AmericanFudgy chocolate brownies
Fudgy brownies: dense, crackle-topped chocolate squares from American bake sales and lunchboxes
Brownies are said to have started in a Chicago hotel kitchen in the 1890s, and today they turn up at every American bake sale, school fundraiser, office birthday and late-night craving. This fudgy style uses lots of melted dark chocolate and butter with very little flour, so the middle is dense and almost truffle-like under a thin, shiny, crackled top. They contain egg, milk (butter) and wheat. Serve them just warm with vanilla ice cream, or cold from the tin with a glass of milk. The common mistake is baking until a skewer comes out clean: by then they are cakey and dry, because they keep cooking in the hot tin. Pull them when a skewer pushed in 5 cm from the edge shows moist, sticky crumbs. Chef's tip: beat the eggs and sugar hard for a full 3 minutes before adding the chocolate; the dissolved sugar is what forms that paper-thin crackly crust.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Serves
- 16
- Per serving
- 245 kcal
Ingredients
- 7 oz dark chocolate (60–70% cocoa)chopped
- 6 oz unsalted buttercubed
- 9 oz caster sugar
- 3 eggslarge, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 ⅛ oz plain flour
- 1 oz cocoa powder
- ½ tsp salt
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan). Line a 20 cm square tin with baking paper, leaving some hanging over two sides so you can lift the brownies out.
Step 2: Melt 7 oz dark chocolate (60–70% cocoa) and 6 oz unsalted butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring now and then, until smooth and glossy. Take off the heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes.
6 minStep 3: In a large bowl, whisk 3 eggs, 9 oz caster sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract with an electric mixer for 3 minutes, until pale, thick and the sugar no longer feels gritty.
3 minStep 4: Pour in the warm chocolate mixture and fold it through until no streaks remain.
Step 5: Sift 3 ⅛ oz plain flour, 1 oz cocoa powder and ½ tsp salt over the top and fold gently with a spatula just until no dry flour shows. Overmixing makes them tough.
Step 6: Scrape into the tin and level the top. Bake for 22–25 minutes, until the top is shiny and crackled, the edges are set and the centre still has a slight wobble. A skewer 5 cm from the edge should come out with moist crumbs, not wet batter.
24 minStep 7: Cool completely in the tin, then chill for 1 hour before lifting out and cutting into 16 squares with a hot, dry knife. Keep in an airtight box for up to 4 days.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 245 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 28 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does fudgy chocolate brownies take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 16 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of unsalted butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of caster sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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