¾cup(64g)cocoa powder (Dutch-process or regular; dark cocoa powder works great here)
½cup(71g)all-purpose flour
¼teaspoonsalt
5large eggs
1 ¾cups(371g)granulated sugar
1teaspoonvanilla extract
2sticks(227g)salted butter, melted
Ice cream, for serving
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish (see note below) with nonstick cooking spray or butter.
In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour and salt.
In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer (or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment), beat the eggs and sugar on medium speed for 5-7 minutes until very thick and light yellow in color. Don't short the time on this step - it's essential for the texture of the dessert.
Add the vanilla and flour/cocoa mixture and mix on low speed until just combined and no dry streaks remain. With the mixer on low, carefully add the melted butter and mix until just combined.
Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and place it in a larger baking pan. Place in the oven and carefully pour very hot water into the larger pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the brownie pudding pan.
Bake for 60 minutes. There will be a layer of crust on the top and the middle will look really underbaked. Remove from the oven and carefully remove the brownie pudding pan from the water bath.
Allow to cool 10-20 minutes before serving warm with ice cream.
Notes
Baking Dish: so a 2-quart baking dish is about 9X12-inches.That's not an ultra-common size (but yes, I manage to have two of them in my kitchen; nerd alert). Any 2-quart oven-proof dish will work, it doesn't matter the shape. If you don't have something like that, try using a 9X13-inch pan and before pouring in the batter, run a thick strip of folded aluminum foil across one short edge about an inch inside to make a makeshift 9X12-inch pan (I'm afraid the batter will be too thin to bake properly if using the full 9X13-inch pan but you could experiment doing that).Water Bath: you'll also need an additional larger pan for this recipe since it requires a water bath in order to create that delicious gooey pudding layer so keep that in mind when deciding what pan to bake it in.