When I first started off with this baking thing, my brownies turned out cakey. Not bad to taste, but not fudgy and chewy like a brownie should be, you know? And that just wasn’t acceptable. Brownies should be moist and fudgy, with perfectly crackly tops. A really good brownie doesn’t need vanilla ice-cream or chocolate sauce or whipped cream on top. It should be unbelievably good just by itself.
And. I did it. I made that brownie. Or Martha Stewart did. Since then, I’ve made this recipe so many times, I’ve lost count. Over the years, I’ve made little changes here and there till I found the perfect texture and flavour combination. I’ve made them extra dark and even added peanut butter and they never go wrong! I decided to update this post with fresh photos and an updated recipe.
(Some day I’ll learn to cut perfectly equal sized brownies!)
The one thing I really had to get right with brownies was the crust. That thin, light-brown, crackly, flaky crust that forms on top. I had no idea how to guarantee it till I came across this valuable tip. Beat the eggs and sugar a lot and before you add anything else to the mixture. It guarantees a lovely wafer-like crust to complement the chewyness.
You must, must make these. This is one of the most popular recipes on this blog, for good reason because they’re no fail brownies!
Please read the recipe notes before beginning.
Seriously Fudgy Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
- 85 gms butter, at room temp (6 tbsps)
- 170 gms dark chocolate (70% to 75%), chopped into small pieces
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder (20 gms)
- 1/4 tsp salt if using unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup caster sugar (142 gms)
- 2 eggs at room temperature (see notes)
- 1 and 1/2 tsps vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (60 gms)
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175 C. Line an 8" square pan non-stick baking paper, leaving a little overhang. You could use a smaller pan as well for thicker brownies, increasing the baking time as needed.
- In a bowl placed over a pot of simmering water, melt the butter, chocolate and cocoa until you have a smooth mixture. Let this cool while you get the rest of the batter ready. Make sure you don't overheat the chocolate mixture. Once the chocolate is almost melted, take it off the heat and stir to melt down any lumps. You can also do this step in the microwave on high in 10 second increments, stirring in between.
- Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla in a mixing bow with a hand mixer on high speed, till pale and thickened, about 3 to 4 minutes. This is where you're ensuring the shiny, wafer-thin crust forms.
- Add the cooled chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat briefly on low speed till combined.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt. Fold it all together with a spatula until no flour is visible, but be gentle. The batter is quite thick. At this stage, optionally, stir in chocolate chips, chopped nuts or other mix-ins.
- Spread the batter evenly into the prepared dish, smoothen the top and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, till a toothpick poked in the center comes out with moist crumbs but no wet batter. Don't bake them till the toothpick comes out fully clean, that means the brownies will dry out as they cool down. Under-baking just slightly ensures they keep cooking as they cool, but remain soft and gooey.
- Allow the brownies to cool completely at room temperature before slicing. Best stored at room temperature in an airtight tin for 2 to 3 days in humid environments, after which they can be kept in the fridge for a week, or even frozen for a month. Happy baking!
Notes
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Roopal says
This is my second recipe from your blog. It came out very tasty. I added some coffee powder to it like mocha brownies recipes. A bit of cream cheese too.
The layer is crispy on outside.
I cooked it for 20 min at 180 degree though since my oven does not have 175 setting.
Again this recipe was awesome !! Thank you!
the desserted girl says
Thank you for trying this recipe, Roopal! The cream cheese and coffee additions sound so yum 🙂
Shruti says
Hey Gayatri.. made these brownies from.ur recipe with eggs.. and turned out to be amazing!! Thank you so much 😊💓
the desserted girl says
So happy to hear that Shruti, thank you!
Liz says
Hi! Am I able to replace the eggs with Flax Eggs? Or is it better to use your eggless brownie recipe? (Household with an egg allergy here!)
the desserted girl says
Hi, yes please use the eggless brownie recipe instead 🙂 I haven’t tried this one with flax eggs
Liz says
Thanks!
Swaathishree Sridhar says
If I want to use Silk chocolate instead of dark chocolate, should I reduce the sugar amount?
the desserted girl says
I don’t really recommend using Silk or any milk chocolate here because reducing the sugar changes the texture and appearance
anitha says
Tried this today. it is truly the best brownie i have ever bakes. t. its also the first time i got a flaky crust on top. thanks for the wonderful tip
the desserted girl says
The makes me so happy! That tip for the crust changed my life 🙂
Alifiya says
Hi..could u please confirm the quantity of all purpose flour in the seriously fudgy brownies. Is it 1/2 cup or 3/4 cup all purpose flour??
the desserted girl says
1/2 cup as written in the recipe
Sheetal says
I tried this recipe and it came out very good. Thank you for sharing.
Beejal Sanghvi says
Hey Gayatri, I made these brownies and they were seriously awesome. This was my first attempt EVER at baking and it turned out delicious. I got the flaky crust too, but the edges got baked more than the center, maybe because I have only a microwave convection oven. Thanks a million!
the desserted girl says
Hi Beejal, I’m so happy to hear that! The edges do get a little crustier, that’s perfectly fine and the edges are my favourite bit 🙂 I hope you’ll keep baking!
Aseera Momin says
Oh My God. I made these yesterday and they were divine! My previous brownie recipe was great too but this is beyond belief. These were a hit in my Pyjama party with the kids as well as the adults. I couldn’t resist taking a bite of some leftovers right before making this comment. Like u always say, it’s dangerous having desserts lying around in the house.
the desserted girl says
So happy to hear that!
Neelu Bagga says
Thank you Gayatri , Yours are the best recipes ever .
Very difficult to please my son and then he said these are the best brownies ever 🤗
the desserted girl says
Thank you Neelu ! These are my favourite brownies and I’m so happy you and your family are enjoying them too 🙂
Duttascope says
am i blind? I can’t see how much baking powder. Unfortunately its too late for me, so I will just wing it on how fudgy I want them. Maybe if you can point it out for others like me. That would be helpful
the desserted girl says
I actually modified this to omit the baking powder because the brownies are fudgier that way. I forgot to omit it from the method, sorry! Hope yours turn out great 🙂
Shalini says
Hi There,
These look really great, and I really want to try them out! I just have a question about oven settings. Do you bake these with both rods on or single rod (top or bottom in that case)? Also, my OTG has a convection option. Are these baked with the fan on or off?
Do let me know! Thanks 🙂
the desserted girl says
Hi Shalini, I can’t comment on the convection part or the fan part because my oven is a regular OTG and is not fan-forced. On the bake setting only the lower coil comes on. I’m not sure if that helps but I would advise looking up your oven brand and model to get more info. Happy baking !
Shalini says
Thanks so much for your reply Gayatri!
I have the new Morphy Richards 52 L. Honestly, they have unnecessarily complicated by giving too many setting modes. There isn’t much info online, nor supporting literature with it. Even the demo guy had no clue (he kept repeating Nan Khatai ke liye yeh setting, cake ke liye yeh – 2 out of 6 modes!).
I’m learning by hit and trial. Will try this recipe without fan, and lower rod on!
I read on another blog somewhere that with convection on, the temperature setting can be around 20 degrees lower for the same recipe (bec the fan circulates the heat around leading to faster cooking). Noting this down here, might help someone else like me!
Ashwini says
Hey, u have got to know that i love your recipes and all my guests enjoy everything that u write and i make. Being a vegetarian, i had to alter some recipes to replace the eggs but nonetheless. In fact my vegetarian dense chocolate loaf that i made after following your recipe was claimed to be better than theobroma’s. There couldn’t be a better compliment for me than that. U go girl! Ur website has me baking something every other day.
the desserted girl says
Hi Ashwini 🙂 you have no idea how happy that makes me! Thank you so much for trying out these recipes and I’m glad you’ve been able to make them eggless too 🙂 hope you continue baking!
Prakriti says
Hey! Can I use Morde Dark Chocolote (they have a dark compound as well but i don’t know the difference) for these brownies? If not, anything else you’d reccommend? Thanks!
the desserted girl says
Hey Prakriti, yes that should work fine, in fact the pure dark chocolate is better than compound. Morde isn’t really considered very high quality but I use it often because it’s affordable 🙂 I’ve also recently come across Mii Special Coverture on Big Basket and at Food Hall, which I really like though it’s a little more expensive. Happy baking!
Prakriti says
hey! just started making these and realised the ingredients says baking powder, but the method says baking soda. which do i use? thanks!
the desserted girl says
I’m so sorry about that Prakriti, thanks for pointing it out! It’s baking powder, updated the recipe too. If you look at the Nutella brownies here https://thedessertedgirl.com/2014/05/23/the-fudgiest-nutella-brownies/ you’ll see I actually omitted the baking powder for even fudgier brownies 🙂 Happy baking!
Marie Shedlowsky says
It’s powdered sugar, not granulated?
The Desserted Girl says
Powdered or caster sugar is the best since the granulated sugar I get in india doesn’t dissolve as easily. Whatever kind you prefer is fine 🙂
withthefoodie says
how many will this recipe make? Making these tomorrow! The pictures tempt me so much 😀
The Desserted Girl says
Happy to hear that! I baked these in a square 8″ x 8″ pan and got about 9 super large brownies. Depends on how many rows you cut them into. Hope you love them!
Niyatee Ravipati says
How long do we have to bake in a 8×8 inch pan?
The Desserted Girl says
Sorry, 8 large brownies 🙂
Shari says
I totally agree with you on your brownie philosophy. They should be fudgy, fudgy, fudgy! 🙂 These look perfect.
The Desserted Girl says
Thanks Shari!
Ishara says
Hey what was the size of pan you used for these brownies?
The Desserted Girl says
8×8 should be good, I used a rectangular pan though.
TheGastronomicBong says
Just stumbled upon your website… These brownies look so delicious.. I love my cakes and brownies with a cut of coffee too…. 🙂
Cheers
Arpita
The Desserted Girl says
Thank you! Yes, everything goes with coffee 🙂 Let me know if you try these 🙂 You have a lovely blog!!
Sugar n Spice by Radhika says
This brownies deserves all the points! It looks divine!
Gayatri says
Thank you so much! Give it a shot and do tell me how they turn out 🙂
lovablyditzy says
Gayatri I made these and they were delicious. The crust did not look like in the pictures, but it tasted superb. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Gayatri says
I’m so glad you liked them!! Thank you for trying them out! And I think I just got lucky with the crust, because it wasn’t exactly the same the next time I made them 🙂 Will always taste awesome though!
Varuna says
Man, I love a good non-cakey brownie. Going to try this when I get back to TO! The only thing that might make this better is chopped pecans…mmm. 🙂
Gayatri says
Oh yum! Even walnuts 🙂 I’m a big fan of just plain chocolate brownies but yes, going to add something next time! Let me know how they turn out 🙂
Varsha says
And now we need a ‘valuable tip’ on how to photograph from/in the balcony by your recipe!
Shruti says
Hi !
These look so tempting.. I’m planning to make them today. Can you please share the measurement of flour, sugar, and cocoa powder by weight?
the desserted girl says
Hi, it’s updated now 🙂 Newer recipes on the blog have weight measures, but the earlier recipes will be updated gradually. For reference, this is the conversion chart I use: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart