American · Desserts

Fudgy Cocoa Brownies

Cocoa-based brownies with a paper-thin crackly top and a dense, fudgy middle. No chocolate to melt, no mixer needed, and they are better than most bakery versions.

40 min prep and cooking plus 3 hr cooling 3 hr 40 min start to finish Serves 16 servings Easy
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Fudgy Cocoa Brownies

Photograph credit: chocolate-dessert-brownies-cake by pixellaphoto · CC0 1.0 · Flickr

Build the Meal Around Fudgy Cocoa Brownies

  • A glass of cold milk or a strong espresso
  • Serve warm with vanilla ice cream and salted caramel
  • Follow a light meal
Fudgy Cocoa Brownies, in preparation
Fudgy Cocoa Brownies, in preparation

Photograph credit: brownies by D - 15 photography · CC0 1.0 · Flickr

How to Make Fudgy Cocoa Brownies

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  1. Line a 23 cm square tin with baking paper, leaving an overhang on two sides.

  2. Melt the butter in a saucepan until hot and just beginning to bubble, then take off the heat.

  3. Whisk in both sugars and the cocoa powder immediately, while the butter is still hot. The mixture will look grainy — that is correct at this stage.

  4. Let it cool for 5 minutes, then add the eggs and yolk one at a time, beating hard for 30 seconds after each.

  5. Now beat vigorously for a full 2 minutes with a wooden spoon. The batter will transform from grainy to thick, glossy and ribbon-like. This is what creates the crackly top.

  6. Stir in the vanilla, then fold in the flour and fine salt until just combined.

  7. Fold through two-thirds of the chopped chocolate and scrape into the tin. Scatter the rest over the top.

  8. Bake at 175°C / 345°F for 28 to 32 minutes, until the top is set and shiny and a skewer 5 cm from the edge comes out with moist crumbs. The centre should still be soft.

  9. Sprinkle with flaky salt and cool completely in the tin — at least 3 hours — before lifting out and cutting with a hot, dry knife.

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Notes From the Method

Do not skip the two minutes of beating. It is the entire mechanism behind the shiny top.

Under-bake rather than over-bake. Brownies firm up considerably as they cool.

Chill them for an hour before cutting for perfectly clean edges.

Keeping What's Left

Keeps 5 days in an airtight tin and freezes 3 months. The texture actually improves after a night.

Fudgy Cocoa Brownies: Your Questions Answered

How long does Fudgy Cocoa Brownies take to make?

15 minutes of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking, plus 3 hours of cooling, so allow 3 hours 40 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 16.

Nutrition per Serving

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.

312Calories
4gProtein
38gCarbs
16gFat
3gFibre
28gSugar
310mgSodium

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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 .