American · Desserts

Fudge Brownies

Dense, dark and barely set in the middle, with a papery crackled top. Forty minutes, and the whole thing turns on when you take them out.

40 min prep and cooking plus 2 hr cooling in the tin 2 hr 40 min start to finish Serves 12 servings Easy
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Fudge Brownies

Photograph credit: Brownies Cockaigne from Joy of Cooking by WhatamIdoing · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence

Before You Start

Four minutes of whisking makes the crackled top.

Out while the middle wobbles.

Cool completely in the tin or they fall apart.

How to Make Fudge Brownies

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  1. Heat the oven to 180°C / 355°F and line a 20 cm square tin with baking paper.

  2. Melt the chopped chocolate and butter together in a bowl over simmering water, then cool 5 minutes.

  3. Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla with an electric whisk for 4 minutes, until pale, thick and doubled.

  4. Pour the cooled chocolate mixture down the side of the bowl and fold it in gently.

  5. Sift the flour, cocoa and salt over and fold until just combined, with no dry streaks.

  6. Fold in the chocolate chunks.

  7. Scrape into the tin and level the top.

  8. Bake 25 minutes. The edges should be set and the middle should still wobble when you shake the tin.

  9. Cool completely in the tin, at least 2 hours.

  10. Lift out by the paper and cut into 12 with a hot dry knife.

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Why It Works

The papery crackled top comes from dissolving the sugar into the eggs before the chocolate goes in — whisk them for four minutes until pale and thick, and a thin meringue-like layer forms on top during baking. Take the tin out when the middle still wobbles; brownies carry on cooking in the tin for another ten minutes and one baked until a skewer comes out clean is a chocolate cake.

After You've Cooked It

Keeps 5 days in a tin and freezes 3 months. Better on the second day.

What to Serve Alongside

  • Vanilla ice cream
  • Cold milk
  • Strong coffee

Still Wondering?

How long does Fudge Brownies take to make?

15 minutes of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking, plus 2 hours of cooling in the tin, so allow 2 hours 40 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 12.

Fudge Brownies Nutrition Facts

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.

387Calories
4gProtein
41gCarbs
23gFat
3gFibre
30gSugar
120mgSodium

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Compiled by Turab

Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.

First published ; last changed .