Spike Your Brownies With Leftover Beer For A Seriously Epic Dessert

Leftover beer can provide a flavorful assist when cooking many different kinds of food, giving extra depth to hearty beef stew or chili, making a crispy beer batter for fish, or creating a hoppy, boozy pan sauce. But beer can level up desserts like classic chocolate brownies too. World-renowned pâtissier Adriano Zumbo shared with Food Republic how it elevates their texture and flavor: "Adding leftover beer to brownie batter enhances moisture and creates a subtle malty flavor."

Choosing the type of beer that pairs best with chocolate is key, and for that, Zumbo told us, "Stouts and porters work well." Dark beers are made with barley, but porters use malted barley and stouts have roasted unmalted barley, which gives them a stronger toasty taste with dark chocolate and coffee notes.

Porter has a lighter chocolate hint and is a bit sweeter with a kiss of caramel. You could also choose a flavored stout or porter, like peanut butter, chocolate, coffee, or even spicy chili.

Keep in mind that beer will produce cakier brownies and the carbonation will make it rise more. If you want denser, fudgier brownies, cook down the beer until it's reduced. Concentration means less liquid, no carbonation, and creates a denser flavor. You could also remove carbonation, but not liquid, by pouring the beer repeatedly from one glass to another, and rinsing each one when it's empty until there's no more foam.

Mix-ins can add a textural contrast to the beer brownies and play off its flavors. Stud the brownies with nuts like walnuts, almonds, or hazelnuts, and if you're using a stout, toast them before mixing them in the batter to mirror the beer's roasted flavor. You could chop up dark chocolate-covered coffee beans and toss them in, adding another chocolate layer and more coffee flavor to those notes in stout beer brownies. Mixing toffee bits in the batter can pick up a porter's mild sweetness. After all, there are plenty of secret ingredients to add to your brownies.

You can incorporate beer not only in your brownies but in the toppings you use to finish them. Make a malty beer frosting by mixing powdered sugar and softened butter with a little of the same reduced beer you made the brownies with. Create a creamy sauce by simmering some of the beer, heavy cream, and semi-sweet chocolate and pour the warm coating over the brownies. When you're ready to dig into your beer-spiked treats, use the plastic knife swap for cleanly cut brownies.

If you're short on time but still want beer brownies, go ultra simple and make a store-bought brownie mix, like Dolly Parton's double fudge, with stout or porter instead of the water in the directions. You could do the same with a chocolate cake mix, which has the same basic flavors as brownies.