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Let’s talk brownies. Brownies are one of my favourite desserts so I HAD to get them right. This recipe took over 3 years of experimenting to reach my personal standard of a perfect brownie – A fudgy, dense interior with a crispy crackly surface. We don’t believe in cakey brownies on this blog. 😅

These brownies tick all the boxes. They are delicious, super tempting and extra indulgent – Proceed with caution! I can eat an entire batch on my own and sharing is a challenge. You can enjoy them on their own or served with ice cream.

So, how does one get a perfectly fudgy brownie with a crispy surface?

• Melted chocolate AND cocoa powder
• Creaming method for the butter, eggs & sugar 
• A secret ingredient to intensify the chocolate

Through my many trials and errors, I have found that the creaming method is essential to get that crispy surface on your brownies. Plus, a secret ingredient I use to make them even better? Espresso powder or chilli powder. These ingredients are known to intensify the flavour of the chocolate without being detected if used in the right amounts. Another ingredient that makes brownies richer is brown sugar- It adds more warmth and sweetness.  Apart from this, cocoa powder is used in addition to melted chocolate for a super chocolatey and indulgent result.

Make it your own – Have fun with your brownie batter!

These recipe is the perfect base for simple chocolate brownies which makes it ideal to play around with and make it your own. Here are some ideas of what you can add:

• Candy or crushed cookies
• Chopped up chocolate chunks
• Nuts for some extra crunch
• A peanut butter swirl onto the batter
• Nutella or other spread in the middle
• Marshmallows and biscuits (S’mores anyone?)
• Seasonal spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg or all-spice

Brownies are an easy bake, but developing the perfect recipe was a lot more challenging. So I baked maaannyy variations of this recipe (read: over 3 years of experimenting 😂) before being happy with this one. I made several not-so-perfect batches (still delicious) before settling on this one. And these were the clear winner for me.

Some of my Brownie Fails (Let’s learn from my mistakes):

1. Cakey – Used a raising agent or over-baked
2. Too fudgy – Under-baked or melted butter method (instead of creaming)
3. Uneven bake – Oven temperature too high

If you’re a brownie addict like I am, you HAVE to try these perfectly fudgy brownies, but beware; you might end up eating the entire batch like I do every time!

As always, share if you make these, I’d love to see!

Happy indulging,  

Kim x

Yield: 12 squares

Perfectly Fudgy Brownies Recipe

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Perfectly fudgy brownies with a dense interior and a thin crispy top. They’re delicious, super tempting and extra indulgent - Proceed with caution!

Prep Time 35 minutes

Bake Time 25 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

• 200g 70% dark chocolate
• 170g butter, room temp (3/4 cup)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 medium eggs, room temp
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp espresso or 1/2 tsp chilli powder (optional)

Instructions

1. Prepare your 20cm x 30cm baking dish. Use a baking spray or a light coating of butter on the dish so the parchment adheres to it. Double-line with parchment paper hanging over the sides. Do not spray the surface of the parchment or the brownies will stick to it.
2. Preheat oven to 175°c / 350°F. In a heat-proof bowl, melt chocolate in the microwave in 1 minute intervals and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool.
3. Cream the butter and the sugars with a hand-held whisk. Add the vanilla and eggs and whip until fluffy. Sift the dry ingredients into the mixture and whip or fold just until everything is combined. Stir in the slightly cooled chocolate.
4. Pour the brownie batter into the dish and spread evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes in the middle rack. A toothpick inserted into the edges of the brownies should come out with crumbs but not coated in the batter while a toothpick inserted into the centre should have a more fudgy coating.
5. Transfer from the oven to a cooling rack and let cool completely, at least 45 minutes. Use the parchment overhang to take it out of the dish. With a chef's knife, slice brownies into 12 equal squares. Serve on its own or top with ice cream. Enjoy!

Notes

Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a month (each square wrapped in foil or plastic wrap separately). If frozen, microwave for a few seconds to make the brownies fudgy again.

Baking dish size: 20cm x 30cm

Turn my brownie recipe into a 2-layer cake! Get the recipe by clicking here.