Espresso Brownies with Peanut Butter Marshmallow Frosting
Yield: 16 to 20 brownies
These brownies are dense and fudgy, with a deep chocolate flavor enhanced by espresso powder.
Ingredients
- for the espresso brownies:
- ½ c. 1 stick unsalted butter, diced
- 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate chopped
- 1.5 c. sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp. instant espresso powder
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt
- ¾ c. all-purpose flour
- for the peanut butter marshmallow frosting:
- ½ c. marshmallow cream homemade or store bought
- ¾ c. creamy peanut butter
- 6 T. unsalted butter at room temperature
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 2 c. powdered sugar
- 2 T. heavy cream
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- ½ tsp. espresso powder
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- ½ tsp. cocoa powder I used a rich Dutch process cocoa from Penzeys.
Instructions
for the espresso brownies:
- Preheat oven to 325° F.
- To achieve ultra clean cuts, prepare a pan with a foil or parchment paper liner. Fold a 16'' long piece of foil to an 9'' x 16'' strip and place in 9'' x 9'' metal baking pan, leaving overhang on 2 sides. Repeat with another sheet of foil in opposite direction, lining pan completely. Spray foil with nonstick spray. If you're not looking for perfect brownie cuts, simply spray pan with nonstick spray and eliminate the foil lining.
- Stir butter and chocolate in large heavy saucepan over very low heat until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and whisk in sugar, then eggs, one at a time. Whisk in espresso powder, vanilla, and salt and then sift flour over. Stir to blend well. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
- Bake brownies until puffed and dry-looking and tester inserted into center comes out with some moist batter attached, about 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack.
for the peanut butter marshmallow frosting:
- In a medium bowl, with a mixer at low speed, combine marshmallow cream, peanut butter, butter, and salt until well blended. On low speed, beat in powdered sugar, alternately with cream, until smooth and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Spread frosting evenly over cooled brownies.
- If you lined the pan with foil, using foil as an aid, lift brownies from pan.
- Then, in a very small bowl, combine espresso powder, cinnamon, and cocoa powder. Gently pour mixture into a very fine mesh strainer. Hold the strainer over the frosted brownies and gently tap the strainer on the side to release the mixture in little splatterings over the top of the frosting.
- Cut into squares and serve. If the brownie is sticking to your knife as you cut, it helps to set the brownies in the refrigerator or freezer for a bit to chill first.
Notes
from a farmgirl’s dabbles
Nutrition Information:
Serving: 1 Calories: 274kcal Carbohydrates: 37g Protein: 5g Fat: 13g Saturated Fat: 5g Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g Cholesterol: 40mg Sodium: 129mg Fiber: 2g Sugar: 29g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Spoonacular. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.