Raspberry halva brownies recipe

Ingredients

• 2 sticks (226 g) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
• 1¼ cups (156 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons natural cocoa powder
• 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
• 10 ounces (283 g) 72% cacao chocolate, chopped
• 1 ounce (28 g) unsweetened baker’s chocolate, chopped
• ¾ cup (150 g) packed brown sugar
• 1½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
• 5 large eggs
• 1 cup (125 g) fresh or frozen raspberries
• 6 ounces (170 g) vanilla halva candy, cut into ½-inch cubes

1. Position a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 8 x 12 x 2-inch baking pan and line the bottom and long sides with parchment paper, leaving a 1½-inch overhang at the sides.
2. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
3. Fill a medium saucepan one-quarter full with water. Set over medium heat, and bring the water to a simmer. Combine the butter, 72% chocolate, and baker’s chocolate in a very clean heatproof bowl and place over the simmering water. Stir gently until the butter and chocolate are melted and completely blended. Remove the bowl from the double boiler and place it on a dry towel.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and eggs. Beat vigorously with a whisk until the mixture is lighter in color and very creamy looking; you can use an electric mixer for this step if you want to. Add the chocolate mixture, and whisk to combine. Incorporate the flour mixture, mixing just until no dry bits remain.
5. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Scatter the raspberries and halva candy over the batter and gently press them into the surface. Gently rap the pan on the counter to dislodge any air pockets in the batter.
6. Bake for 10 minutes, rotate the pan, and continue baking until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out with very moist crumbs still clinging to it, about 20 minutes more. (I prefer to underbake these brownies. They will continue to carry-over cook while they cool, and the center brownies will set up nicely and become fudgey and toothsome rather than cakey.)
7. Remove the brownies from the oven and allow them to cool in the pan. Once completely cooled, carefully remove them from the pan by lifting the parchment paper at the sides. Cut into 12 brownies. Because of the raspberries, these brownies do not have the same shelf life as a standard bar cookie. They are best eaten within 3 days, but keep well in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week.