Turkish Coffee Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  
• 10 cardamom pods, shells discarded & seeds ground



• 3/4 cup or 100g unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup or 20g finely ground espresso powder
• 3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 2/3 cup or 150g unsalted butter
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups or 285g firmly packed dark brown sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F with a rack in the middle. Butter an 8x8-inch baking dish, or equivalent.


2. In a tiny cup combine the extract and ground cardamom. You should have about 1 teaspoon of freshly ground cardamom. Set aside.


3. Combine the flour, espresso, salt, in a small bowl and set aside.


4. Construct a double-boiler by arranging a stainless steel mixing bowl over a small pot of simmering water. Place the butter in the mixing bowl and allow to melt. Turn off the heat, and stir in the chocolate, mixing until fully smooth and melted. Water is the enemy of melted chocolate so, avoid getting water or a steam in your chocolate bowl. Set aside.


5. In a large mixing bowl use a whisk to combine the eggs, sugar, and cardamom extract mixture. Really go at it with the whisk for a few minutes, until the sugar dissolves and the volume increases and lightens. The chocolate mixture should be roughly room temperature by now, use a spatula to fold it into the egg mixture. Keep folding until uniform. Sprinkle the flour mixture across the top, and gently fold into that batter as well, avoid overmixing.


6. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake until the edges look dark and done, and the top looks glossy with some cracking, about 25 minutes. The center should offer some structured resistance, no jiggling. Cool completely on a wire rack, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. These are good straight out of the oven, cooled a bit, but transcendent if you can hold off until the next day.