Red Wine Brownies Recipe | DessArts (2024)

FAQs

Which wine goes best with brownies? ›

One of our go-to chocolate-heavy desserts is brownies! When pairing brownies with wine, I recommend sticking to dry red wines like Merlot or even a Cabernet Sauvignon. Dry red wines will accentuate the chocolatey flavors and withstand their sweetness.

So, if the brownies call for 3 tablespoons of water, use 3 tablespoons of wine instead. It's important to note that not all the alcohol in red wine will burn off during cooking. The length of time you cook your brownies, as well as the size of the pan, play a role in how much alcohol evaporates.

To make for Cabernet Sauvignon shine in a dessert pairing, go for any dessert with very dark chocolate. The bitterness of dark chocolate harmonizes with Cabernet Sauvignon's intensity. Flourless dark chocolate cake, fancy dark chocolate truffles, or even a simple dark chocolate mousse are all fantastic dessert options.

Add a teaspoon of instant coffee or espresso powder. Throw in a handful of nuts—pecans, walnuts, macadamia, whatever you have on hand. Scoop in a palmful of dried or frozen fruit. Add an extra splash of the top-shelf vanilla extract, or a dab of vanilla paste, or a dash of vanilla powder, to the batter.

The beauty of pairing and tasting chocolate is in the discoveries you'll make along the way. Dark chocolate pairs well with full-bodied red wines: such as a Cabernet Sauvignon, which highlight the fruity and peppery notes in the chocolate, or a Zinfandel, which brings out the chocolate's spicy subtleties.

Unless a dish especially calls for a fortified or dessert wine, the best wines for cooking are dry red or dry white wines. For example, if you're using red, reach for Merlot instead of Port. Or, choose Sauvignon Blanc over Sauternes when you're cooking with white wine.

One change is to use milk or heavy cream instead of water. This change will make brownies more moist and gooey since milk is more fatty and flavorful than water. A second change is to use butter instead of oil. For similar reasons to using milk, butter adds a rich and more decadent quality to the batter.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), baked or simmered dishes that contain alcohol will retain 40% of the original amount after 15 minutes of cooking, 35% after 30 minutes and 25% after an hour. But there's no point at which all of the alcohol disappears.

Vanilla extract – Pure vanilla extract adds rich flavor to brownies. Eggs – Most brownie mixes call for one whole egg. Adding one large egg plus an extra egg yolk gives brownies an ultra fudgy texture. Chocolate Chips – Even if your brownie mix contains chocolate, plan to add chocolate chips.

Dessert wines are typically sweeter and have a higher sugar content than other types of wine. They also often have a higher alcohol content. They usually range from 12% to 16% but Port wines can be up to around 20%. Dessert wines can be white, red, or rosé, and they are typically served chilled.

Do you refrigerate red dessert wine? ›

Ideally, your dessert wine should be in the fridge and chilled down to 5-8°C (41–47°F) before serving. Although this can vary depending on personal preference. Domestic fridges tend to run a little colder than wine fridges, so try not to leave your dessert wine in there for too long.

If you want to get a little more creative with your brownie mix hacks, add an extra egg to the batter. The extra protein will help thicken up the batter and make it fluffier, creating a more decadent, fudgy texture. You can also add the yolk by itself in addition to the 2 eggs a box brownie mix typically calls for.

What does a baker need to do to have their brownies turn out just as they want them? Fudgy brownies have a higher fat-to-flour ratio than cakey ones. So add more fat—in this case, butter and chocolate. A cakey batch has more flour and relies on baking powder for leavening.

Rich brownies go well with coffee or caramel porters, or a creamy milk stout. You could also opt for a dark beer with a hint of smoke or heat to complement fudgy chocolate brownies.

Fresh and effervescent, white wines classically pair best with white and milk chocolate. Yet there's always room for experimenting. Sauvignon Blanc can be an ideal match for rich, creamy, and buttery chocolate. It refreshes the palate and provides some relief to the creaminess.

In general, lighter dessert wines such as Sauternes, Riesling and Moscato work best with lighter chocolate desserts, and richer ones such as Tokaji and fortified wines with darker, denser ones.

Best pairing: very sweet, dark coloured, fortified wines or low tannin, rich, smooth red wines (Tawny Port, Ruby Port, Banyuls, Maury, Spanish Pedro Ximenez, Australian Liqueur Muscat, Australian Sparkling Shiraz, Reciotto della Valpolicella…)