Don’t Lick the Spoon (Make Brownie Toast Instead)
The best part about making cakes is not the cakes themselves, but the cleaning. That’s when all those sticky batter leftovers have nowhere to go but in the trash or in your stomach. Obviously, the planet needs you to cut down on waste, so you have a responsibility to do your part. While I would never stop you from eating your fudge right away, I have a delicious suggestion: use the leftover batter to make brownie toast.
The idea of toasting dough on a slice of bread is a reflection of the popular French appetizer, bostock or frangipane toast . Frangipane is an almond dough with sugar, butter and eggs that can be used to make a variety of pastries. As it bakes, the egg cooks and the mixture becomes something like a buttery, dense cake. Sounds familiar? Frangipane has a lot in common with brownies and has a similar texture. But let’s make it chocolate.
After you get the main batch of brownies into the oven, spread the remaining brownie batter on a piece of toast. Place the toast in the oven (hell, it’s already preheated to 350°F). You can use a baking sheet or place the toast carefully on the wire rack if you like living dangerously. Depending on how much batter you have on your toast, and whether you like well-done or sticky brownies, the time will vary by a few minutes, anywhere between 10-15 minutes. The surface of the brownie will have a thin, shiny, cracked skin like a regular brownie, and the bottom and edges of the bread will be well toasted. Each bite is a tennis match of textures: first it’s the crispy toast on the bottom, then the sticky, chewy brownie on top, and then the bread again, soft and tender under the brownie layer.
If you’re at an advanced level in making brownie toast and keep your brownie dough in the fridge specifically for this toast, you can air-fry it to cut the time by a few minutes. Set the fryer to 300°F on “bake” mode and let the chocolate toast in for 8-10 minutes. I used Betty Crocker box mix, but it will work for any brownie dough. Brioche slices are my favorite starter for sweet toast – malty, egg flavors are a nice addition – but I can see anything from a cinnamon-raisin bagel to crispy sourdough dough worthy of brownie toast. It’s simple, satisfying, and great for eating raw dough right off the spoon. Oddly enough, you may even find that you have even more “leftover” batter for yourself the next time you whip up a batch of brownies.