Brownies are certainly one of the best dessert options ever. They are not only delicious enough to help you settle your chocolate and sweet cravings but are so easy to make that nearly every novice baker loves to give a try.
Let it be any occasion – a school party, bake sale, graduation party, baby showers, baby announcements, birthday, office treats – their ultimate crowd-pleasing characteristic makes them just fit in everywhere.
What Type of Brownie You Are Looking For?
As much everyone loves brownies, the problem faced by many is that there are so many different recipes out there that one cant easily decide which one to go for. The best way to solve this problem is to determine first what texture youre looking for. There are cake-like brownies, chewy brownies, fudge brownies, sweet or bitter brownies, with or without add-ins. Try imagining the sinfully comfort treats on your tongue and youll come to know what exactly you want.
The recipe that I am sharing here makes rich, fudgy squares with a crispy cookie-like crust on top and of course, very chocolaty!
What Ingredients You need ?
Here’s what you’ll need for my dark chocolate brownies (scroll down to the recipe card for complete recipe):
- Butter – I use salted butter but you can use unsalted one too and control how much salt to add.
- Dark Chocolate – The quality of chocolate matters, so please get the best one available. I use one with 72% cocoa.
- Sugar – fine granulated white sugar is fine that easily gets incorporated into the melted butter.
- Flour – good all-purpose flour.
- Cocoa powder – I use Dutch processed cocoa powder. Again, the quality matters!
- Baking powder – this helps lift the brownies, creating a cake-like texture.
- Eggs – eggs act as an emulsifier and make the batter smoother. Make sure the eggs are room temperature, this will ensure your brownies have a lighter texture and cook more evenly.
- Vanilla/Orange Essence – to enhance the flavor. It also helps against possible egg smell if youre sensitive to certain odors.
- Nuts – walnuts or pecans would be perfect in these brownies. Other add-ins can be caramel pieces, marshmallows or chocolate chips!
How To Store Left-over Brownies?
Never store brownies in the refrigerator! The´ll dry out. Always store them in an airtight container at room temperature. Consume within 2 days!
Are You Making This Brownie Recipe?
Do watch the step by step video instructions in my Instagram Highlights. I hope you will love this recipe as much as I do and will come back to leave me a comment!
Looking For More Sweet Recipes?
Check out these hits from my blog:
Dark Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
- 300 g very fine sugar
- 150 g dark chocolate 72%
- 200 g butter
- 75 g cocoa powder
- 170 g flour
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp vanilla/almond/orange essence
- 1 cup pecan nuts or walnuts
Instructions
- Line and grease a 13x11 inches rectangular pan.
- Chop the chocolate on a cutting board.
- In a heatproof bowl, combine the butter and chopped chocolate and set it in a sauce pan of barely simmering water (double boiling method).
- Stir occasionally until the butter is melted, add in the sugar and continue with the process until the sugar is almost dissolved and the mixture is smooth and a bit shiny.
- Remove from heat, add vanilla essence and set aside to cool.
- Preheat oven to 170 C.
- Sift together flour, cocoa and baking powder.
- Once the butter chocolate mixture has cooled, whisk the eggs in a bowl with an electric beater until creamy.
- Add a few tablespoons of this into the chocolate mixture (to avoid scrambling) and fold carefully.
- Transfer the entire chocolate mixture into the bowl of beaten eggs and start mixing with a hand whisk.
- Fold in the sifted ingredients.
- Finally, add in the chopped nuts.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared baking tray.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Read notes*!
- Take out the pan from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cut out squares or rectangles of your choice.
Notes
- To check if the brownies a done, insert a wooden skewer after 30 min, if it comes out clean, take out of the oven otherwise adjust the baking time accordingly. Tip: NEVER overbake the brownies or any dark chocolate cake, itll only make it dry, bitter and crumbly.
