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 thanks for this recipe. I tried out this recipe and baked it for 22 mins and added another 4 mins as I felt it was not done. Left it for more than an hour in the tray and then cut it. It was too fudgy could not cut through easily. How do I make it a bit more firm so it is easy to handle ?
The taste was brilliant. I want to try it again by reducing the sugar, would that be possible ?
Hi Rishika! 🙂 For a less fudgy brownie, simply bake it for a little longer. In this recipe I used an oven with the fan function turned on, so if you’re using an oven that doesn’t have a fan you will need to increase the baking temp to ensure the brownie isn’t underbaked 🙂 (more info in the recipe notes). You can reduce the sugar slightly too if you like – many readers have done this and said the brownies still came out great so it should be fine! I would recommend not reducing it more than a 1/4 cup though (50g) otherwise the brownies might become bitter 🙂
Thanks for your suggestion. I tried it again with a little bit longer and reduced the white sugar by half and it came out great. Only bit which was different was the shiny crinkled top was missing when I baked it for 25 mins vs 22mins.
Hi Rishika! Ahh yes so with the crinkle top you do need a certain amount of sugar to create the chemical reaction required to achieve it, so the reduction in sugar is what has likely caused the missing crinkled top 🙂
How much of this recipe would I need to for a traybake size tin
Hi Ash! You would probably want to double the recipe for a 9×13 inch tin 🙂 the cooking time may need to be adjusted slightly if the brownies are thicker. Enjoy! 🙂
Made this today for my son’s birthday…it was a hit! Best ever!
Yay! So so happy to hear you loved the brownies Sapphira 🙂 happy birthday to your son!
Best fudgy brownie recipe ever. I love it. This is the very first brownie recipe i tried & im in love. I made it like 5 times now. Love it. Love it. thank you Maryam.
Aww so so happy to hear that Shwetha! You’re so welcome, and really appreciate the feedback 😀
I have remade this recipe at least 10 times for a variety of events and always get so many compliments, soooo delicious. I reduced the sugar to 90 grams for the white sugar and 85 grams for the brown sugar with minimal impact on the texture in case anyone is interested in a less sweet version 🙂 Thank you Maryam!!! JazakAllah khair, one of my favorite blogs by far – always trust your recipes and love your videos.
Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback Asma! So happy to hear you’re loving the brownie recipe and that you’ve made it more than 10 times already! I am honoured 😀 really appreciate all the love and support 🙂
Hi Maryam, I just tried out your brownie recipe.. It tastes so awesome.. But I feel that the brownie are too oily when I take it in my hand. Can you help me to fix this please.
Hi Kaayathiry! 🙂 So happy to hear you loved the recipe, but sorry it hear it seems to be a little oily. This could be due to a few reasons. Firstly, I would recommend using the gram measurements (if you didn’t already) as adding a bit too much fat to the brownie recipe can cause it to be oily. Secondly, sometimes the fat can begin to separate if the cocoa mixture is overheated, or if the batter isn’t mixed well. Hope these tips help for next time 🙂
Dear,
Just love ur recipes
If I feel the batter is too thick to mix, when I’m following the 1/2 recipe, can I add milk to dilute it a bit / increase the oil/ butter ?
So happy to hear that Shanthapriya 😀 adding additional liquid/oil will impact the final texture of the brownie – it’ll make it a bit more fudgy. If you’re okay with that then you can add additional melted butter or oil 🙂
Hiii..
I tried the recipe..and it turned out super amazing..thanks a lot..
But this time i want to try it with granulated sugar only no brown sugar.. so will u please tell the quantitny of the granulated sugar to be added..??
So happy to hear you loved the recipe Nabila! 😀 Brown sugar adds additional moisture to the brownie, so using only granulated sugar may give you a less moist brownie. Nonetheless if you wish to give it a try, simply substitute the brown sugar with the same amount of granulated sugar 🙂 enjoy!
Hi,can help to share how to store it? How long can last at room temperature and inside fridge?
Thanks.
Hi Kanaga! 🙂 You can store these brownies at room temperature in an airtight container for a few days, and in the fridge for upto a week 🙂
Hi my dear sister MK
These brownies are amazing!💖🔥 I thought I would struggle to make them as I dont have a microwave but I put a bowl over some water on the stove and it still worked, I was so happy! My family loved them and all of your recipes I have tried.
May Allah bless you, thanks for all the work you do and all the recipes you share. We really appreciate you!!!🤗
Warm regards,
Wehlia
Hello Wehlia! 😀 So so happy to hear you loved the recipe and that it worked on the stove too! I’ve never tried that before, so it’s good to know it works 🙂 thank you for all your love and duas Wehlia 🙂