If you’re looking for an indulgent, fudgy brownie that is extremely flavorful whilst not being cloyingly sweet, this recipe is it! It’s literally one of the best brownies I’ve ever had 😀
What makes these brownies so good?
There’s a few key things which I believe makes these some of the best brownies out there!
- Firstly, to make sure these brownies aren’t too sweet, I upped the cocoa content and used dark chocolate instead of regular milk chocolate.
- To get that perfect gooey texture, I used some brown sugar in addition to the white sugar. I also played around with the cooking time and found that the 22 minute mark made for the perfect fudgy brownie texture!
- The crinkled top creates a delicate crunchy layer to the brownie which adds an element of indulgence. The beautiful shiny top also just creates a visually stunning brownie which I LOVE 😀
How do you achieve that crinkled top?
If I’m being honest, I don’t really understand the science behind it! I tried to do some research but I couldn’t seem to find a straight answer. But from what I read, and my own trials and errors, melting the sugar and whipping the eggs helps! 🙂
My biggest success was when I whipped my eggs and sugar for a full 3 minutes, and then made sure I didn’t overmix my batter when adding in my dry ingredients. This gave me the most beautiful shiny top!
How to make these fudgy brownies
These brownies are actually really easy to put together and come together in 30 minutes!
Start off by greasing an 8 inch square cake tin (I like to grease mine with some homemade cake release). Once greased, line the tin with a piece of baking paper that is long enough so there is some overhang on two opposite edges of the tin. This will make it easier to pull your brownies out of your tin when they’re ready.
Next cut up your chocolate into large chunks (about 1/4 inch pieces). Place into a bowl, and in the same bowl, sift in your flour and salt. Mix until well combined and set aside.
In a microwave safe bowl, add in your butter, oil, cocoa powder, soft brown sugar, coffee powder and vanilla. Give it a mix (it may not mix completely if your butter is a little hard which is fine), and then heat in the microwave for 20 second bursts at a time, mixing in between each burst until the mixture is liquid and hot to the touch.
We want the mixture to be hot so that our cocoa is bloomed. It shouldn’t be boiling though, so just hot enough that when you touch the sides of the bowl you can feel a good amount of heat. It usually takes me about a minute to reach this stage. You can also do this over a double boiler. By heating the cocoa it helps to release more of the flavor and by melting the sugar, it helps with achieving that shiny crinkled top.
Set aside to cool and in another bowl add in your white sugar and eggs. Using a hand or stand mixer, mix on a medium-high speed for 3 minutes. The mixture should be light and creamy.
Next add your chocolate mixture from earlier into your egg mixture and gently fold it in until just combined.
You want to mix the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture gently. If you mix it too vigorously, you’re going to get rid of the air bubbles that we just whipped into our eggs/sugar. The air bubbles help us create a rich brownie that isn’t too heavy.
Lastly, add in your dry ingredients and chocolate from earlier and gently fold it in until just combined. Do not overmix the batter otherwise your brownies will be less fudgy and more cakey.
Pour the batter into your pre prepared cake tin and give it a little shake to even out the batter, and a light bang on your counter to get rid of any large air bubbles. Bake for 22-25 minutes depending on how fudgy you want your brownies to be (I recommend 22 minutes). Once done, poke a toothpick into the center and it should come out dirty.
If the toothpick comes out clean, then it means the brownies have been overbaked. If you choose to bake your brownies for the full 25 minutes for a less fudgy brownie, then I would recommend checking them at the 22 minute mark to make sure they aren’t overbaking.
Let the brownies cool in the tin for 1 hour to firm up. When ready, run a thin knife around the edge of the tin to release the brownie, and use the baking paper to lift the brownie slab up from the cake tin. Cut into slices and enjoy!
Fudgy Brownies
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (105 g) dark chocolate - I use 50% dark chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate chips okay too
- ¾ cup (90 g) flour - regular, all purpose
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter - room temperature or melted, see note 5
- ¼ cup (53 g) unflavored vegetable oil - I use canola
- ½ cup (100 g) soft brown sugar - packed, see note 1
- ⅔ cup (75 g) cocoa powder - unsweetened. I use natural cocoa powder for this recipe.
- 1 tsp coffee powder
- 1 tsp vanilla essence/extract
- 1 cup (200 g) white sugar - granulated
- 2 large eggs - room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160 °C (320°F) with the fan on (see note 6 if you don't have a fan function) and grease a square 8 inch cake tin (I use my homemade cake release). Once greased, line with a piece of baking paper that is long enough so there is some overhang on two opposite edges of the tin. This will make it easier to pull your brownies out of your tin when they're ready.
- Next cut up your chocolate into large chunks (about 1/4 inch pieces). Place into a bowl, and in the same bowl, sift in your flour and salt. Mix until well combined and set aside.
- In a microwave safe bowl, add in your butter, oil, cocoa powder, soft brown sugar, coffee powder and vanilla. Give it a mix (it may not mix completely if your butter is a little hard which is fine), and then heat in the microwave for 20 second bursts at a time, mixing in between each burst until the mixture is liquid and hot to the touch (see note 2).
- Set aside to cool and in another bowl add in your white sugar and eggs. Using a hand or stand mixer, mix on a medium-high speed for 3 minutes. The mixture should be light and creamy.
- Next add your chocolate mixture from earlier into your egg mixture and gently fold it in until just combined (see note 3).
- Lastly, add in your dry ingredients and chocolate from earlier and gently fold it in until just combined. Do not overmix the batter otherwise your brownies will be less fudgy and more cakey.
- Pour the batter into your pre prepared cake tin and give it a little shake to even out the batter, and a light bang on your counter to get rid of any large air bubbles. Bake for 22-25 minutes depending on how fudgy you want your brownies to be (I recommend 22 minutes). Once done, poke a toothpick into the center and it should come out dirty (see note 4).
- Let the brownies cool in the tin for 1 hour to firm up. When ready, run a thin knife around the edge of the tin to release the brownie, and use the baking paper to lift the brownie slab up from the cake tin. Cut into slices and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
214 Comments
Hi, MK. this is one of the best fudgy brownies I’ve ever made. This is the first time I baked a perfect brownie with glossy skin on top! I love the intensely rich chocolatey flavor and the sweetness is just right. Thank you so much for this amazing recipe 🙂
I would like to ask if I can use Dutch processed cocoa powder in this recipe? Also, does the size of an egg matters in baking brownies or any baked goods? Thanks in advance for your reply.
So so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe Mian 😀 and how satisfying is it to get that glossy skin top right?! Took me a while to figure it out haha so I’m so glad it was a success for you :D. You can use dutch processed cocoa it may just alter the taste slightly. In terms of egg size, size does generally matter but if you stick to large sized eggs (if the recipe doesn’t state what size egg to use) then you should be fine as most recipes are designed using larger eggs 🙂
My family doesn’t drink coffee so we don’t have any coffee powder. what can I do?
Hi Eleena! The coffee helps to amplify the chocolate flavour in the brownies, however if you prefer not to buy it then you can simply leave it out 🙂
I’ve tried SO many supposedly “best ever” brownies but these are hands down the most amazing I’ve had! Thank you so much for sharing, Maryam ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you so much Maryam! So so happy to hear you enjoyed the brownies 😀
Hi …..can I melt the chocolate chunks instead of adding in the flour? I dislike how the chocolate turned out gooey. If I do that will I mess up my brownies. I love how the crinkle top was good but the gooey part was sad.
Please help
Hi Prem! If you prefer not to have the chocolate chunks in the brownie then simply remove them from the recipe :). Note that the chocolate will initially be gooey when the brownie is still warm, but after a few hours they’ll firm up 🙂
The best brownies I’ve ever made. They are fudgy and have a shinny crinkle top. Thanks MK.
Awesome!! So so happy to hear you enjoyed them and got that beautiful shiny top! 😀
The best brownie i have ever made. I tried many brownie recipes earlier, sometime it gets hard sometime the texture didn’t came well. But this recipe is a fail proof one and love the way of explanation. Thank you for sharing such wonderful recipe dear.
Yay! So so happy to hear that Faazi! 😀 Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe! I had an other recipe but after baking the sugar is still crystallized (how do you say this? I’m from The Netherlands, sorry for my English). It was sweet but not to sweet and the bits of chocolade are so nice. And it was so simple to make. Love the way you explain the recipe. Next bake will be the Red Velvet Cupcakes or Red Velvet Cake. Hope you also have a nice Carrot Cake recipe in the future, can’t wait to try!
So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe Marcy! 😀 Hope you enjoy the red velvet recipes just as much and hope to have a carrot cake recipe out soon 😀
Hi, Maryam. Thank you again. My first brownies ever! I didn’t have the right size pan but it surprisingly worked out. Well, on my second batch 😀 🤭. They were delicious. 😋. The first batch as I found out from your video,was I over mixed the batter. Thank you,I’ll definitely make them again.
Hi Elizabeth! Congratulations on making your first ever brownies 😀 I’m so so happy to hear they worked out well despite the tin size! Thanks so much for the feedback 🙂
Delicious and gooey, best brownie recipe ever i swear <3<3
Yay! So glad to hear you enjoyed the brownies 😀
Oh my goodness. I cannot begin to explain how amazing these brownies turned out! From the crunchy sides, the flaky top and then the gooey but not overly gooey centre. These are the masters of all brownies. Maryam your recipes never fail me! Now I just need to remake these a few more times to memorise this masterpiece!
Yay! Beyond happy to hear you enjoyed the brownies Tahira 😀 thanks so much for trying out the recipes and I’m so so glad to hear they’ve been working well for you 😀
This is indeed a perfect recipe for people like you & me who hated brownies for one reason or other .Made them & loved the fudgyness and the dark chocolate toned down the sweetness .Thx MK for this recipe it’s for keeps 🤗
So so happy you enjoyed the recipe Grace 😀
Oooooh, that looks good! Imagine popping some raspberries in right before it goes in the oven … droolin’ …
Thanks Sue! And omg raspberries would go incredibly well with these! I’ll have to do that next time 😀