Soy Sauce Fudgy Brownies

Do you use salt in your baked goods? I think a lot of people say “yes” to make your cakes or cookies more flavourful. Salt is very important in any food even if you are making sweet things. It gives your cakes or cookies more dimension and makes them less bland, then I thought what about soy sauce? It has saltiness and has much more umami than salt does, so I just tried using it in my brownie and the result was amazing! You wouldn’t notice that there is soy sauce in it. All you notice is the deep and chocolatiest flavour and a bit of caramelly aroma that soy sauce has.

What type of soy sauce is best for brownies?

You can find a lot of different kinds of soy sauce in grocery stores, so it’s quite common to have a question for which soy sauce to use in a certain dish. Usually, you just need one type of soy sauce when you make any Japanese food and which is called “koikuchi syoyu” in Japanese. It is dark soy sauce and so versatile that you can use almost all Japanese food. However, if you want more deep flavour and umami, I highly recommend having “tamari syoyu” and using it to bring our food to the next level. In this recipe, I always use tamari syoyu not koikuchi syoyu to enhance more chocolatiness but if you only have koikuchi syoyu, by all means use it! It’s still so good.

Ingredients You will Need

Dark chocolate – Use dark chocolate that contains at least 70% of cocoa solid to make your brownie as much chocolaty as possible.

Unsalted butter – Because you’ll add soy sauce to your brownie batter later, you want your butter unsalted. If you want to make it vegan, use vegan butter.

Eggs – Use free-range egg or egg substitutes if you are a vegan.

Brown sugar – You can use any sugar in your brownie, but brown sugar makes it more gooey and moist.

Instant coffee – Do not skip this ingredient even if you don’t like coffee. My brownie doesn’t taste like coffee at all. All it does is to make your brownie more chocolaty.

Plain flour – You can use cake flour if you like caky one or even almond flour if you want your brownie gluten-free.

Cocoa powder – This is for making your brownie even more chocolaty!

Tamari soy sauce – Tamari soy sauce has more umami than ordinary koikuchi soy sauce, so if you want to enhance more flavour, use it!

Step-by-Step Guide

1 Heat the oven to 180C. Grease a 7-inch square tin and line it with baking parchment. Microwave the butter and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl stirring every 30 seconds until smooth and glossy. If you don’t have a microwave, put the butter and chocolate in a small pan and melt gently, stirring occasionally until the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool.

2 Whisk the sugar and eggs together in a bowl using an electric whisk until the mixture is pale. Add the coffee and tamari soy sauce, then pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, and fold gently until well combined.

3 Add the sifted flour and cocoa powder until you have a glossy batter. Scrape the batter into the prepared tin. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 mins or until just set Leave to cool completely in the tin.

Tips for making Soy Sauce Brownies

• Use good quality chocolate in your batter – You might be thinking that any chocolate can work in brownie batter but NO! The quality of the chocolate you are using in your batter decides the quality of your brownie.
• Whip your eggs and sugar until pale – Because we don’t add any leavening agent to your batter, the chances are that your brownie can be too dense. It is important to whip the eggs to make them as airy as possible.
• Do not overbake your brownie – If you really like caky brownies, of course, you can bake it longer but I personally think brownies should be gooey and moist. Check your brownie by shaking the tin and if the centre of it wobbles slightly, it’s done!
• Chill your brownie overnight – Brownie matures in the fridge like macarons. If you eat freshly baked brownies, unfortunately, it’s not at its best. I recommend chilling it for at least 4 hours but ideally overnight.

Q & A

Can I make the brownie vegan? 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

Yes, you can make a vegan version of the soy sauce brownie by using vegan butter or oil, and egg substitute in your batter

Can I use other types of soy sauce?　

Yes, if you don’t have tamari soy sauce, you can definitely use what you have at home.

Can I freeze my brownie?

Yes, the brownie can be frozen perfectly for at least 1 month. All you need to do is wrap it tightly with cling film to prevent freezer burn.

How long does a brownie last in the fridge?

The brownie usually lasts up to 1 week in the fridge. Make sure to put it in an airtight container.

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