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Gooey, fudgy brownies made with cocoa and no melted chocolate

Gooey Cocoa Brownies

Gooey, fudgy brownies made with cocoa and no melted chocolate
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Makes: 10 brownies
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Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 cup butter (115 gms)
  • 1 cup caster sugar (190 gms)
  • 2 eggs, at room temp (see notes)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (40 gms)
  • 3/4 cup cocoa (60 gms)
  • 1/4 tsp salt, if using unsalted butter
  • 3 tbsps chopped walnuts, optional (see notes)

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 160 C. Line an 8.5x6.5 inch baking dish (see notes) with non-stick baking paper, leaving a little overhang for easy removal. Set aside.
  • In a microwave-safe mixing bowl, melt the butter, making sure it doesn't start boiling. Stir to melt any remaining lumps, instead of over-heating it. Alternately, melt the butter in a saucepan on the stove, then transfer to a mixing bowl.
  • Now stir in the sugar, whisking very well to combine. Then add the eggs and vanilla, whisking vigorously for about 2 minutes by hand or with a hand mixer, until the mixture thickens a little and looks paler in colour. While this isn't strictly necessary, I use this method in all brownie recipes to create a nice crackly crust so I recommend it!
  • Now sift in the flour, cocoa and salt, if using. Fold gently to combine, taking care not to over mix the batter. It will be fairly thick.
  • Spoon the batter into the prepared baking dish, spreading it out evenly. Sprinkle chopped walnuts over the top.
  • Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick poked in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. The top will still seem quite soft and the sides will appear more cracked than the center in my experience. Avoid over-baking the brownies because they will continue to cook as they cool and if baked too long, they will be dry instead of deliciously gooey.
  • Let cool in the dish for 15 minutes, then lift the brownies out using the paper and leave them on a wire rack to cool completely. They will firm up as they cool and the top will get a nice crackly look as you cut the brownies. Slice into 10 equal pieces and dig in!
  • On day one these brownies are gooey and buttery and they taste even better on day two when they become more chewy. Store in an airtight tin for 3 to 4 days at at room temperature, about 10 days in the fridge (bring to room temperature before eating) and longer in the freezer, if you have any leftovers! Happy baking :)

Notes

*I like a rectangular pan here because the brownies are thicker that way, but this batter can be baked in an 8" square pan as I tried recently, to make 16 small, thinner brownies with the same baking time as in the original recipe from Bon Appetit  .
*While the sugar seems like a lot, there's also a lot of cocoa balancing it out. The brownies are not overly sweet and I don't recommend reducing the sugar any further because the crust depends on it and I've already reduced it by 1/4th cup.
*Feel free to increase the amount of walnuts if you want to stir them into the batter as well, keeping in mind that the brownies are a little harder to cut if the nut bits are too large. If you want the brownies even more chocolatey, stir in some chocolate chips instead!
*I have not tried an eggless version of this recipe, but here is a fudgy eggless brownie recipe that uses melted chocolate.