This is my go-to recipe, short on time high in need of chocolate, these brownies are the answer! I like these brownies so much that I use the recipe as the key component in a number of other desserts, including Shmores (not a typo!), Brownie stuffed Hamantashen, halva brownie ganache cups. When short on time I have been known to serve these as part of a make it your own dessert bar, putting out a variety of creamy things, like peanut butter, Nutella, biscuit cream and halva cream, chocolate sauce, and ice cream. Then I set up a dish filled with toppings, broken up cookies, sprinkles, chocolate chips, and loads of fresh fruit, and then everyone makes their own brownie extravaganza!
- 300g (10 oz) 70% cocoa chocolate, broken up into chunks
- 225g (1 cup) butter (or vegan alternative), cubed
- 5 Medium (4 large) eggs, beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 350g (1 ½ cups) caster (superfine) sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 190g (1 ½ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
1. Heat oven to 180°C (350℉). Line a 20 x 30cm (9 x 13inch) cake tin with baking paper, or with two sheets of aluminum foil, laid perpendicular to each other and then greased. (Alternatively, you can make these into brownie cupcakes, line a standard cupcake tin with paper liners, and in step 4 divide the batter between the 12 cups, bake for 15-18 minutes)
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Or in a microwave-safe bowl, blasting in 20-second bursts and stirring between each blast until smooth. Cool the mixture slightly before adding the eggs.
3. Add the eggs to the cooled chocolate mixture, mix well, add the sugar, flour and add a pinch of salt. Mix until blended.
4. Pour into the tin and bake for 20-25 minutes (don’t use convection; the brownies will just become dry). The outsides will look crackled and the inside will feel firm but will still be gooey.
5. Allow to cool in the tin for 20 minutes. Slice into squares. Serve as they are or with ice cream and chocolate sauce.
