These extremely fudgy brownies with semi-sweet chocolate and a mild vanilla flavor are for real chocolate lovers. This dessert is so indulgent and with a crazy texture, I'm sure it will become your favorite brownie recipe.
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Ingredients and substitutions
Chocolate - I’ve made this easy brownie both with semi-sweet and milk chocolate before, so you can go with whatever chocolate you like more. If you use milk chocolate, however, make sure that it's on the darker side (37-40% cocoa) or your brownies will be way too sweet. You can also use a variety of forms of chocolate, whether it's semi-sweet chocolate chips or a chocolate bar (chop it into chocolate chunks so they melt faster). It's always best to buy chocolate that’s designated for baking.
Butter - You can use unsalted butter right from the fridge since we need to melt it anyway.
Flour - Use either all-purpose flour or bread flour (same amount). Bread flour will result in even chewier brownies than they already are.
Cocoa powder - Use unsweetened cocoa powder. Make sure you use Dutch process cocoa powder instead of the natural one, as natural cocoa powder is too acidic and requires baking soda to react with it.
Salt and vanilla - Vanilla is optional but salt is a must. You can also add flaky sea salt right in the batter, so you’ll get some bits of it while eating your delicious chocolate dessert.
Instant coffee - Even if you don't like coffee, I highly recommend adding some to your brownies recipe. I promise, you won't notice the coffee flavor but coffee brings out that chocolate flavor even more! On top of that, if you want to go all fancy, replace 1 teaspoon of instant coffee with 1 tablespoon of freshly brewed espresso.
Eggs - Use 3 eggs at room temperature for your homemade brownie recipe.
Sugar - I use white granulated sugar for my fudgy brownie recipe. You can replace some of it with light brown sugar if you want.
Cooking tips
Sift your dry ingredients. If you see cocoa powder in an ingredients list, you have to sift it! Cocoa powder can be lumpy and those lumps will stay intact in your batter. So if you don’t want to eat raw cocoa powder, sift all the dry ingredients before adding them to the wet ingredients.
Whip the eggs with the sugar well. This process is in charge of that crackly top you can see on so many brownies. Also, whipping helps sugars to dissolve better, which is important when you have so much sugar in a dessert recipe.
Cover the top with foil if needed. So, the total time of baking will be somewhere between 40-45 minutes – I noticed that in my oven, the top starts to overgrow after minute 38. If that's the case for you too, cover your brownie with a piece of foil and continue baking until it's done.
Chill your homemade brownies. I know how difficult this sounds, but I highly recommend chilling your brownies in the fridge for an hour or so after they’ve cooled down to room temperature. This waiting is totally worse but they will be so much easier to cut.
Step by step directions
1. Preheat the oven to 355F (180C) and line an 8" by 8" (20cm by 20cm) brownie pan with parchment paper so the bottom and sides are covered.
2. In a bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a microwave-safe bowl, add the butter and white and milk chocolate. Heat in a microwave for 10-15 seconds at a time, mixing well with a rubber spatula in between. When completely melted, add the instant coffee and mix to dissolve. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract. Whip on medium-high for 5 minutes or until fluffy and tripled in volume.
5. Add the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture while the mixer is running on low until fully incorporated. Then, fold in the dry ingredients just until fully incorporated.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and tap it against a flat surface to burst the air bubbles in the batter.
7. Bake for 40-45 min or until the toothpick inserted into the edge comes out clean or with a few crumbs and the middle is set. A toothpick inserted in the center can come out a bit wet. You can also check the internal temperature in the middle which should be 170F-190F (77C-88C).
8. Remove from the oven and let it cool down in the pan for one hour. Then, lift up holding the parchment paper and place the brownie on a cooling rack to cool down completely.
9. Refrigerate your chewy gooey brownies for an hour, then cut them into 9-12 even pieces and serve.
Flavor variations
Nuts - Fold some crushed walnuts into the batter right before pouring it into the pan and baking.
Salt - Flaky sea salt is never a miss if we’re talking about fudgy brownies recipes. Just sprinkle some on top in the middle of the baking.
Serving variations
I find brownies way too sweet for my taste, so I prefer to serve them with unsweetened, whipped heavy cream. It adds freshness and counterbalances the sweetness.
If you have a really sweet tooth, however, you can go crazy and drizzle Salted caramel on top of your chocolate fudge brownies, or serve them with some ice cream. Try my Condensed milk ice cream recipe if you want to make everything from scratch too!
FAQ
Store them in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to one week.
Wrap your brownies in plastic wrap and then in a piece of foil and freeze for up to one month. Thaw in the fridge overnight and then let them sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.
Yes, you can bake these brownies in a larger pan (ex. 9" by 9"). You will need to reduce baking time by 5-10 minutes.
More chocolate recipes
Recipe card
Fudgy brownies
Equipment
- 8" by 8" (20cm by 20cm) brownie pan
- Stand mixer or hand mixer and a large mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 100 g all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 200 g semi-sweet chocolate chopped
- 200 g unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee optional
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 250 g white granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 355F (180C) and line an 8" by 8" (20cm by 20cm) brownie pan with parchment paper so the bottom and sides are covered.
- In a bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, add the butter and chocolate. Heat in a microwave for 10-15 seconds at a time, mixing well with a rubber spatula in between. You can also melt everything in a double boiler. When completely melted, add the instant coffee and mix to dissolve. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or you can use a large mixing bowl and a hand mixer), add the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract. Whip on medium-high for 5 minutes or until fluffy and tripled in volume.
- Add the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture while the mixer is running on low until fully incorporated. Then, fold in the dry ingredients just until fully incorporated (you can do this with the mixer as well or use a rubber spatula).
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and tap it against a flat surface to burst the air bubbles in the batter.
- Bake for 40-45 min (cover loosely with a piece of foil if the top browns too fast and keep baking), or until the toothpick inserted into the edge comes out clean or with a few crumbs and the middle has set. A toothpick inserted in the center will come out a bit wet or with a few wet crumbs. You can also check the internal temperature in the middle which should be 180F-190F (82C-88C).
- Remove from the oven and let it cool down in the pan for one hour. Then, lift up holding the parchment paper and place the brownie on a cooling rack to cool down completely.
- Refrigerate for an hour, then cut into 9-12 even pieces and serve.
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