These brownies carry heat from three places: crushed chile flakes, cayenne, and a third of a cup of roasted red chile. That is deliberate and it is also more heat than most people expect from a dessert, so the first thing to say is that you can dial any of the three back without touching the texture.
The second thing: this is a deep, fudgy batch. Four eggs against two thirds of a cup of flour makes a brownie that is dense and barely set rather than cakey, and in an 8 inch pan it bakes thick. That is the intended result, and it changes how you test for doneness.
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The recipe
Red Chile Brownies
- YieldAbout 9
- Prep20 minutes
- Bake35 to 40 minutes
- Oven350°F
Ingredients
- 6 oz unsweetened dark chocolate
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red chile flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne
- 1/3 cup flame roasted Hatch red chile, drained
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Method
- Heat the oven to 350°F and line an 8 inch baking dish with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides so you can lift the slab out later.
- Drain the red chile in a sieve and blot it on paper towel.
- Melt the chocolate and butter together in a double boiler over simmering water, or in the microwave in 30 second bursts. Whisk smooth and set aside to cool slightly.
- Combine the flour and salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together, then whisk in the cocoa, cayenne, chile flakes, vanilla and red chile until smooth.
- Whisk the melted chocolate into the egg mixture. Fold in the flour and salt, then stir vigorously until thick and glossy. That stirring is what gives you the papery crust on top.
- Spread into the pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes. A skewer in the center should come out with moist crumbs clinging to it, not clean.
- Cool completely in the pan before cutting. Warm brownies tear.
The three heat sources
They do different jobs, which is why the recipe uses all three, and it is worth knowing which to adjust.
Roasted red chile brings flavor first and heat second. It is the thing that makes these taste like New Mexico rather than like spicy chocolate. Keep this one.
Cayenne is pure heat, evenly distributed, with almost no flavor of its own. This is the one to cut first if the batch is too hot, and cutting it changes nothing else.
Chile flakes give you occasional bright hits rather than an even background. Some people love that and some find it distracting in a dessert. Leave them out for a smoother result.
A reasonable first attempt if you are unsure: keep the red chile, halve the cayenne, skip the flakes. You can always go up next time.
Remember that fat mutes capsaicin, and this batter is largely chocolate and butter. The heat lands softer here than the same amount would in a sauce, and it arrives late, after the chocolate.
How to tell when they are done
The knife-comes-out-clean test is for cake. Use it on a fudgy brownie and you will overbake it every time.
What to look for instead: the edges set and slightly pulled from the pan, the top dry and papery with a faint crackle, and a skewer in the center coming out with moist crumbs stuck to it. Wet batter means more time. Perfectly clean means you went too far.
They also carry on cooking in the hot pan after they come out, which is another reason to pull them a few minutes early rather than late.
Pan size and thickness
This is a generous amount of batter for an 8 inch pan and it bakes into a thick slab, which is the point. Two adjustments if you want something different:
- For thinner brownies, use a 9x13 pan and start checking at 25 minutes. You will get about 20 smaller pieces with more crust per piece.
- For a 9 inch square, check at 30 minutes. Slightly thinner than the 8 inch version, slightly faster.
The parchment overhang matters more than it sounds. A thick fudgy slab does not come out of a pan cleanly any other way.
Storing and freezing
Room temperature, airtight, 3 to 4 days. They are better on day two, once the texture settles.
Do not refrigerate unless your kitchen is very warm. Cold makes them firm and dulls the chocolate.
They freeze well, which is unusual for a baked dessert. Cut them, wrap individually, freeze up to three months. Thaw at room temperature for an hour, or eat one frozen, which is a legitimate choice.
Fixing a batch that went wrong
They are dry and cakey
Overbaked, or too much flour. Pull them when a skewer has moist crumbs on it, and measure flour by spooning it into the cup rather than scooping.
They will not set in the middle
Underbaked, or the pan was too small. Give them another five minutes and check again.
No crackly top
The sugar was not dissolved into the eggs enough. Whisk the eggs and sugar until the mixture pales and thickens, then stir the final batter vigorously before it goes in the pan.
Too hot to eat
Cut the cayenne next time. Serve this batch with ice cream or whipped cream, because dairy is what actually cools capsaicin.
The chile is barely noticeable
Go up a heat level on the red chile rather than adding more cayenne, which adds burn without flavor.
What else to make
The obvious companion is green chile chocolate chip cookies, which make the same argument with green chile and cinnamon. Red chile apple pie is the third dessert in the set and the one people find hardest to believe.
If the jar of red chile is now open, New Mexico red chile sauce and red chile huevos rancheros are where the rest of it goes.
The chile itself is 16 oz jars of flame roasted Hatch red chile, Medium or Hot, four ingredients: Hatch chile, salt, garlic, lime juice. The recipe archive is free, and there is a printed cookbook as well.
Common questions
How spicy are red chile brownies?
Warm rather than sharp, and the heat arrives after the chocolate. The fat in the butter and chocolate blunts capsaicin, so the same chile lands softer here than it would in a sauce. Halve the cayenne if you are unsure.
Can I leave out the cayenne and chile flakes?
Yes. The roasted red chile is the one doing the flavor work. Cayenne is pure heat and the flakes give occasional bright hits. Cutting either changes nothing about the texture.
How do I know when brownies are done?
A skewer in the center should come out with moist crumbs clinging to it, not clean. Clean means overbaked. The edges should be set and the top dry and papery.
Why did my brownies not get a crackly top?
The sugar needs to dissolve into the eggs. Whisk them until the mixture pales and thickens, and stir the finished batter vigorously before it goes in the pan.
Can I use a bigger pan?
Yes. A 9x13 gives thinner brownies with more crust per piece, and you should start checking at 25 minutes.
Can I freeze them?
Yes, up to three months. Cut and wrap individually, then thaw at room temperature for about an hour.
Do I need to drain the red chile?
Yes. Roasted chile carries its own liquid, and this batter has only two thirds of a cup of flour holding it together.
The short version
Three heat sources, and cayenne is the one to cut. Drain the chile. Stir the batter hard for the crackly top. Bake 35 to 40 minutes at 350°F and pull them when a skewer has moist crumbs on it. Cool completely before cutting, and they are better tomorrow.