pan. Sprinkle the top of the brownies with flaky sea salt if desired, and cut into 16 bars. Cover and store leftover brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.
Share Mike’s Ultimate Fudge Brownies recipe with a friend today! If you make this recipe, tag me @candacenelson for a chance to be featured on my stories!