I tried the original 1893 brownie recipe at the Chicago hotel that invented it. It was nothing like a boxed mix.

The brownie, which cost $13, was served with a rich chocolate topping, strawberries, and a side of brownie crumbs.

When I took my first bite, I was surprised; it tasted very different from other brownies I’ve had in the past.

It was chocolatey, rich, and nutty, with a tart-like and fudgy texture that felt almost gritty at times.

Rather than being cake-like, I thought the original recipe leaned a lot more on the dark chocolate. Looking at the recipe’s ingredient list, I was surprised by how little flour it actually contained.

Compared to even modern brownie recipes, where cocoa powder is often used to replace melted chocolate, this recipe places greater emphasis on liquid ingredients like dark, cocoa-heavy couverture chocolate, eggs, and butter, and uses a lot of granulated sugar.

The apricot glaze on top also added an unexpected fruity taste to the decadent dessert, making it more dimensional and luxurious than other versions I’ve tried.

Compared to boxed brownie mixes, Bertha’s Brownie felt like an entirely different dessert.